Going from high school athlete to college student
‘No more excuses to eat 900+ calories in one sitting’
If I could sum up my four years of high school in three words it would be: homework, work, swim team.
On a normal day, I would get up at five o’clock in the morning to get to practice on time by 5.30. After practice, I’d go to school, and after school, I’d go to practice again for two hours. Some days after practice I would go to work as a lifeguard before going home to eat dinner, do my homework and go to bed, just to do it all over again the next day.
As absurd as it seems, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the routine, keeping busy, pushing through the pain of a hard work out, and being surrounded by my teammates, but mainly eating my weight in calories after practice (most athletes can relate to this).
I was a good swimmer, but I wasn’t great. I had no plans to continue swimming after high school, and I was okay with that. I accepted that my time was up and I could move on to bigger and better things, like college. So, high school comes to an end as college comes to a start and I find myself in a totally different situation.
No more before school or after school practices, no more team bonding and no more excuses to eat 900+ calories in one sitting. I occasionally went to the pool by myself and swam laps, but it wasn’t the same. Swimming alone is nothing compared to swimming with your team. I missed the challenge and the push my coaches provided me with, the encouragement of teammates, and the feeling of being surrounded by those who shared the same passion.
I missed the thrill of racing, hearing the cheers from the stands and the screams from my teammates at the end of my lane, looking at my coaches on the side of the pool deck, waving their arms, every time I breathed, and the overwhelming happiness and relief of swimming a personal best time.
I never imagined that when I got to college that I would miss being an athlete so much. At Ohio State, I’m surrounded by great sports teams with great athletes, but it is so different being a fan in the stands than an athlete on the field, court, pool or whatever it may be. I envy those who get to continue the sport they love, be a part of a team, and have coaches to encourage and push them to be better athletes every day.
I may no longer be an athlete, but my love for swimming will never fade and I am beyond grateful for every opportunity I had on the swim team in high school. I was a high school student athlete, and now I’m just a college student, but I’ll always be a swimmer.