“The holidays are usually the time of the year you’d be sitting around,” Ohio swimming coach Greg Werner takes a pause before adding, “but that is not the life we choose.”
It’s a cold January morning after a long two-hour practice session when Werner brings his final thoughts of his team’s training during winter break forward. The team has already left, happy that they can go to classes and leave the swimming pool behind.
With his statement Werner unveils that a swimmer’s life is full of sacrifices: Practice or relax over winter break? Practice or see family for more than a week? Practice or spend time with friends?
This winter the answer was practice – as always.
With the end of Fall Semester, Werner increased the number of total practice hours a week to 30 and called his fellow Bobcats to the pool deck every morning from 7 to 10 a.m. and every afternoon from 3 to 6:30 p.m.
“It was just eat, swim, eat, swim, eat, sleep and so on,” junior captain Laurin Williams said.
This pattern only stopped once, as the Bobcats were granted a leave from Dec. 21 through the 28 to see their families. Seven days, that’s all they had. For most, it was the first given opportunity to see their families since summer.
Morgan Sprosty, a junior from California, had only six days due to traveling back and forth between home and the pool. Still, she was glad for the opportunity.
“I spent every single day with my parents,” Sprosty said.
Time for anything else wasn’t given, as the swimmers were instructed to keep up practicing at their hometown clubs.
With the focus lying on endurance practices for an upcoming 10,000-meter — about 6.2-mile — swim, Werner trusted that all swimmers would keep up practicing and not lose their shape.
“They didn’t have to be in touch with me about that,” Werner said. “If they didn’t (practice in their clubs), winter practice would be a lot harder.”
Everybody agreed, however, that the hardest part is coming back to Athens after Christmas.
“I thought about going back home again every single day,” Sprosty said while Williams nodded agreement.
In addition, the fatigue after six hours of practice wore on the team. Every Bobcat desperately wanted college to resume again, and to return to a normal practice schedule.
Williams, as team captain, tried to counteract homesickness and the overwhelming lethargy by inviting teammates to her house to watch movies. The Bobcats even spent New Year’s Eve together.
“We helped each other through practices,” Williams said. “When someone was down we tried to motivate her.”
Since the start of Spring Semester, there is an overall relief in the Aquatic Center, and the teammates can resume with their usual schedules.
“We are in better shape, the team morale is better and we know now that we are a much stronger team than before,” Sprosty said.
Werner, too, sees the practice over winter break as a success. With more time spent in the water than in previous years, he sees the Bobcats prepared for their upcoming tasks.
He must know what’s best; he has held the head coaching position for 18 years. Not having any winter break is the life he has chosen.
am794811@ohiou.edu
