The swimmers are lined up along the starting blocks, shaking off their nerves and waiting for the moment they can show off what they’ve been training for. Take your marks. Start! And they are off, stroke by stroke and dip by dip. Each swimmer races to complete the race before their peers, solidifying a point for their school. The pressure is on, but the swimmers on the side cheer them forward.
Bellevue East’s swim team is made of students coming from both East and Platteview High School. Coach Cassidy Benjamin is the new head coach, who applied for the position because of her love for the sport, and is working to motivate and train the team to get them all to finals at metros and state.
“Before COVID, I had the opportunity to briefly coach at Sarpy County Swim Club and immediately missed watching swimmers grow and achieve their goals when I stopped,” Benjamin said. “The 2023-2024 season will be my second year coaching Bellevue East swimming, but my first year as the head coach.”
The training hours that the swimmers endure are long and hard, but are good times to practice and work on their techniques. Swimmers go in during break to practice as well; demonstrating how determined the coaches are to get their swimmers to finals.
“The one thing I would like to change about this season to make for a better season is that more swimmers make it to finals at metros and to state! It will be me and a new coach working to improve the swim team. It will be nice to have an assistant coach who swam for Bellevue East when she was in high school,” Benjamin said.
Conway Kuebler is a sophomore swimmer who joined his freshman year. Growing up swimming at the Lied center, Kuebler says he eventually grew a strong passion and love for the sport.
“I grew up doing swim lessons, right, and because of that it made me really really love swimming,”
Kuebler said. “I had a lot of people I knew on the team, so I just decided to join the swim team. I love swimming. It’s great.”
The swim team trains everyday after school for two hours, as soon as the bell rings. Some swimmers have expressed that the training regime can sometimes be difficult. However, in spite of those challenges, they still enjoy the sport and representing the schools at meets.
“We have two hour long practice every single day, and we’re swimming right after school which means I don’t get to eat dinner. So I’m just swimming, and swimming nonstop,” Kuebler said. “But it’s super fun.”
Madison Vanourney is a senior this year, and started swimming on the team her sophomore year. Vanourney, like Kuebler, is looking forward to the season, especially improving her time and technique.
“I’m still looking forward to this season as a whole. It’s my senior year, so I think it’s going to go well,” Vanourney said.
Kuebler also described the team as highly supportive. With daily practices, the team is working to improve in preparation for metros and state.
“My true high hopes are that everyone joining the swim team truly has a fun and memorable season while working hard and breaking personal records,” Benjamin said.
![Stay focused. With a concentrated gaze, sophomore Zoey Howard waits to get the ball from her teammate. Howard believes that female athletes can continue to be leaders and great role models for younger girls to look up to. “I am aware [that female athletes are paid less than male athletes] and it makes me mad because women work just as hard as men; we can continue to push for more equality by putting ourselves out there,” Howard said.](https://thechieftainspear.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/zoey-howard-for-web.jpg)