Most of my memories of summer are revolved around Mt. Vernon Park. I remember running up and down the hill, pasta dinners, staying up all night at camp outs, and cheering as loud as I could during meets. Probably the least significant thing, at least to me, was the swimming itself. Sure, I loved winning. And when we won I was the happiest girl there. One year we were undefeated, and that was the most triumphant summer of my life. But for summer swim team, there was always much more to it than winning or simply dropping time. Our team has some of the best swimmers out there, but most of us aren’t going to make the olympics (although some might! *ahem-Cassidy*). Summer swim team was about the fun.
And fun it was. Getting up early in the summer, especially when I did 5 am practices for NCAP, was never easy. But amazing coaches and hilarious teammates made sure that I rarely regretted it. Participating in team traditions like diving for pennies when I was young or nearly drowning during water polo kept me coming back for more. In fact, my family centered summer vacations around swimming, including one time I was driven back home from the Outer Banks to swim in the All-Star Relay meet at age 8. Swimming takes a village, but it is worth it, I promise.
The only ever time I raced in All-Star Relays was when I was 8. The 100m freestyle relay consisted of myself, Grace Sylvester (currently living in California), Cassidy Bayer, and Parker Fulghum (if memory serves me well). I think we got third, but I don’t remember. The most memorable thing from that day was at the dinner afterwards, when Glen Bolger, then team rep, stood behind us and said “This is the future of the gators.” Little did he know that my freestyle time would in fact get slower as I aged, but the sentiment was still true. My speed had nothing to do with it. I loved the team and all the people on it, and win or lose, I was a gator, through and through.
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