Ellen says, “I think they figure out that it is not, you know a lot of people think that it is an individualized sport, but it really is a team sport. You’re in the water with a group of people. They have to support you. You use them to help motivate yourself.”
The upper level swimmers for the Barracudas are in the water two hours a day, 6 days a week. Scott says they do a lot of drill and technique work. Ellen says that technique works to make them faster and prevent injuries.
Ellen gave Sean a few pointers for basic swimming mechanics. Sean practices a few times and decided he wanted to race a Barracuda. As soon as Sean took off from the wall, he forgot everything Ellen taught him, and Jimmy beat him in the race.
Scott says at this level, it is a family sport. “We can’t run meets without the parents and they’re dedicated to their children,” Scott says. Seeing their swimmers succeed in school and in life is one of the things that the coaches enjoy the most.
