The Coral Gables Senior High aquatics team has officially resumed practices and has been scheduled for swim meets. Since Aug. 7, Gables swimmers have been completing physicals and listening to their coaches, Mr. Wood and Mr. Couzo during practice. One week into Sept., Gables is striving towards individual and team accolades when districts comes around.
Welcoming the fall season, Gables swimmers participated in their first meet at Florida International University on Aug. 24. The team swam a tri-meet against Miami Springs and Alonzo Tracy Mourning High Schools, bringing home their first win of the season.
“During my race, I try my best to make all the time put in practice into play, and make it worth it. If I make a mistake, I must learn from it, because if not, then I won’t be able to get to the next level. I challenge myself,” sophomore Thena Barzola said.
Every day, the swim team practices after school at Ransom Everglades, beginning promptly at 3:00 p.m. These Cavaliers practice all four main types of strokes as well as dives, flip turns and other essential swim drills.
Following Coach Wood’s planned swim set, the Cavaliers warm up and then swim multiple drills on intervals. Furthermore, they practice isolated drills, which train specific parts of the body. Ending with a cool down, the swimmers form a huddle to listen to announcements from the coaches before leaving practice.
Coach Wood, a member of the 2014 Gables graduating class, knows how to motivate his students by referring to his experience as a Cavalier swimmer. Encouraging his swimmers to beat his high school swim times, Coach Wood brings a competitive spirit to Gables aquatics.
“I felt great at the FIU meet. My time has drastically improved from last year, and I want to finish first in the 500 meter and have my time be under 7 minutes,” sophomore Alejandro Monroy said.
Being able to help those through the same problems that I dealt with, that is something I carry with me from my years as a swimmer to now, and helping with the struggles that we go through. And how we get better [is] overall, determination, persistence, and suffering; swimming is a tough sport,”
— Coach Wood
Speaking of leadership, seniors Ty Tyson and Gloria Zaky will lead the swimming team as captains. During practice or on the way to meets Tyson and Zaky assist the coaches in giving constructive criticism for a swimmer’s approach to his or her race. These seniors have grown throughout their years at Gables, especially as athletes, making them worthy of their positions as captains.
“I do feel as though I have gained so many abilities, and I also feel like I have gained leadership abilities. I feel like that has a better impact on the team,” senior Ty Tyson said.
As the team continues to train and attend meets, they not only work on their individual times and strokes, but also on making it to regionals as a team. On Sep. 5, the team will participate in their second meet at Ransom Everglades, going head to head with Palmetto High and Miami High.
