Regan Nolan is 18 years old and just graduated Gahanna Lincoln High School in Ohio. She’s been swimming for 11 years now, starting at her local YMCA and eventually switching to her club team, Greater Columbus Swim Team of Ohio (GCSTO) where she’s trained year round the last four years of her career. She’s excited to continue her swimming and educational career at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia this fall.
As August approaches and myself and other seniors time as club swimmers dwindles down I cannot help but look back and cherish the moments this part of my life has brought myself and so many more.
Club swimming is an elite group that many people do not understand and will never understand unless apart of it.
We spend countless hours together, probably seeing each other more than we get to see our own family. We’ve grown up together, watching as we mature as chubby age group swimmers into full grown broad shoulder adults. We have an instant bond over the fact that we reek of chlorine, nap more than the normal human being and do not understand the idea of being “full”. Most importantly we connect over the fact that we spend our lives devoted to one sport that has brought us all together as one. A unit that pushes their body and mind to a place we never thought it could go.
As I enter my last few practices, much like other seniors around the country I urge you to take in a little more each day. Appreciate the smell of the pool at 6 a.m., the torture of putting in long course lane lines and just the presence of your teammates. The ones who have been with you through this whole journey, the ones who made you laugh in your darkest times of this sport, those who pushed you a little harder when you were not giving it your all and the ones who gave you the drive to love this sport more than you thought possible. Leaving club swimming behind is much like leaving a big extended family, a family that will support your endeavors and give you nothing but love.
To my fellow swimmers who have a few years left with that big family make sure you take nothing for granted. Much like high school you will want the time to fly by but pretty soon there will be no more planks to hold, no more brackets to cringe at and no more time left with these amazing people. Cherish the tears, the laughs, the three day meets that seem to never end and everything club swimming brings you. Lastly, to my seniors as we approach this next exciting journey in our lives I hope you take time to value the life lessons and relationships your club brought you because you probably would not be where you are today without it.
She is mature beyond her years.
Well said. Thank you for writing this article.