Teammates by Marina

Teammates by Marina - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

Bo Jackson said, "If I miss anything about the sport, it's the camaraderie of old teammates." He should know, he played professional football and baseball.

When I was born, no one expected me to be an athlete. Not only was I from a nerdy family, I was born with a severe club foot. My parents put me in the swimming pool early. They were scuba divers and wanted me to learn to swim and enjoy the water. Not only did I enjoy the water, I became a competitive swimmer. Despite that bad foot, I've done pretty well, swimming for 12 years, the last 5 years on a year-round team and on my high school varsity all four years of high school. What I cherish most, like Bo, is the relationships I have built through the years as a swimmer.

Growing up on a swim team has given me a lifetime of relationships - with fellow swimmers and with my coaches. Swimming is generally considered an individual sport, but having teammates you know and trust is such an important aspect of success. We practice together in the early morning cold. We endure 3 day swim meets where we race for a total of 3 minutes. We smell each other's chlorine laced hair and skin. We understand each other better than anyone else can. At this important time in all our lives, we are rooting for each other to get into the college of our choice and we can't wait to walk into our futures together. None of us is ready to end our years of camaraderie.

Bo Jackson got it right. In sport, like life, it is the teammates that carry you through. Without them, our sport, our life, is dull and empty.