The girls’ swim season has now begun and they are working hard with the guidance of the lead coach, Jasmine Coleman, and the Assistant coach Elizabeth Love. Coleman swam for 10 years when she was younger, coached for a few years for a summer league, and then realized how much she missed swimming. She then decided to apply for the high school coaching position.
“A team should be about supporting each other and growing your abilities with one another, it’s not about the wins or losses, but just growing as an individual,” Coleman said, influenced by Ted Lasso’s approach to what a team should be. Lasso suggests that teams should prioritize relationships and focus on self-improvement.
Coleman walked through the day of a swim meet.
“The meet will start with warmups, once they are done you’ll hear each team do their little pre-meet chant,” said Coleman. “We are going to do “The Black Knight Rumble.” There are several events, and the swimmers will know before the meet starts what they are racing. They typically write on their arm the event, lane, and heat that they are in to keep track of since high school meets are so fast, and that they are responsible for making it to the block for their race. Each race has different heats, which is just a way to sort the times that you would be racing someone with a similar speed. We just go through the races and at the end, the team with the most points wins.
FHS students rarely recognize the girls’ hard work and motivation for their sport.
“It’s relatively a new sport and I don’t think it’s super talked about or recognized,” Coleman continued. “The girls that are dedicating their time to practice after school and learn their sport are just as important as the next sport we have.”
The girls’ swim team is made up of 15 talented and determined girls. Marli Armoneit, a sophomore at FHS, is a member of the swim team.
“My favorite part of being on the swim team is getting to work with this amazing group of girls,” Armoneit said.
“I think the coaches are perfect and teach very well and make us more confident in our abilities, and I know they will get better over time,” Armoneit said.
Armoneit agrees with coach Coleman that the sport needs more recognition.
“The girls’ swim team does need more recognition because I feel like not many people realize how wonderful our team is,” Armoneit said.
As the season begins and the girls’ swim team is led by the guidance of coach Coleman, these athletes are pushed to do their best and strengthen their bond as a team.
With the team’s hard work and coach Coleman’s support, the team is bound for a good season. Come and support them on January 7th at the Farmington Civic Center pool against Washington.
