When attending a Freedom swim meet, or any swim meet for that matter, most know the basic rundown of how the meet will happen. The swimmers get into the pool, swim their events against the other school’s swimmers and their teammates cheer them on from the side– that’s all, right? Well, you’d be surprised by all that goes on before, after and during the meet. Before the meet begins the team comes together and stretches so that everyone is ready to swim their fastest times without any major muscles being pulled. Once the stretching is brought to an end, they do what any other sports team does: get pumped up. To become riled up before a meet, seniors give encouraging pep talks and go over the lineup. Now that the meet has begun and the swimmers are in the water, the main challenge is to keep the competitor motivated, especially to get them through long races like the 500 yard freestyle – that’s 20 laps. Sportsmanship is always a problem among sports teams, but there is never a lack of it on the pool deck. When an opponent of the opposite school’s team is still in the water finishing their event, the FHS team cheers them on and encourages them to finish their race. Dedicated sophomore Alexis Potts has been swimming for five years. She enjoys being on the team because it allows her to do something she is good at and likes and she can meet new people as well. The team’s last meet was a loss against Quaker Valley, but with a first season under his belt Head Coach Bill Layton already has his standards set high for next year.