“Breathe. Yeah, it’s weird. I used to think that the goal was not to breathe during your 50-[yard freestyle]. It turns out that was slowing me down quite a bit. Honestly, I think when I say ‘breathe’ I don’t just mean in the water. I’ve learned to just kind of breathe when stuff gets stressful,” Hayden Thomason, 12, explained.
Last year, the high school offered swimming as a sport for the first time. However, this team looks a little different than others in the area. The team works as a co-operative alongside Osawatomie, Louisburg, and Paola, with practices held at the O-Zone in Osawatomie. Both coaches teach at the other schools in the co-op making for a different dynamic between the swimmers and coaches. This year, Thomason was the only male senior from the high school to swim. Last year was the first year Thomason swam competitively making for a distinct experience for them.
“It’s a little weird [not having a coach at the same school]. You learn to take any criticism you can get at practice. I’ll ask Coach Mary [Argeropoulos] and Coach Megan [Berryman] just anything to look out for. You know, my flip turns, my dives, almost to the point it gets kind of nitpicky,” Thomason said.
Thomason believes that being in the co-op requires some adaptability and grit. Having to travel 25 minutes to and from practice every evening can be exhausting and even demotivating. However, Thomason explained that even missing one practice can throw off progress in building endurance. This makes it incredibly important to show up and give 100% every day.
“Last year all the guys were in their Speedos, and it was snowy outside, so they all decided to go outside and do snow angels in their Speedos which I did not join, but it was really fun,” Thomason said.
Thomason explained the team dynamic stands out from other teams, as students are coming together to swim from four different schools. These athletes also have varying skill levels which affects how often they may interact with each other at practice. Despite these differences, athletes still build connections and enjoy their time together even if they’re not as close as other teams.
“We’re good friends. We mess around a lot, but it’s weird like, I don’t feel bad that I’m probably not going to see them again. Like of course I’m sad, but I’m not heart-broken. They were enjoyable people, and I’ll miss that,” Thomason explained.
Thomason truly enjoyed their time swimming with OzPaLouSpri. Thomason explained that they made a lot of progress swimming freestyle events and is happy with how their senior season ended. Despite all the good things that swimming brought, there’s still some longing left for Thomason.
“I am kind of sad about [only being able to swim two years] and a little mad. I wish [I could have swam for longer] because I wonder if it had been the same if they introduced it freshman year. If I did get into it freshman year, obviously I would have improved a lot more which I would have liked to do,” Thomason said.
