Coach Charles Miles and members of South’s swim team celebrate their victories.

Charles Miles, Omaha South High School swim coach and science teacher, described this year’s swim season as “fricking amazing! Our girls broke six of the 11 school records!” South’s swim team is composed of both boys and girls; the season starts in the middle of November and ends early in September. They train Monday through Friday and have meets most Saturdays and sometimes weekdays.

Swimming is a sport with the perfect blend of individual activity and team experience; swimmers work on improving themselves and their times while also cheering on their teammates during meets. When asked to describe his teammates, sophomore Gavin Strouts said that “the guys can be annoying, but they are always there, and always put forth efforts. And the girls show up and show out, and they always put forth the full effort to improve and get better.” Sophomore Ada Ornelas Valencia added that her “teammates are fun to be around … we have a lot of potential.”

Swim meets are remarkably busy and can sometimes last a couple of hours. Strouts said they are “chaotic, they were very chaotic, but they were always fun because you got to swim fast and do what you are good at.”  Something a lot of teammates can agree on is that the meets create a lot of great memories for everyone. “The most memorable meet was probably Metros this year when the relay team went under four minutes for the 400 relay,” Strouts added.

According to Valencia, her “most memorable meet would have to be when we went on the field trip in Kansas. We had a lot of fun on the bus playing music and eating as a team; I would say that was one of our best team bonding experiences.”

Miles’ goals for South’s swim team in the next few years are to score points in State, qualify and make it back in the score. Miles explained that “our team has some of the best kids that South High has to offer.” Here are some tips Miles and some teammates have for our future swimmers:

• “It sucks at the beginning, and it’s like that with all sports, and you just have to stick with it, and it gets better.” – Strouts
• “Don’t be scared to try something new; swimming takes hard work, but everything in life that is usually difficult is usually worth it.” – Miles
• “Give it your all … no matter how many times you fail, get up and try again.” – Valencia