Lambert’s Swim and Dive team has been high-achieving since 2009, winning 24 County Championships and five State Championships. While people may think that Swim and Dive is lacking in a community element compared to other sports, swimming is still team-oriented. Swimmer Jaimy Vu strongly believes that her team plays a big role in her performance as a swimmer.
“I think team spirit really helps with motivation and doing your best as a person representing Lambert,” Vu stated.
Like in every other sport, the feeling of having your teammates cheering you on helps your performance immensely, Vu thinks that team bonding is very important even though it was something that may have been previously disregarded in swim and dive.
“I think the mandatory attendance and practices really help us get together as a team because besides for relay races, there’s no team element while actually competing,” Vu said.
Another crucial part of the team is Coach Scott Langley who has been coaching swimming since he was in high school. He thinks the sport has given him direction in his life, and coaches to help students find that too.
“I want swimming to be something that students loved about high school,” Langley explained. “It should be their community.”
To accomplish this welcoming community, the coaches have been trying to have more team bonding through team dinners and parties. Since the team has grown immensely this year, Langley thinks that to achieve success this year they must pay special attention to building connections with the team.
“We’re really trying to bring them together and get to build relationships inside the team,” Langley said. “Support from other members is very important to the culture and identity of the team.”
Swim and Dive is a large part of Lambert’s community with many experienced and committed swimmers and divers, and they are forming a close-knit and strong team. They are expected to do great things this season with their hardworking team members and coaches.
