Swimmers Dive into the Season
Swimmers and coaches of Horizon Honors’ new team discuss their thoughts on the season at their meet against Desert Ridge on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Freshman Caileigh Burdette dives into the pool to start her race.
October 2, 2016
On Wednesday, Sept. 28, Horizon Honor’s first swim team swam against Desert Ridge in their third meet of the season. The students on the team were excited to try and drop their times, and the coaches – Staci Smith and Adam Butler – were ready to help them compete. Since this team is a new addition to the school, everybody had thoughts to share about what the team was like and their goals for the season.
Editor’s note: Interview responses have been edited for clarity.
The Horizon Sun: What did you expect for this season?
Staci Smith: I expected at least a couple dozen swimmers and just a “personal best” type season. I had nothing to compare it to or base it off of… I just wanted my athletes to do their personal best so that we would have a point to start our growth from.
Adam Butler: [I expected] Improved times and to have fun.
The Sun: How do you think the season has gone so far?
SS: I’m proud of how the season’s gone. I’m excited for the last few meets that we have to really see some big growth and drop in times, but I’m excited for what we’ve accomplished.
AB: So far I’m happy with it. We’ve had a lot of drops in times and fun. Much better than I was expecting to have it start off.
The Sun: What’s your favorite part about coaching?
SS: It’s kind of two things. I love seeing kids work hard, and I love seeing them get better and see their times drop and improve.
AB: I think just seeing improvements is the best part. And at meets, sometimes kids give you free food.
The Sun: How’s the team dynamic?
SS: I think it’s good. We haven’t done a lot with teambuilding, and I’d like to see more of that, but I think everyone seems to get along and interact well with each other, and enjoy each other on the team.
AB: The team’s fun. I enjoy it. Everyone seems to have fun with each other. We all seem to get along.
Sarai Crawford, freshman: I think the team dynamic is great. Everybody is a really great team and we all look out for each other, and even if one of us doesn’t do that well we still pat each other on the back and it’s still great.
Krista Santacruz, senior: We’re actually a pretty good team together. We have lots of fun and lots of laughs and we’re really loud.
Luke Butler, junior: We are a family. I think we’re a family. We’re like an extended family, like there’s relatives that like not everyone really knows, and then there’s the general family, and those distant cousins you know. But like, we’re a family. I love everyone here.
The Sun: Why did you want to join the swim team?
SC: I wanted to join the swim team because I thought it would be really great to be on a team of people that are really excited to do a sport and to just meet new people.
Kate Allen, freshman: I thought it would be a good experience to make new friends, and it would help me with my skills in basketball.
KS: I wanted to join the swim team because I’ve done swim my whole life until I was 13 years old, and I was on a club swim team and I really enjoyed swimming… It was a really good workout and it’s like the best workout your body can do, so I was like I’m gonna do this, because it’ll help me stay healthy and awesome.
LB: When it was announced that we were getting a swim team, the first thing I did was talk to my brother because he always wants to coach, and so I talked to him about it. He talked to Mr. A [Nate Agostini, the athletic director], eventually got the job, he always wanted me to swim along with him, but I never did because Horizon Honors never had a team. So he wanted to coach me, and he wanted to help me. And, you know I thought it was a lot of fun, so it seemed like a good idea.
Max Allen, junior: It’s a great workout, and I liked the people trying out and it’s a good experience.
The Sun: How do you feel about today’s meet? What are your goals and fears?
SC: My goal is to not get disqualified and my fear is that I’m going to get disqualified. My overall goal is to just congratulate everybody and just do a good job.
KA: I feel pretty good about today’s meet. My goals are to do my best on backstroke because I am not a backstroke swimmer, and my fears are that I’m gonna hit the lane and get disqualified.
The Sun: How do you think today’s meet went?
AB: Today’s meet was good; it was a good dual meet. I don’t know what else to say. It was good.
SC: I think I did great. I definitely pushed myself, and I’m gonna keep pushing myself and trying harder.
Benjamin Riddle, junior: Awful, but that’s okay because I can improve on things.
The team enjoyed their time at the meet, and they are looking forward to the last couple meets of the first season.
