The Kinnelon High School Swim team kicked off their year strong after a win of 81-68 for the boys and a loss by only two points for the girls against Mount Olive on Dec. 4.
The team shows a family-like connection and are each other’s biggest supporters.
Freshman team member Bella Cocka said, “Even if you’ve never talked to someone a day in your life, when you’re about to go from your event, they’ll cheer you on.”
Swimming can bring many different people together for many different reasons. Some swimmers join for exercise, to be with their friends, or just because it seemed right for them. Junior Samantha Scully says of her decision to join, “I had a lot of friends, and I grew up doing a lot of swim…so that really just pushed me to do it in high school.”
Some of the swimmers on this year’s team are following in their siblings’ footsteps and are excited to see how far it takes them. Cocka said, “My sister is a competitive swimmer. So she joined Smoke Rise…it was just like something I’d do too.”
The team has many traditions that are special to them and keep their bond unbreakable. Scully said, “When we’re singing Country Roads every single meet. It’s our last song that we play pulling into the high school.”
Captain and Senior Samantha Ferretti enjoys all of the traditions as well. She said, “My favorite meet tradition is the 500 cheer.”
The team has a great bond that grows stronger with each tradition. All of the swimmers, no matter the grade they are in, participate and become part of the family. Some of their traditions include chants, pasta parties, and lots of music.
The Kswim team will have to make up for the major loss of last year’s seniors. With 17 seniors, a significant number of the team turns to the few freshmen. Scully said, “Our seniors last year, first of all, there were 17 of them, and two of them went off to D1, which just shows how much we lost, but I think we’re gonna do okay.”
Ferretti agrees, “…we only gained like five freshmen. So it was a big loss, but we are trying to grow without them.”
This year’s team has been working hard and pushing towards their goals. Although only a few meets into their season, they have great goals and plans to achieve them.
Ferretti said, “I hope I run my times. I want to go under 30 in my 53.”
The team is working extremely hard through all practices and meets in hopes of achieving their personal and team goals. They have had tough practices, but they persevere and remember that putting in the work helps to make them better.
During a difficult practice, Cocka constantly encourages and reminds herself that she is almost there. She said, “When I’m swimming, I say just finish, whatever the set is. Finish X amount of laps, and then you’ll be done with the set.”
This year’s Kswim team has an exciting future. Many new opportunities and family-like bonds will be born. The team is super lucky to have each other. Ferretti said, “We’re really like a big family. Everyone’s friends with each other.”
