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Ouachita’s swim team adapts to COVID changes BY KENZIE BURKS STAFF WRITER
Amid the cancellation of fall sports, the Ouachita swim team continues to work toward a common goal: the spring conference meet. “Our work ethic hasn’t changed,” swim coach Steven Bostick said. “Even though it’s an unknown challenge, the most normal thing we can do is keep our routine.” The team continues to remain hopeful in working toward the conference meet. “I think life, in general, is always challenging. If you’re not constantly challenging yourself, that’s probably not a good thing,” Bostick said. “Day-to-day, there’s always challenges.” Finding a “new normal” during this pandemic is not easy for anyone, and the swimmers have had to take extra precautions. Since their sport requires them to be in the water, they can’t wear masks. Because of this, the 44 swimmers are split into smaller practice groups. “When you have 44 athletes all with different class schedules and you’re a small private school, there are a lot of pieces you have to move around to make things work,” Bostick said. However, Bostick is thankful to still be able to have a swim season this year. “We always say as coaches here that we’re thankful to be able to coach in a Christian environment. That’s number one. Number two is really just...being here,” Bostick said. While monitoring the trends of the impact of COVID, many universities have had to make the decision to shut down. Ouachita is one of very few universities that still offers in-person instruction. “If you look at what is going on
around the country and you keep up with not only athletics, but school in general, I feel like we are one of the few places that is holding on and doing a very good job with fighting this virus,” Bostick said. “Whether you believe in it or not, it’s shutting places down left and right, so that’s a testament not only to athletes, but to the student body in general.” During this past summer, the Ouachita swim coaches used their time to improve the swimming pool for their athletes, giving the swimmers something to look forward to when they returned. “Our coaches worked so hard. It looks amazing and just feels faster,” sophomore swimmer Rachel Sansano said. “So much of our time is spent at the pool so it’s great to see it get some TLC. I know all of us were excited to come back and see the upgrades.” Bostick is also excited to see his team make improvements this season, regardless of whether they get to compete in any meets. “I always look forward to getting better,” Bostick said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s COVID-19, or if it’s, you know, the best season we’ve ever had. Our goal is to get better.” Since being successful as a swimmer is all about having the fastest time for each event, the Tiger Sharks will still have the opportunity to make improvements and even break their personal records, without competing in person with other teams this season. The swim team will be hosting “virtual” meets against other teams near and far, comparing times over Zoom. “Because we are able to do Zoom meets and possibly have the conference meet in the fall, we are still swimming our full practice hours of 19 a week, sometimes twice a day,” senior swimmer Tray Armstrong said. “There can be in-per-
son competitions after January 1.” Each swimmer’s goal is to push themself to be better than they were in their previous attempts. “As a swimming coach, if our team gets better and gets faster, especially during all of this…I think that would be awesome,” Bostick said. “I think all coaches have a bit of an ego, so I would like to prove that we can get through this and get better. I think that says a lot about us and our program and our work ethic.” Having a great coach who will push the team to excel regardless of their circumstances has been crucial to keeping up the Tiger Sharks’ morale this season. “The best thing Coach Bostick has done has been to refuse to concede that this is an ‘off’ year because of the pandemic,” Armstrong said. “He hasn’t given up any of his own drive to win. We are still a competitive swim team, and we are going to keep performing at the excellent level he expects out of us and himself.” However, the Tiger Sharks have been able to take more weekends off to relax as a team and to try to decompress from the stresses of pandemic life. Bostick, Sansano, Armstrong and the other swimmers are thankful to still be able to swim. There has been a lot of frustration for coaches, faculty, athletes and other students with all of the changes going on, but the team is especially grateful to Ouachita for taking on this pandemic challenge and giving the team the opportunity to still tackle its season head-on. The Tiger Sharks are looking forward to an unusual and hopefully successful season. Bostick has a positive message that will buoy the team’s morale this year. “You have to learn to enjoy and love the process of what you’re doing. That’s the biggest thing.”
Two Ouachita swimmers warm up before practice. The Tiger Sharks are continuing their weekly practice schedule of 19 hours. (photo by Abby Blankenship)
