By Branson Hardcastle | Reporter
Baylor’s swimming club is looking to start its season off strong as practices have started in the McLane Student Life Center.
Practice is four days a week and typically consists of drill work, sprints, long distance and kicking. Englewood, Colo., junior and head coach Hunt Holsomback usually makes the practice schedule for the club. Holsomback said he creates workouts that are challenging for members, but that everyone can still finish. He also said that he likes to push members to excel in their main events.
Holsomback, who holds multiple records in the swimming club, also sets up workouts consisting of weight training and cardio. These are not official practices for the swim club, but multiple members take part in them, Holsomback said.
The club competes in the Southwest Swim League, against schools such as the University of Texas at Dallas, Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Texas Tech and Texas Christian University. All of the schools in the conference compete in the conference championship every year to see who will be crowned the Southwest Swim League Champion. This year the meet will be held April 21 at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La.
Two years ago the club finished first overall, but last year they placed fourth. This year they hope to retake their crown as the Southwest Swim League Champions, but it is equally important for them to build camaraderie, Holsomback said.
“We want to win the championship. We would also like to become a big family,” Holsomback said. “We really like watching people swim to get their best times and have fun while doing that. We really encourage each other to do our best.”
Killeen junior and club president Maryssa Bradley said she believes the team can win the conference this year, but knows it will take some work.
“This year we are more organized. We know we need to make practice challenging and push each other to improve,” Bradley said. “We also want to add more members to the team. Adding members and retaining old members is important for us.”
Bradley said the club is more than just a club. It is a community. She said it feels like a big family that is welcoming, friendly and fun to be around. Encouraging others is important to both Holsomback and Bradley as well. She wants to see members improve while they have fun. Bradley also said that the club introduces members to people they typically wouldn’t see or talk to.
“My favorite part [of the club] is getting know people that I wouldn’t have gotten to know otherwise. It brings a lot of people together that are really different and you get really close to most of the people in the club,” Bradley said.
The club has close to 20 members with varying levels of experience. Some members swam on a varsity team in high school while others have never swum competitively. They are still accepting new members and encourage others to come to practice and see how they like swimming.
The club’s first meet is Nov. 18 at the University of North Texas. They club will participate in both individual events and relays.
