When senior Carly Reid learned to swim as a young child, she didn’t expect to be a competitive swimmer. She now is an athlete with 10 years of experience and numerous awards and competes in the 50, 100 and 200 meter freestyle and individual medley. Her most recent achievement was placing second in her freestyle event when MVHS won CCS, and being chosen as MVP for the 2014 MVHS team. She also currently holds the MVHS record for the 500 meter freestyle at 5:09.03, achieved on Mar. 2, 2012.

El Estoque: What do you like about swimming?

Senior Carly Reid: I like the team aspect of swimming because most people think it’s an individual sport, which it is slightly, but you need a team behind your back supporting your goals. The experience of making amazing friends of your teammates is also a significant bonus, and one of the major aspects of swimming I love.

EE: What’s a typical practice like?

Reid: We swim for two hours and do dry land , stuff like weights, running and pushups, for an hour six times a week. We have morning practice on Monday and Thursday.

EE: How do you feel before big races?

Reid: I used to be really nervous before each race, but now I just get excited and have fun with it. I love trying my best and beating both my own and others’ expectations of me — it gives me a strong sense of reward.

EE: What would you tell to younger swimmers to help them cope with the stressful aspects of swimming?

Reid: I would tell them to have fun with it and avoid getting too stressed out when they don’t do as well as they would like to. Swimming is such a hard sport, and you have to be really into it and think positively rather than complaining about hard it is.

EE: What are some of your long-term goals for swimming?

Reid: I am swimming in college at UCLA, and I just want to focus on college swimming for now. My goals aren’t to go to the Olympics or anything because to be honest, I really don’t want to go to the Olympics. I just want to do well and have good experiences with a new team.