As the snow begins to fall again, winter sports take action at Hollis-Brookline High School. Just like basketball, wrestling and other winter sports, the Hollis-Brookline Swim Team works hard throughout the winter season at the Nashua Boys and Girls Club.

Swimming is an individual sport where athletes work to improve their personal times in comparison to the variety of other sports that are team oriented. 

“Swim is pretty different from my other sports and teams, [because] it is more of an individual thing where you focus more on yourself and how you improve. This is a comparison to other sports where you are with a team working together to become better as a whole,” said Abigail Ogren ‘22. 

Alongside swim being an individual sport, it is also different because there is no Junior Varsity team, meaning no school tryouts. Since there is only a varsity swim team, the team consists of athletes of all different levels, unlike other school sports when there is a Varsity and JV team. 

“The environment is more relaxed than other sports and not as hard core,” said Hallie Bardani ‘22. 

Many athletes participate in swim for different reasons. The majority do it because they excel in the sport and have been doing it for most of their lives. But unlike other varsity sports, there are students on the team doing it to train for their main sport’s season during the off season, and then there are even some participating just for fun. Senior Captain Mary Martin ‘20 has been competing in swim for many years now, and has now stepped up to become a leader for many new swimmers. 

“I have been swimming since third grade, and I’ve been on the Hollis Brookline swim team since freshman year. I hope to be a positive role model for other swimmers and helping all those different personality types get what they want out of the team while feeling welcomed and appreciated” said Martin ‘20. 

She has a strong  positive impact on the swim team that is valued by many of her fellow swimmers.

Not only does Martin have a positive impact on the team, but the new wave of freshmen seem to have a lot to bring to the table this year. 

According to a few of the H.B.H.S. swimmers, the pace of practice has already increased because of the new experienced swimmers. “There are quite a few freshmen that are club swimmers, so they are very competitive and fast, so they will definitely be an asset to the team,” said Martin ‘20. 

From seniors to freshmen, experienced swimmers to two-sport athletes training in their off season, the swim team is hard at work preparing for their upcoming meets.