From swimming before school starts to swimming after school every day, sophomore Grace Gabriele has found herself in a pool as a daily routine. Not only does she swim every day, but Gabriele also hits the gym with her swim team for weekly weightlifting. Seasonally, Gabriele swims for the Virginia VAST Gators and in the summer, she takes part of the Spotswood Dolphins swim summer league. With a filled schedule, Gabriele has found swim to be a main hobby of hers and a time to get away from outside work.

“It’s something that I really enjoyed all my life. I’ve been swimming since I was six years old and it’s always something I’ve enjoyed and be decent at it. I get to be away from my school work and it allows me to be free and enjoy what I like to do,” Gabriele said.

Gabriele’s swim roots grew from when her father swam in college competitively and her mother swam as well, but not competitively. Gabriele’s father enrolled both her and her younger brother in swim, which has now become a family shared sport.

“My dad definitely got me into swimming. In my opinion, swimming is an important skill to have in life. You get stuck in a situation where you need to know how to swim. He taught me how to swim, but after I swam my first year in summer league, I really grew a passion for it,” Gabriele said.

Balancing out school and constantly swimming is a challenge for Gabriele, but it’s something she’s learned to overcome and show up to practice with a positive and motivated outlook.

“Swimming and practice requires so much time and energy. You definitely have to be very committed, and you definitely want to have to be there because no one wants someone on a team that is going to be constantly giving negative energy and complaining about being there,” Gabriele said.

Growing a bond is something that Gabriele believes brings her team together. Gabriele’s team bond is something where they work together weekly to accomplish the same goal; succeed in meets and have fun.

“I love all my teammates, we’re so close. I know we’re always tired, we all work really hard in practice, but I think that in the end it all pays off because we swim well in meets and we overall have a good time,” Gabriele said.