The Panthers are in sunny Fort Lauderdale, training at Pinecrest Academy, both short and long course.They will be on the trip through the 15th of January before resuming the regular season schedule second semester against Carthage College on Jan. 14.
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The fifth entry comes from senior Brady Huemann:After an eventful afternoon off on Sunday, our luck had run out and the Panthers had to enter the pool once again on Monday morning. We woke up to find that our muscles were still aching and we were about to embark on another day of tough practices. Even the sky was weeping for us as we walked outside and were welcomed by a warm Florida mist. Although it was raining and we were tired and sore, nothing was going to stop us from getting into the pool and training like the champions that we are.
Our challenge for the morning was a grueling set of 5 x 300 freestyles best average. The pain reached from our shoulders down to our feet and the intensity of the pain increased as the set went on. We lost some swimmers due to injuries during the set but for those who toughed it out, the accomplishment of completion was rewarding. After morning practice, my van led by coach Brittany Sayler enjoyed a delicious breakfast to fill us with energy for the afternoon practice.
Once the sun came out, many people went down to the beach to get their tan on and splash in the ocean. I would like to say that I enjoyed this fun but that would be a lie. I accidentally took a much needed three-hour nap instead, which interfered with my usual card games with Maggi, Evan, and Chris. Before we knew it, our fun in the sun was over and we had to prepare to go back to Pine Crest for our afternoon practice.
We mentally and physically tried to prepare our bodies for our test set of goal 50's (or 100's if you are lucky enough to be a distance swimmer). The 50's seemed more difficult than ever and it seemed nearly impossible for me as well as many others to reach their goal times. Each 50 became harder and harder as my arms and legs began to give out. Eventually, we finished our 20 x 50's and coach Kyle gave us the good news that we didn’t have to do a third set. I was so happy that I embraced some of my lane mates with a hug (I am not sure if they necessarily appreciated it though).
After a rough day of practices, our van was in a good mood and we celebrated with our usual after-practice ritual of singing and rocking out in the van. We ended the night in a heart-wrenching performance of Bohemian Rhapsody where everyone joined in and sang with the voices that God gave them. It was truly a moving performance. Maggi, Chris, and I then enjoyed a delicious meal at Burger-Fi, which for those who don’t know, has probably one of the coolest pop machines in the world. We created many different concoctions of our favorite drinks.
Well, everything is going great here down in Florida and both the guys and girls teams are working harder than ever in order to be the best once conference rolls around.
