For the typical high school student, Sunday nights usually mean finishing any homework you’ve procrastinated on all weekend or relaxing and watching some primetime TV, whether it be “Sunday Night Football” or “Breaking Bad” or “The Walking Dead.”
If you’re on varsity boys swimming, participating in these activities on Sunday night is absolute nonsense. You better be in bed– or getting to bed– in order to successfully endure three-plus hours of swimming tomorrow that consists of two separate practices; the first beginning at six in the morning.
Despite all of this work, the swimmers themselves don’t mind: they love every second of it.
“One word that describes York swimming is ‘awesome,’” said junior Matt Gamperl. “The camaraderie all of us feel is great, and the coaches are really cool. It’s just a fun team overall.”
Despite having many difficult endeavors to endure throughout the season, the team seems to remain as one as these swimmers hold a bond that is impossible to break.
“Swimming is more of a team effort than anything,” junior Ben Howlett said. “As a team, we are always cheering for our teammates, as well as pushing each other for maximum effort.”
Maximum effort and York swimming seem to be equivalents, as the varsity swimmers are at practice so much that they indisputably do not see the sun all day.
“We sometimes don’t see the sun because we have morning practices, which start at 6, and our afternoon practice don’t end until around 5:30, when the sun is already down,” Gamperl said.
Some would consider the amount of time swimmers spend with each other obscene, yet for York’s loyal swimmers, it’s a matter of taking this time for granted or not.
“All my fellow swimmers are my buddies. We get along well, we’re really tight and we care for each other a lot,” Anthony Todd, junior, said.
At the end of the day, the team has one common goal.
“We all have individual goals we want to meet, but as a team we want to prove to everyone that all the hard work we put in isn’t for nothing,” Howlett said.