Nov. 23, 2010
To get an inside look at what the Vanderbilt women’s swim team is up to, make sure to check out previous Swimmers’ Stories entries
Nov. 23, 2010
“The dreaded twenty five minute walk to practice, the agonizing ten hours of study hall, and waking up at five in the morning to jump in a freezing cold pool are just a few topics one might hear the freshmen swimmers talk about on a normal day. Although we all share a passion for swimming that has helped us make it this far, the workload provided by classes at Vanderbilt, the time spent being an athlete, and trying to get in just enough sleep to be able to swim over six miles the next day seems to sometimes put us swimmers over the edge. However, Vanderbilt Athletics understands that athletes do not have all the time in the world to study, and therefore provides us with tutors and the resources we need to pass classes. One thing that has helped me a lot is my Latin tutor. Not only is he eager to help me translate Cicero stories from Latin to English, but he also seems like he genuinely cares about my grades and my understanding of the language. Several of my teammates are also using the tutors to their advantage.
Other than getting a little extra help from tutors, another thing that has helped me balance my college experience and keep my sanity as a student athlete is spending time with my friends outside of classes, swim practice, and McGugin. For instance, there seems to be nothing better than waiting in line with a group of friends for a giant cup of frozen yogurt from Sweet Cici’s to get my mind off of a week of intense “get up and go” practices. One thing that keeps a lot of us swimmers going is looking forward to the weekendâ€â€Âa time when we can catch up on sleep, studying, and spending time with the people that make going to Vanderbilt worth while. I think that so far, we, as freshmen swimmers, have done a great job in balancing our ever-so-busy lives as student athletes. We have been told that it only gets easier from here, and hopefully our team will continue to grow more successfulâ€â€Âboth in the pool and in the classroomâ€â€Âas the year goes on.”
Melissa Roberts (Freshman)
Make sure to check vucommodores.com for more updates.
