February 14, 2012
It sure was bleak outside on Saturday night. The wind was howling, the snow flurries were horizontal, and temps were in the teens.
However, once my wife and I stepped inside the Germantown Indoor Swim Center, site of the Washington Metro Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships, it was like we had been transported to some exotic locale. Warm and humid, crowded and loud. Actually, let me qualify that. Loud enough that you had to lean in close for a conversation, interrupted occasionally by something close to silence when the swimmers were on the blocks, followed immediately by "fugetaboutit" loud when the race was on, rising to earsplitting loud if the race finish was close. All of which is to say it was high school athletics at its spirited and raucous best.
I truly admire our swimmers. Both boys and girls swam with great distinction. For an activity that is in most respects solitary (it's hard to see clearly and even harder to hear clearly when scything through the water), I am impressed by the fellowship and camaraderie of the swimming culture. Their support of one another and sense of team resonate powerfully with our Xaverian value of zeal.
Training lap upon lap, day after day, with little downtime, demands self-discipline beyond the requirements of most sports offered in high school. It's no surprise that the team GPA is among the best of any in our school.
These students didn't start swimming just yesterday. Moms and dads have been "all in" for swimming for years: making the sacrifices of getting up early to drive to practice, sitting poolside through day-long meets, and encouraging their sons and daughters when they were ready to give up.
I was honored to be there on Saturday and see those parents, some of them near the end of their child's high school and competitive swimming experience, wearing the beads and the school colors, yelling just as loud as the teens all around them.