Summer has passed and winter has begun, but not everyone is ready to give up their pool days quite yet. Torrington High School’s Boys Swim team has been hitting the track, working out, and swimming at the YMCA all in preparation for their season.
The team is quite small, with a total of 9 boys. 7 from Torrington and 2 more from Lewis Mills high school and Oliver Wolcott Tech. Despite the small numbers the boys don’t see this as a weakness. They feel more than qualified to earn the respect of others, working hard at practices and perfecting technique.
Head Coach, Brian Arnold has been adamant on reiterating to his team that “Technique is key.” So this year rather than focusing on distance running, the team has turned its focus to sprints which is said to increase performance while swimming.
To give more of an idea of what practices look like, on swim days the team starts with stretches, a warm up, and 3 sets, ending with a warm down afterwards. On dry-land days, (practicing out of water), the team does a mix of cardio, ab workouts, and push ups.
Over Winter break while everyone else is spending their days relaxing and enjoying the comfort of their beds the boys will be having not just one but two practices daily. Getting up early in the morning to do dry-land and then from 3:00-5:00 going to the YMCA to swim.
The training is difficult but Senior Mathew Tsai says if he were to describe the team in one word it’d be “unyielding.” Many of these boys have stuck around through the rigorous training and have found great success, including four year athlete and Senior Captain Nick Borja.
Borja has seen swim as more than a sport throughout the years, but a place of belonging. He describes the team as “A tightly connected brotherhood.” He says that they “value effort and improvement, even if you aren’t the best.”
Adding on to that, Tsai says, “We do a lot of fun things outside of practice like breakfast after Saturday practices, bus karaokes, and we film a bunch of funny stuff.”
Borja and Tsai can both agree that they have become more than a team, but a family. While hopeful for new team members, they don’t let their numbers define them. The boys team continues to work hard, looking forward to the season ahead.
