Teamwork is Rewarding

By Oceana O’Boyle

 

 

 

 

Teamwork is a lot like life. You have to be able to work with people, support others when they fail, and be a good sport whether you win or lose. In swimming, I have learned these lessons by being on a relay team.

I am on the Mahanoy Area Anthracite Swim League. I was set up to work with my friends, pictured above with me, Emma Lewandowski, Izabel Lynn, and Abby Dudash as a team. We are like family. We have gone through ups and downs while racing but we went through it together. Picking each other up when we fail is so important because everyone fails in life.

Learn from Mistakes

For example, I left the starting block super early once and got us disqualified. I cried about it but my teammates were there to tell me not to worry about it because I would learn from my mistake. They were right.

I am also on another relay team, The Bluefins, through the Schuylkill YMCA. My teammates include Abby Dudash, Cali Stank, and Emily Welna. At Coal Cracker press time this relay team had qualified for the State competition at Penn State Main Campus.

We got put together randomly at championships one day. I thought I was going to let them all down, but when I swam I got my fastest time and broke 30 seconds for the first time. That just goes to show how hard you work as part of a team.

We still work together now and we have gone through tough times. We all are learning from our mistakes together.

Do Your Best

Teams encourage you to do your best. I even want to do a relay in track and field.

As long as your team is supportive, willing to go through hard times with you, and push you to do your best you can accomplish anything and will become very close. I love both of my relay teams. They are like family to me.