I grew up on a competitive swim team which resulted in some of the best years of my life. I'll never forget this time of my life! Here are 10 things you remember if you grew up on a swim team like me!
1. Swim Practice
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Swim practice was in the afternoons during the summer and early mornings on Saturdays. You were committed to having two-three hours in your afternoons for swim practice (yay...)
2. The bathroom saved you from scary sets.
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Sometimes you ran to the bathroom to get away from a set you didn't want to do. This also resulted in extra laps if your coach wasn't in the mood for games.
3. Swim Meets
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These were the best nights ever. You had sharpie written all over you representing your team and telling your competitors to, "eat your bubbles." In between your events you were either chowing down on pizza or burgers sold at the pool.
4. Your mom was usually a timer or a bull pen mom.
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My mom never recognized us swimmers unless we had our caps on. Our moms were the ones to make sure everyone was taken care of and in the "bull pen" even when we wanted to run around and cheer for everyone. Timer moms were the best, because they were right upfront watching you swim.
5. You were always eating.
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I basically grew up being told, "you're always hungry," but that was okay since I was burning so many calories every single day. You could eat what you wanted, when you wanted. Well, as long as it wasn't right before swim practice.
6. City Wide was hell and everyone knew it.
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Oh, City Wide. How I miss you—not. City Wide was where all the swim teams gathered over a three days of racing. It was usually smack dab in the middle of July and roughly around 100-110 degrees. The only thing keeping you alive was the big tents and fans your team joined all together.
7. False starts.
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At every swim meet, there was that one kid who delayed the race. Sometimes you were that kid. You either slipped or jumped a little too early.
8. You were very protective over your lane and who was in it.
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Whether the lane was made up to keep you away from your best friend or to put you with the fastest person, there was a system to it. Your coach had you in that specific lane for a reason.
9. Warmups at swim meets.
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This picture says it all. Let's just say, people get kicked in the face constantly.
10. Your team was your family and probably still is.
You grew up with your team members and you went to school with them too. Y'all had numerous pool parties together and car pools as well. Your still pretty close with some of them today.
