Grace Hoeper ‘25 and Kate Bird ‘25 were named the 2024 girls varsity swim team captains. Hoeper and Bird have been on the team since their freshman year and have had a lot of good experiences and opportunities on the team. This year, their leadership abilities are challenged as they have to face the trials and triumphs of being captains.
“It’s definitely not easy, but I think the girls being willing to be coached and being willing to listen to what we have to say has really made it a lot easier. Mandi makes it super easy for us to bounce back and forth between those two roles.” Hoeper said.
Bird added, “Mandi helps out a lot; she takes over when we need to be more focused on our own competition. But the team is really coachable; they love to be coached at all times, so it’s really easy to just tell them something, and they listen so well.”
As the season starts, the team is currently 2-1 and planning on keeping their winning streak. With swimming being such a tough and competitive sport, even at the high school level, Bird and Hoeper find ways to try to keep their team motivated and in high morale throughout the season. Bird emphasizes positive reinforcement, especially as the team holds up to 10 practices a week.
“Just reminding everyone of the progress they are making because it can be hard to see when you’re doing so much. So just always looking at how well they’re doing and reminding them of that and just always trying to hype them up.” Bird stated. Hoeper also believes that “celebrating the little things” is extremely important to what they’re trying to achieve.
Even though Bird and Hoeper are newer to the captain role on the team, they have shown excellent leadership skills so far. Both girls understand what it’s like to be an underclassman who don’t have much leadership experience and are always willing to give advice to some of the younger girls on the team who need it.
“Making a really good foundation for that by having good relationships with people and always being supportive can be really helpful. You gotta take a breath, as long as you’re getting better and having fun and, making friends, you’ve accomplished enough.” Bird said.
“I think a big thing, especially as an underclassman, is that I took things so seriously; I always wanted to do what was right, and I think that was hard because I wasn’t having as much fun. So I think the big thing is making sure to have fun with whatever you’re doing, no matter what sport it is.” Hoeper adds.
