New members have been adopted into the swim team; some which have never swam competitively before. On Monday the first pre-season practice was held for non-club swimmers. This was the first time that some athletes where exposed to the competitive environment.

“Since I’ve never swam before, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but my impression was that the people were nice and the work out was fun,” freshman Natalie Anderson said.

These athletes are striving to accomplish their goals, and have obstacles they hope the team will help them to overcome.

“Something I hope to face through swimming is doing something out of my comfort zone that I wouldn’t generally do,” Anderson said. “ I hope to learn a lot and watch how my skills develop.”

For the swimmers that have previous experience, these pre-season practices focus on improving skills, rebuilding strength, and ridding weaknesses.

“Last year I was completely new to swim and had no idea what to expect, so I was always really nervous. Now that I am more adapted to the technique and how things work, I’m hoping to become faster and be able to have a more efficient flip turn,” senior Stephanie Zunini said.