At Shadow Ridge, students have several fun sports to choose from, and swimming is one of the many. At this moment, the Shadow Ridge Swim Team is looking for new swimmers, if any students are interested they are able to reach out to the swim coach, Coach Bedingfield, or go to the Shadow Ridge´s swim Instagram page, @shadowridgeswim.
As of right now, dates for intramurals and informational meetings are to be determined. If students are interested in attending the intramurals, they will be held at Centennial Hills YMCA. Tryouts will take place sometime around mid February.
Junior, Dezirae Gomez-Stoia, who is apart of the swim team states, ¨Advice I would give to someone who is thinking on joining the swim team is to be consistent with coming to practice, always give it your all, and never give up.¨
Students will face many challenges, no matter how experienced they are. Students who are worried about not doing well, or messing up, should also know that trying out shows Coach Bedingfield what skill level a swimmer is at and what they need to improve upon.
Students who join swimming have the opportunity to improve in many different skills such as sportsmanship, leadership, social skills, emotional regulation, and responsibility, as well as boosting college applications if students are interested in going to college after high school.
It’s a hands-on-sport that allows students to show how dedicated and responsible they are by putting in the time and effort to keep up with a sports team. Students will need to be able to manage their time wisely, and be positive and respectful at all times.
Coach Bedingfield states, ¨I think anytime that you’re exercising, you are releasing those endorphins that are going to help your mental health from either being a stress reliever, relaxing you, making you feel better about yourself, as we call it, a runners high, for example, for runners. But it’s also like a swimmer’s high for swimmers. It really helps their mental health and keeps them more balanced as human beings.¨
There are no requirements, no competitive experience is necessary and a 2.0 G.P.A is required to join the team. If a student has equipment, they are more than welcome to use it. However once swim season starts, those who don’t own proper equipment will be supplied with a swim bag with everything they need to participate.
Senior, Kendra Chapman stated, ¨If I could give someone interested in swim advice, I’d say go for it and try it because it’s something anyone can do as long as they give it their all and work hard.¨
