For sophomore Alex Chan, swimming is a way of life.
Chan first made the boys varsity swim team in the 2013 season as the only freshman of the year. Now, he is heading into his season with Carlmont’s varsity team in the 2014 season, and his fourth year as a competitive swimmer.
Chan said, “Swimming has been important to me for practically all my life.”
Daily life for Chan is waking up for morning practice, going to school, going to afternoon swim practice, and then homework. And almost nothing changes during the club season for swimming.
“First it’s school, then swimming, then family, and then friends. So, it’s basically the second most important thing in my life,” said Chan.
Since he is committed to swimming and doing well in school, Chan mostly spends his weekends doing homework and getting ahead in school for the upcoming week.
Chan said, “Because of how important swimming is, I basically have no life. But, with good time management I can still have time to see my friends on the weekends sometimes.”
Balancing his training schedule for swimming during the high school and club seasons as well as getting good greats takes up a lot of time for Chan, but he says it’s worth it because of great the sport is and what it means to him.
He said he enjoys swimming not only because of the how likable the sport is itself, but also because it’s a way to come together and meet a lot of new people.
“Swimming is a lot more of a team sport than people think it is, especially in high school and college. I have made so many new friends at swim meets that I can still connect with even though we go to different schools,” said Chan.
Chan said that he thinks it’s too early to start thinking about where his swimming will take him, but said, “If I did end up getting a college scholarship, I would definitely take it.”
He also said that he has made swimming one of his top priorities because it’s what he enjoys doing the most with his time in high school and maybe in his future.
“Swimming is my life. I don’t know what I’d do without it,” said Chan.