Mount Pleasant High School has a huge range of sports and clubs. One of the lesser known sports is the Girls Swim team. Girls swim practices five days a week for competitions and competes against other schools for points.
Swim consists of long and short distance swimming. Along with long and short distance, swim has four different strokes; freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Freestyle is one of the more well known strokes that most girls start out with. Along with freestyle there is backstroke. Backstroke is when you are swimming with your back facing the ground while kicking upwards and pulling yourself to the other side of the pool. The butterfly stroke is more physically demanding, while breaststroke is more complicated to learn. Each girl on the swim team has their preferences. Some girls prefer doing the short distance 50 meter freestyle while others prefer 100 meter strokes or the independent medley relay. Swim’s wide variety of events make it where there is something for everyone.
Coach Beckman has been coaching the swim team for 8 years. He says he likes coaching swim because, “ It all boils down to a time, No gut feelings, you are either faster or not.” Coach Beckman is responsible for getting the team into meets, choosing events, and making sure everything moves smoothly. A swimmer on the MPHS girls swim team says, “Beckman is an amazing coach
and is very involved in the sport.” Rowan Frost, one of the team captains says Coach Beckman is the “best coach ever.” This shows how much the MP swimmers appreciate their swim coach for everything he does for them and their swim experience.
Swimmers say, “Swim is a great way to find friends.” Many girls have made long lasting friendships through swim. Swimmers find themselves connecting with people they never thought they would all because of their common interest in swimming. Coach Beckman explains the key reasons that the girls on the team develop such strong bonds, he says, “ The girls are very supportive of each other.” Coach believes, “ In life beyond swim we should be doing the same, lifting each other up and supporting one another.”
There is more to the swim environment than just their friendships. Rookies through seniors, all the swimmers work together to make swim a positive experience for everyone. “The environment is amazing,” says a MP swimmer, “ Everyone supports each other… Especially during the meets; there is always a group at the end of the pool cheering you on while you swim.” The swim team is more than just swimming, it’s the memories each girl makes along the way from cheering so loud their throats hurt to singing together on the bus ride home.
Overall MPHS girls swim has something for every girl to be included. It is also a good way to make friends and meet new people. Girls on the team are never alone, since they will always have their team to stand by and support them. All of this wouldn’t be possible without a good coach with the right goals for the MPHS swim team.
