When I was on the swim team during my sophomore year, I became a leader and lead our swim team to victory. The first few meets that buffalo grove high school participated in, victory did not seem like a possibility. Fortunately , with intense training from our new coaches and leadership skills from the older swimmers, we were able to turn that losing streak around into a glamorous victory. When the time came around for the practice 5 days before the meet. Ultimately my strategy was the 100 x 100’s. A combination of back to back butterfly , breaststroke, and freestyle, with only 7 second breaks in between each stroke. Unfortanatley, that was one of the most excruciating practices the BGHS swim team had experienced in the 2014 season. Although…
As a student-athlete itself, I have a pretty unique high school experience. Over the past 4 years, I have learned how to manage my time better, how to get things done in a timely fashion, as well as how to efficiently multi-task. However, to even further my unique high school experience, I am also a dedicated member of the marching band (and I hold the title of Trombone section leader), concert band, jazz band, concert choir, and spring musical, all while also being dedicated to field hockey. Although these choices stressed me out to no end due to multiple practices, competitions, and games being scheduled all at the same time, I would not have given up this experience for anything. It helped me to grow as a student, as an athlete, as a musician, and most importantly, as a person.…
When I was in kindergarden I was not one of the kids who were popular. I was the kid who always played by herself and the kid who would sit in the corner than play with her classmates. But this one thing changed my whole life. This was the thing that change me from an introvert to an extrovert. It was synchronized swimming. Before starting synchronized swimming I hated to play sports especially swimming because I had Aquaphobia. I was afraid that I would drown and end up dieing. It was really hard and risky for me to start synchronized swimming. I had a lot of trouble, and went through a lot of emotions. However, at the end I overcome my phobia and started to love swimming. It basically made my life change. Synchronize swimming probably was…
I have been involved in many activities during high school. These activities include academic organizations, community service, athletic teams, and the professional workforce. I have learned a great deal and have enjoyed participating in them. I also like spending time outdoors, camping, and playing sports for fun.…
If I had not joined The Otters and met those middle schoolers, I probably would still be shy and closed off to people. I grew up gaining confidence and not worrying about what people thought of me. Sure, as a teenager, doubtful moments always occurred, but that is common in teens. I never tried to change who I was or close myself off because of my doubts. The team also taught me no one deserves to be ignored. To stand up. Talk to someone when nobody else wants to. Swimming has made me who I am. Strong, confident, and…
Like many other boys, I love to swim. Since the age of five, I have spent many summer days in the YMCA pool. When I was 13 years old, I desired something more challenging than casual swimming, so I joined the high school development team for the Badger Swim Club.…
One of my most defining experiences to date has been my involvement with the colorguard squad at my school. The colorguard squad is an auxiliary unit that is part of the marching band. We perform with the band at Friday night football games during halftime while spinning flags and rifles to the music. To me, colorguard is so much more than that. Freshman year when I went to tryouts I was terrified. I did not have any friends trying out with me; I was walking into a gym full of older girls whom I had never met. To my surprise, being on the squad for the past three years has been such a defining achievement during high school for me. Without the squad I would have had a completely different experience in school. I learned the value of hard work…
Joining the future business leaders of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, becoming a youth leader at Christ Church, as well as many other volunteering activities helped me enrich my community, and make an impact in the world around me. Along with these organizations, I have played several sports in high school, in my junior and senior years I settled on my two favorite sports, track and field, and volleyball. Within these sports I have made friendships with my teammates I will never forget, and learned important lessons in humbleness when winning, and cohere with my friends when losing. By being a member of any sports teams at my high school, I regularly attended many of my school’s events, giving me the opportunity to develop relationships, and gain a tremendous sense of pride in my school. I am looking forward to bringing this same sense of pride to my college, and making many new friendships along the way. I learned over the course of my education to this point, that when I became more involved with these activities, my performance in the classroom increased alongside my…
High school arrived faster than I thought was ever possible. It brought new faces, teachers, feelings, friends, etc. Those new feelings brought on something that adults told me never to do as I was growing up. The renowned phrase, “don’t ever give up on your dreams,” rung through my ears as I made the realization that soccer was no longer something I was passionate about. It felt as though I failed my parents and my peers, but I knew this was the most rational decision I could make for myself to ensure my…
Michael Phelps is one of the most talented swimmers to race. Some classify him as an American hero, but he still had to work to what he has accomplished today. Phelps first started a swimming program around the age of nine because his mom had a fear of him drowning. An article said that “He joined a local program at the Loyola high school pool” (White). Without this program he would have never excelled as far as he did today. Phelps, at age of 15, became the youngest male swimmer to ever compete at the Olympic Games. During these games he wasn’t the biggest and fastest but he soon would become the best. Barra says “He didn’t win any medals at these games but he became a huge threat” (Barra). Lots of people don’t have this kind of experience like Phelps, but without this experience he wouldn’t know how to compete at this level later on in life. After high school swimming Phelps moved on to go to the University of Michigan while training for the Olympics. Lamm wrote “While at the university he won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Olympic Games” (Lamm). Even though Phelps made this much of an improvement without the specific training at Michigan, Phelps couldn’t have won those medals.…
Last Year I got the opportunity to create a youth swim program out of a Toronto master’s swim club. After swimming with the club for three years and having my own swim instructing experience, I approached the head coach with an idea for a new youth program. I pitched that the program would run alongside the master swim to accommodate for parents who desired the convenience of having their children swim at the same time and location. The head coach was receptive to the idea and contacted the athletes to see if there was interest. After promoting the program in the summer, I started coaching in the fall at full capacity.…
The school activity that I have been most involved in would have to be Marching Band. I’ve done this activity for all 4 years of high school. I’ve gotten the opportunity to be the low brass captain for 3 of those 4 years. That leadership position has taught me how to be responsible for a whole section of the band. Its taught me how to teach others and be comfortable while doing it. At first it was difficult because I was new to playing baritone and the growth that I saw in myself I wanted to to give to the other members so they can prosper and be even better musicians than they could of thought themselves to be. Being a captain showed me how to lead a group of people towards the right direction. Marching Band showed me that what you do does…
We started by watching videos of these swimmers, from smartphone footage taken by sales people visiting public pools around the world that had then been posted on an internal collaboration platform, along with observations from the people taking the shots about what the swimmers seemed to find most difficult.…
Coming into high school I was the shy, quiet, chubby kid who wasn’t very sure of himself. As a senior, I have changed dramatically from who I was then. One of my experiences that had the greatest impact on me was joining the swim team. Swimming competitively has helped me grow both physically and mentally. Joining the team helped me begin to socialize with kids I would normally never speak to and it helped me realize the importance of physical health.…
Central Idea: Swimming has a long and rich history that dates back way before our generations and is not always as beneficial as we may think.…