Phoebe Pope '20 Recruiting Profile

I was considered old for my age, starting out as a competitive swimmer. I started when I was around 12, and I just remember going into it. I had no idea what a state time or national time cut was, I wasn't even aware that swimming was such an intense, time consuming sport. I just knew that swimming,  or maybe just the water, was where I wanted to be. 24/7, all day, everyday I was in my pool, trying to figure out what a flip turn was,  practicing my arm placement, and doing continuous streamline underwater, until I came up a coughing mess.  

I would say the first time that I felt that swimming was my sport, was at the Silvers Championships in Sewell, New Jersey. I was 13 at the time and my coach told me that I could get the team record for the 13-14 year olds (the team record was about a :55). Right before I was about to swim, the timing system experienced complications so the meet was delayed. A 5 minute wait doesn't seem that bad at first, but to me, it was the end of the world. I was jumping up and down trying to remember the stretches that we went over in warm up, just doing anything that would keep me loose and focused. Well once they got the system back up, my nerves took over and I ended up adding 2 seconds to my time. I was upset, and frustrated. Angry at myself, at my swim, and at my time. That's the experience that made me realize that swimming was my sport. I knew what it was like to lose, I played soccer, and was a ski racer before I swam, but this was different. For the first time I was truly and passionately upset about my performance and I wanted to improve any way I could. It is through swim that I have learned friendship, commitment, strategy, and technique. And with swim I continue to learn who I am as a person, a teammate, and a swimmer. As a person, I have a tough personality, and I want to see myself as well as others succeed. As a swimmer, I work hard in order to reach my full potential. And as a swimmer, I believe the race never stops at the wall, because you can always go again, continue to reach new goals and blow best times out of the water. I will continue, to thrive, and grow, as a swimmer, a friend, a person. As myself, I strive to be the best possible me, I can be.