The 8 reasons why you should be at practice

One – Your team

Your team relies on you, regardless of how you perform in the water. Simply by showing up, you’re showing your teammates that you are committed to improving your times for both your team and yourself.

Two – Sleep

You can really appreciate this when you don’t swim anymore, but not having a strenuous practice everyday can affect your sleep. A grueling workout alleviates stress, and eliminates many of those worries about school or that championship meet you have coming up.

Three – Staying in shape

We take this for granted as swimmers, but showing up to practice automatically puts you in a position to be better looking than most.

Four – Diet

You probably would not be okay with eating those glazed donuts if you skipped that Saturday morning practice.

Five – Friends

Practice, despite what some coaches may say, is a great time for you to socialize. Think of where you would be without having other friends going through the same challenge set that you go through everyday.

Six – Dedication

Most non-swimmers cannot relate to this: walking through the front doors of school every morning, knowing that you’ve exercised more than everyone else will in a week. It’s a unique feeling, and it starts your day off on the right foot.

Seven – Goals

Goals do not achieve themselves. They require a good work ethic and patience. Do not be discouraged by a bad swim or a bad practice. In the end, the saying always applies: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always always got.

Eight – Swimming for yourself

Practice can easily get repetitive at times, and it’s easy to get discouraged. By forcing yourself to go to practice, especially on a rainy day, you are telling yourself that you are committed to something. At the end of the day, regardless of how hard the practice is, there is no substitute to knowing that you gave your best effort.