Malden High School students all experience two weeks of pool per semester of Physical Education but the swim season has only just begun for MHS swim enthusiasts, those who plan to dedicate their high school years to the water. Preparing for the season requires grueling practices building up to meets where the MHS team will compete with swim teams of the surrounding cities and towns. But before the season starts, a demanding round of tryouts offers an opportunity for newcomers to prove themselves and previous members to guarantee their place back on the team.
Tryouts were held this week and the excitement is palpable. Preparing for the new season comes a variety of students ranging through all four years of high school. On the second day of tryouts sophomore Sebastian Romani already held some hopes for the upcoming season. He hopes new members can bring “new flavor” to the team and contribute with “new friendships to make [their] team stronger together,” which, he knows from experience as a freshman on the team last season, can make an immense impact on the team’s performance.
Freshman Angelina Shorr and Tatiana Batista both see high school as an opportunity to build off of their swimming experience from when they were children. Shorr says that “when [she] was younger, swimming was a big part of [her] life” and that swimming throughout high school is an activity she’s looking forward to because it’s important to take part in things you enjoy. Batista says that she “got anxious and almost didn’t go [to captain’s practices] but [her] friends encouraged [her] to,” giving her motivation that even early on in the season she appreciates knowing she’s looking forward to getting “experience how it is to be on a team.” Both girls hope to become better swimmers improving their technique, gaining endurance and speed, as well as confidence but what they’re both looking forward to, possibly the most, is that they can be a part of the “new flavor” Romani and so many other experienced swimmers hope the new swimmers will bring to the swim team this season.
