With the girl’s swim season coming to a start, the junior varsity team starts preparing for their meets. With every player and coach prepping differently it is important for the girls to find a routine that works for them. The team has its first meeting coming up on November 29th.

While some members of the team have more experience than others, junior Judith Burke has been swimming for Ray-Pec for 3 years. With plenty of experience under her belt, Burke knows the importance of preparing for upcoming meets.

“I try to get a good night’s sleep. I try to eat pasta the night before, and just drink lots and lots of water,” said Burke.

As the girls continue to prepare for their first meeting, nerves can start to increase. Even under pressure, swimmers have to learn how to call their nerves. Sophomore, Anieli Delgado, has been swimming competitively since the fifth grade. Comparing competitive swimming to the school swim season, Delgado has found a routine that works for her when it comes to calming her nerves.

“I eat a lot before meets because it helps with the nervous feeling of having to compete against other swimmers,” said Delgado.

Practicing means improvement. During practices, the girls do different drills and activities to help them become better swimmers and improve their techniques.

“Some of the drills that we do are fingertip, fist, April showers, pulls, and kicks,” said Burke.

With a new season just starting, the girl’s swim department gets a new head coach. Coach Aubree Bell swam in high school but this is her first year coaching.

“I’m excited to get to know the girls, watching them improve day by day, and just watching all their hard work pay off,” said Bell.

Having a new coach brings change to any sports team’s environment. Although the girls have just met Coach Bell, opinions can form very quickly. So far, the girls are enjoying the change of pace and look forward to the season.

“She is very quiet and doesn’t let me make drills shorter like Coach Brown did last year. She doesn’t seem to like it when I complain about doing a lot of long-distance even though I’m a long-distance swimmer,” said Delgado.

Competition can be tough and the preparation can be even harder. Although with any sport there are difficulties, there are many exciting events the girls can look forward to throughout the season.

“There are new girls and I’m very excited to get to know all of them. We also do a Friendsgiving at some point so I can’t wait for that too,” said Burke.

As the swim season is just now starting to pick up speed, the girls and the coach are excited and looking forward to the season. With new drills, new girls, and a new coach, this season will provide the girls with many opportunities. The start of swim is exciting, and the girls are so excited to start diving into success.