I started writing this novel in the fall of 2011 when my daughter was a junior in high school. It was her fifth varsity swim season. Little did I know that I would continue my stint as a Swim Mom for another five years as she went on to swim in college. My
goal was to write a story about the whole high school swimming experience, to
show those who may not be familiar with the sport how much fun it is and
how hard these kids work. Swimming competitively,
especially in high school, can be a positive experience that builds character,
self-esteem, and friendships. Many valuable lessons are learned: keeping a commitment to a sport and a team; setting and making personal goals; the grace of winning;
the humility of defeat; confidence in one's athleticism; pride in one's body and
what it can do; and the rewards earned through hard work and dedication. These are lifelong lessons that
will benefit any swimmer in whatever she chooses to do, in sports, work, and more. All
girls should have the opportunity to learn about themselves through sports, any
sport. Enjoy Swim Season!
Book blurb:
Short:
The
swim team is ripped apart when two girls vie to break a longstanding school
record with a 50,000-dollar scholarship prize.
Longer:
Sometimes
winning is everything.
Champion
swimmer Aerin Keane is ready to give up her dreams of college swimming and a
shot at the Olympics. As she starts senior year in her third high school,
Aerin's determined to leave her family troubles behind and be like all the
other girls at Two Rivers. She's got a new image and a new attitude. She
doesn’t want to win anymore. She's swimming for fun, no longer the freak who
wins every race, every title, only to find herself alone.
But
when her desire to be just one of the girls collides with her desire to be the
best Two Rivers has ever seen, will Aerin sacrifice her new friendships to
break a longstanding school record that comes with a $50,000 scholarship?
Excerpt:
Aunt
Mags didn't say a word on the way to the high school and neither did I. We were
up and out too early for anything more than, "Got everything?"
"Uh huh," and "Let's go." We'd left the house before her
first cup of coffee and she was not in a talkative mood.
It
was just after dawn, the moon still visible as the sun peeked out over the
horizon. A chill in the air hinted at summer's end. I regretted leaving my
sweatshirt behind, although after swim practice the sun would be shining and
we'd be back to the mid-August heat.
We
arrived at the school and a deserted parking lot. Mags parked her minivan at
the athletics entrance.
"Are
you sure it starts at 6:45?" she asked.
"Positive,"
I said.
She
yawned. "Looks like you're the first one here."
"I
doubt it."
Today
was the first day of swim season. Tryouts started at 7 a.m. The coach had
instructed all wannabe swimmers to be on the pool deck no later than 6:45. My
experience as a varsity athlete told me that anyone with any degree of
competitiveness had already arrived. I had five minutes to spare.
"Want
me to walk in with you?" Mags asked.
My
horror at her suggestion must have been all over my face, because she said,
"Sorry. Having a teenager is new to me. My girls would beg me to walk them
into that big, scary building." We looked at the three-story hodgepodge
put together to house Two Rivers High School.
"I
can take it from here." I was sure I'd remember the meandering route to
the pool area from the tour we took when we registered for my senior year.
She
still looked anxious. "Sure you're all right?"
"Don't
worry. I've got this routine down pat." Two Rivers would be my third high
school. I played the role of new girl so well I deserved an Oscar.
I
opened the door and hopped out. "Don't hang around waiting for me to call
for a ride home," I said, reaching back to grab my bag. "I'm not sure
when I'll get out, and I don't want to mess up your day. I'm okay to
walk."
Aunt
Mags nodded, and I shut the door.
"Don't
forget we're going back-to-school shopping later on," she said through the
open window.
"Got
it."
"Go
get 'em, Aerin." She gave me a thumbs-up.
I
shot her a grin, hoisted my bag over my shoulder, and went off to join the Two
Rivers High School Girls Varsity Swim and Dive Team.
***
Minutes
later, I stood on the pool deck with an odd blend of girls vying to earn a
place on the team. I spotted the usual huddle of newbies benched together at
the far end of the bleachers, glancing at each other nervously and at the
seasoned swimmers with something like awe. On the opposite end were the members
of last year's championship team, all wearing team T-shirts and chatting like
old pals, ignoring everyone else. In the middle was a bunch who looked like
they wanted to go back to bed, the ones whose parents pushed them into a sport
and who chose swimming because we did it indoors and it looked easy. Most of
them wouldn't make it.
I
found a place to stand against the wall and blocked out the curious glances
shot my way, using the time before practice began to check out my surroundings.
Aunt Mags had said the natatorium, built just a few years ago, was
state-of-the-art.
Banners
hung from the rafters and on clean white walls, touting the team's success, and
an enormous leaderboard listed all of their champions and their
accomplishments.
A
wall of windows on the farthest side and a ceiling loaded with skylights filled
the room with light.
The
six-lane pool had blue and white flags and lane lines, and the Trailblazers
logo – a torch - was laid out in blue tiles on the bottom.
The
floor tiles were a mosaic of white and three shades of blue.
The
air was thick with the smell of chlorine.
I
checked my expression, not wanting anyone to catch me gaping over the finest
natatorium of any team I'd joined. The thought of swimming in it, of calling it
"home" for the next few months caused a thrill of excitement in my
belly. Around me, the other girls talked and laughed, none of them seeming to
appreciate the beauty of the pool and the privilege to use it.
"Good
morning girls." A man's voice cut through the chatter, and each girl sat
up at attention. "Let's get started."
The
voice belonged to an older man with bushy white hair and bifocals, dressed in
the school's colors: navy blue shorts and a white polo shirt. Coach Steven
Dudash. I hadn't met him yet – he was out of the building when my father and I
visited the high school – but Maggie and her husband, Pat, gave him high
praise. He'd coached the Two Rivers boys and girls swim teams for more than
twenty years, and they were both winning teams.
He
pulled a chair behind him, positioned it in front of the bleachers, sat down,
and organized the pile of paperwork on his clipboard. "Good morning," he said
again, studying us over the rim of his bifocals. "I'm happy to see last year's
team back for another year. And welcome to those of you here for the first
time. I'm glad you decided to give us a try."
He
took a swig from an extra tall cup of coffee before continuing. "For those of
you new to the team, meet Coach Denise." He gestured toward the young woman who
accompanied him. "She's my daughter. I coached her for six years when she swam
for Two Rivers and got her name on the leaderboard."
I
checked out the leaderboard and saw she held the record in the 200 IM and the
100 breaststroke. Good creds.
"This
is her second year as assistant coach," he said. "She did a terrific
job last year so I invited her back."
The
young blonde smiled at him and the swimmers cheered.
"Yay
Coach D!" a few seniors shouted.
"It's
great to be back," she said. "Ready to win another championship?"
The
shouts and applause were deafening.
"During
the next two weeks," Coach said when the noise died down, "you'll all be
working hard, doing drills both in the pool and in the weight room, four hours
a day, six days a week. During the season, you'll be practicing from after
school until five or six every weekday, and four hours on Saturday. Sunday is a
resting day. And, of course, you will compete in swim meets at least twice a
week. So, if you don't think you can make it through the first two weeks, you
might as well leave now." He paused, waiting for anyone to opt out before
we even got started. No one moved.
"Okay,"
he continued. "Most of you know that Two Rivers won the Division
Championship last year, and the two years before. I plan to win again. When we
do, and I say when, not if, we will be the first team in the division to ever
win four consecutive division titles."
Last
year's team broke out in wild applause and cheers. Coach waited for the
outburst to die down before he continued.
"I
need performers," he said, "swimmers who aren't afraid to push themselves, to
try new things and discover where they best support the team. So, in practice
you're all going to swim every stroke, you're all going to swim distance, and
you're all going to swim sprints. Each person will do all she can to defend our
title."
Silence
filled the pool deck as the girls looked each other over, wondering where each
would fit in.
"That's
the good news." He paused for effect. No worries. He had everyone's
riveted attention. "But I've got some bad news. For years, the school
board has been supportive of our team, and we've reciprocated by working as
serious athletes and turning in winning records. Most years, the team can
support as many as thirty-eight swimmers. This year, due to a budget crisis in
our school district, our funds have been cut, and I can only put twenty-eight
girls on the team."
Raised
eyebrows and shocked inhalations followed this bit of news. I counted bodies:
thirty-six.
"Yeah,
eight of you will be cut, either at the end of this week or the end of next.
Anyone want to leave now?"
Again,
no one moved.
Coach
Dudash smiled. "I like your level of commitment. Let's see if you can keep
it under pressure."
He
spent the next half hour reviewing team policies and the season's schedule. I'd
heard such talks before from other coaches and tuned him out while I studied
the other girls, trying to figure out what their positions might be.
Most
of them focused on Coach's every word, but last year's champs ignored him and
whispered among themselves. One of them, a lanky girl with sun-bleached hair
and a killer tan, looked over the group of wannabes and held up her fingers one
to five, scoring them, I guess, on whether or not they had a chance. Her
friends snickered, trying to act as if they were paying attention to Coach
instead of fooling around.
At
last, the lanky girl's frosty blue eyes rested on me, and I met her gaze
straight on. We stared at each other for a few seconds before she looked away
first, then held up three fingers. It seemed she was ambivalent. I could go
either way.
I
was ambivalent too. I joined this crowd as a walk-on, someone with no history
with the team and questionable ability. In their eyes, I was no better than a
wannabe who needed to prove herself to gain a spot on the team and the other
girls' respect.
I
showed up because it's what I did at the start of every school year. Swimming
was my only sport, and I was good at it. Really good. Still, I almost skipped
tryouts today. The truth was, I didn't have the energy to join a new team, in a
new school, for the third time. If anyone found out I’d won championship titles
in club and varsity last year they'd expect great things from me, and I didn't
want the pressure. Swimming was no longer the focus of my life. It was my
therapy, and I wouldn't let anyone mess that up.
The
glimmer of challenge in the way the lanky girl looked at me caused a stirring
in my gut, and I shot it down. I didn't come here to get involved in any
personal challenges. I came here to swim, and not make any waves. My plan was
to get through the senior year and go away to college, away from my troubles,
and on to a new life that I could control.
Purchase Links:
Swim Season
is currently only available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
About the Author:
During
swim season, you can find Marianne Sciucco, a dedicated Swim Mom for ten years,
at one of many Skyline Conference swim meets, cheering for her daughter Allison
and the Mount Saint Mary College Knights. Marianne is not a nurse who writes
but a writer who happens to be a nurse. A lover of words and books, she dreamed
of becoming an author when she grew up but became a nurse to avoid poverty. She
later brought her two passions together and writes about the intricate lives of
people struggling with health and family issues. Her
debut novel Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer's love story, is a Kindle bestseller;
IndieReader Approved; a BookWorks featured book; and a Library Journal Self-e
Selection. She also has two short stories available on Kindle, Ino's Love and
Collection. A
native Bostonian, Marianne lives in New York's Hudson Valley, and when not
writing works as a campus nurse at a community college.
Why did I write a book about girls' varsity
swimming?
Connect with Marianne Sciucco:
