This year, our girls’ varsity swim team is making a splash in the swim world! They have had an impressive start to the season, winning first place as a team at Niles West and third place at a 12-team invite.
With a strong senior class and a well-balanced team this year, Swim Coach Rahul Sethna is expecting PRs and state qualifications. “Last year we had multiple people qualify for state in individuals, and I’m hoping we can do the same this year.”
The season starts in mid-August and goes until the end of October. In that time, injuries and burnout could arise. “You don’t want to approach the season looking at all four months or else you’ll get overwhelmed,” Sethna explained.
To combat this, Sethna came up with a training plan to keep the girls on track and prevent burnout. He compares it to climbing a mountain with plateaus in between, the mountain being loading weeks and plateaus unloading weeks.
During loading weeks, Sethna will stack training up and challenge the girls to push themselves. Then, when they reach a plateau in the mountain, Sethna tapers their training to give them time to recover. This is especially important before big swim meets.
“There’s been highs and lows at practice, but it’s fun nonetheless,” the only freshman on the varsity team, Jenny Taylor, said. She describes her experience on the swim team as fun, and says that the swim community and team have been “welcoming and kind” to her as she learns the ropes of being on the varsity team.
Taylor has been swimming for as long as she can remember. Starting in the fall before COVID, Taylor joined a swim team. Since then, she hasn’t looked back. “I’ve been swimming for a while, so this is basically the next step in my swimming career,” Taylor explained.
Taylor says that her favorite time is the tradition of team pasta parties. “My teammates are always so funny, and we have a lot of fun together.” The swim season is wrapping up, and the girls can’t wait to see what lies ahead.