The Team With The Speedo
A preview of the upcoming men's and women's swim seasons
Tomilayo Komolafe
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: Sports
Only a swimmer understands the brutality of the water. Warm or cold, deep or shallow, the 25m by 50m pool is just enough to tire out the average swimmer. This is because constant motion is required to survive in these elements. For every race, the swimmer races against time and nature.
As the swimmer lunges forward with each stroke, the water pushes back. It's one of the many laws of physics that make living a challenge and on Saturday, October 25, the swim team faces its first challenge of the season.
The Hood College swim team heads over to the house of a division rival, York College to compete in the first meet of the season.
"The first meet is always a test to see where everyone is and how we perform as a team. The plans are to stick together and work hard during each race," says junior Erica Hamor.
The team has 16 athletes on the roster with three freshmen. All 16 athletes are essential to achieving success this season. This is the reason that swimming is one of the many collegiate sports that involves the numbers game.
"All of our freshmen are outstanding and each one will be a great contribution this season" says Hamor.
Teams with more athletes can win competitions for the simple fact that they have more numbers and therefore more bodies to spare. Even worse, teams with better athletes could lose a completion because there are not enough athletes to cover every event.
This can be likened to shooting a bear with a sniper rifle and a shotgun. The sniper rifle is more superior as a weapon but the shotgun has the luxury of numbers and it takes more than one bullet to put down a bear.
Practice for the season started a month in advance and there were positive signs that deserve to be mentioned.
Senior, Matt Haynes, owns the record in the individual 50m free and 100m freestyle for the Hood men's swim team. He is part of a several relay teams with 5 other records in the books and some say this might be his best season as of yet.
"Matt is already putting 100 percent effort into the practices. I believe this will be his best season ever" says Hamor. "Our team is looking better then I've seen since I've been at Hood and we've only been training for a month. We are a strong solid team this year."
This season, don't throw in the towel on the swim team unless it's to help dry the athletes off and prepare them for their next challenge. If thats the reason to throw in the towel then by all means throw in the towel.
As the swimmer lunges forward with each stroke, the water pushes back. It's one of the many laws of physics that make living a challenge and on Saturday, October 25, the swim team faces its first challenge of the season.
The Hood College swim team heads over to the house of a division rival, York College to compete in the first meet of the season.
"The first meet is always a test to see where everyone is and how we perform as a team. The plans are to stick together and work hard during each race," says junior Erica Hamor.
The team has 16 athletes on the roster with three freshmen. All 16 athletes are essential to achieving success this season. This is the reason that swimming is one of the many collegiate sports that involves the numbers game.
"All of our freshmen are outstanding and each one will be a great contribution this season" says Hamor.
Teams with more athletes can win competitions for the simple fact that they have more numbers and therefore more bodies to spare. Even worse, teams with better athletes could lose a completion because there are not enough athletes to cover every event.
This can be likened to shooting a bear with a sniper rifle and a shotgun. The sniper rifle is more superior as a weapon but the shotgun has the luxury of numbers and it takes more than one bullet to put down a bear.
Practice for the season started a month in advance and there were positive signs that deserve to be mentioned.
Senior, Matt Haynes, owns the record in the individual 50m free and 100m freestyle for the Hood men's swim team. He is part of a several relay teams with 5 other records in the books and some say this might be his best season as of yet.
"Matt is already putting 100 percent effort into the practices. I believe this will be his best season ever" says Hamor. "Our team is looking better then I've seen since I've been at Hood and we've only been training for a month. We are a strong solid team this year."
This season, don't throw in the towel on the swim team unless it's to help dry the athletes off and prepare them for their next challenge. If thats the reason to throw in the towel then by all means throw in the towel.
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