With the swim season now under way, sophomore Sydney Nakagawa is hoping to build on her success from last year, when she broke three school records as a freshman. We interviewed Sydney to find out more about her history with swimming and what she’s looking forward to this season.

How long have you been swimming?

• I have been swimming ever since I was two years old when I took lessons at my daycare at Nike. I first started swimming competitively through CYO in the second grade and swam until seventh grade. I started swimming club when I was in the sixth grade and I still swim with that club today.

What is your favorite event?

• Some of my favorite events are the 200 backstroke, 200 free, and the 500 free (20 lengths of the pool). I also enjoy being a part of relays and most of the time I swim backstroke on the medley relays.

How often do you practice?

• All of my practices are two hours. I usually practice five to six days a week all year around. Sometimes in the summer, I wake up at four in the morning to go practice, along with an afternoon practice the same day.

What are your practices like?

• My practices are usually right after school and vary based on the day. Some days, we focus on certain stuff, such as distance, a specific stroke, all strokes, sprint sets, leg workouts, or technique. Practices are mainly hard, but as a big meet approaches, our workouts begin to taper, decreasing in intensity. A few days before the meet, my coach has us do pace sets, turns or starts to prepare for the upcoming meet. Once the meet is over, we go back to our hard sets.

What do you think is the hardest part about about swimming?

• I think one of the toughest parts of swimming is that period of time when you have reached a plateau, and it is hard for you to drop time. I know I get frustrated with myself when this happens, but throughout my swimming career, I have heard and learned that you cannot always have your best races. I think this is hard for swimmers to understand and accept because we get so used to dropping time that when we stop, it frustrates us. Many times I have wanted to quit because I have not dropped time and have not been having a good meet, but those meets are what help you learn. I have also had races where I knew I could have tried harder; but these moments are the ones that will stay in your mind and will push you to swim harder next time. Before a race, you have to visualize every aspect of it. You cannot be negative because it will impact your race. Swimming is not only a physical sport, but you also have to have the mental competitiveness.

What is your favorite part about being on the swim team?

• My favorite thing about being on the swim team is the close bond we all share. The team feels like a family. As a freshman, I came in knowing basically no one on the swim team, but as the year progressed, I began to know more people and was welcomed as if I had been part of the team for years. Now, coming in as a sophomore, I know the majority of the team and definitely feel the family bond throughout the team.

You broke three records last year as a freshman, what are your goals for this year?

• Because the season has just begun, I am not quite sure which events I want to focus on at districts that will give me the best opportunity to qualify for state. However, I do want to try to make it to state in at least one individual event and maybe break another individual record.

Why do you enjoy swimming?

• I enjoy swimming mostly because of the friendships that have developed both on my team and on other teams. Through club, I have not only made many friends on my own team, but also on other teams throughout the state. High school swimming has also given me the opportunity to meet new people with whom I normally wouldn’t have classes. Between both club swimming and high school swimming, I have made many memories from breaking records and going to state, to just hanging out with my teammates, laughing and having a good time, that I will always remember.