Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Middletown High School senior Edwin Juarez swims nonchalantly through the pool, striving across the water in the same motion. Stroke. Stroke. Stroke.

He stops and catches his breath. Rubbing his temples he mentally charges his brain, preparing himself for the next meet against his biggest rival; the Frederick Cadets.

Jumping out of the pool, he grabs his towel and sits down. Sighing, he wishes he was back in his warm bed and not out practicing this early on Saturday morning. Grabbing his water from his bag, he sips the wet liquid and it slides down his throat, cooling his dry throat.

Juarez, a captain of the MHS swim team, feels strong for this season. Even though it has just begun, the practices have gotten tougher and so has the swimmer’s mind set. Going to States is all the swimmers think about. Although it is early in the season, the competition is heating up.

To get the other swimmers pumped up, Juarez gives them “pep talks and tell them that no matter what, if they swim and don’t get disqualified or miss their event, if they have a time, that’s all that matters.”

In order to “get in the zone and ready to go” the swimmers do a variety of chants and songs to get focused and be in control. By cheering for the team, they know it’s go time.

MHS senior and swim team captain Annaliese Niemeyer said, “We always do team cheers after warm-up. Also, when we are in the locker room we give pep talks to the swimmers about swimming their best.”

In order to get the swimmers ready for meets and practices, “we focus on different key focus points of the swimmers and I encourage them to do their best and I talk to the girls about their performances,” said swimming coach Stacy MacMillan.

The swim team is not all about competition. The swimmers are close friends and that is what makes them such a strong team.

“My favorite part of swimming is the people on the swim team. They are all very sweet and we are like a large family. We have a lot of fun at our pasta parties and team bonding events,” said Jessica Police, MHS senior and swim captain.

“My biggest goal I would like to achieve is for each swimmer to rise to challenges that will help them become a stronger athlete and individual,” said MacMillan.