Maxwell Marsh always felt the most alive in the water. Whether he was taking a bath as a little kid or learning to swim with the other kids he was like a Dolphin in the water. He cut through the water like a blade and propelled himself forward like a torpedo leaving all of his competition in his wake. No matter how tired he felt or how sore his body could get Maxwell felt completely reinvigorated once he completely submerged himself. So it was only natural that he joined the school swim team. Now here they were at the swim meet and he was doing his stretches and waiting to begin his heat. Events at a meet are swum in heats, usually of 8 swimmers at a time. Swimmers are grouped into heats based upon their seeded times, and heats for each event progress from slowest to fastest. At larger meets, men and women swim in separate heats. At smaller meets, they may simply be grouped together based upon their seeded times. Note that you will be scored based upon the time you swim in relation to other swimmers in your gender and age group, so winning or losing a heat may have no bearing on how you ultimately place in your events. Heat sheets tell you in which heat and lane you will be swimming for each event that you entered. In meets where no deck entries are allowed, heat sheets are often provided to you in the meet program. They are almost always posted on a bulletin board at the meet site as well. It is important to check the POSTED heat sheets from time to time, as it is not uncommon for them to change as a meet progresses, especially if deck entries are permitted.
"Say guys? I'm sure I've asked this before, but shouldn't Maxwell be first to give us a big lead right away?" Lorenzo Harper asked.
"Nah man. He's our win button. Coach wants him to go fourth just in case." Clayton Carr explained.
"Don't you worry about it. you got me here." Leon reminded the team. "We'll be just fine brothers."
"If you say so, clownfish." Xavier joked.
"You know my times are still ahead of yours right, Dory?"
"Girls, girls, you're both pretty. Lets focus on the meet right now." Maxwell smirked. He continued working out his tanned well defined muscles. His blonde-light brown hair hidden underneath his cap and his blue eyes hidden by his goggles. Max didn't need them per say but they were necessary for the meet so he complied.
"Yeah, yeah, just be sure to bring home the gold, Short-beak." Leon informed him.
"It's me remember? I'm like a torpedo when I get in the water."
"So which animal am I?" Clayton questioned.
"You're the orca."
"I'll take it!" The bigger teen replied proudly.
The Swim Bros continued joking with each other until it was time to begin. They lined up and Lorenzo got up on the diving block. The referee will blow the whistle a few times, which is your cue to step up on the diving block (or jump in if you’re swimming backstroke) and get ready to take your mark. The referee will announce “take your mark” and you will take your position, and hold it. It’s very important to NOT move at all, until you hear the loud and distinctive “start” horn. If you move before this, you will be disqualified with a “false start.” If someone else in your heat accidentally jumps in before the horn is blown, do not be tempted to move. Wait until the referee tells everyone to stand up. You will then stand for a few moments, let the swimmer get out of the pool, then take your mark again. A few seconds will go by, and the referee will blow a very loud horn. This is your cue to JUMP! Push yourself and compete in the race just as you envisioned you would. If you need to take a break because you’re tired, there are some leagues that will allow you to do this. Remember, you’re swimming in this meet for fun… you do not want to risk your health. If you need to sit on the wall and take a rest before finishing your 500 freestyle event, that’s okay.
The ref blew the horn and Lorenzo dove into the water like a man possessed. He swam his heart out giving it a hundred and ten percent while the rest of the swimmers did the same. He raced to the end of the pool and then back. Despite the other swimmers being right on his heels he was able to to push forward and give them a good lead. He touched the end of the pool and got out. Clayton went next once he was clear. He tore right through the water with his big powerful strokes. He shot past the other swimmers capitalizing on the lead Lorenzo gave them. He pulled it off but the others were starting to catch up to them. Next was Xavier. He shot through the water at high speeds but this next team of swimmers was on some next level stuff! Xavier did the best he could but the other swimmers ended up passing him up back and forth. They reached the ledge before he could get back and the next swimmers dived in. He climbed back out and high-fived Leon. He dove in and went for a swim. He swam like a maniac but thankfully he was just about able to tie up their lead. Once he got back he climbed out and high-fived Maxwell. "GO MAN!"
He grinned and dove into the water. The instant he submerged himself it was like a switch was flipped inside of him! Maxwell felt so good! He felt new strength flowing into his body! Adrenaline flooded through his system! Everything became so clear! He shot through the water like a high speed torpedo fired out of a submarine! He was propelled by a missile! He was so alive down here! Maxwell Marsh cut through the water like a knife through wet tissue paper! Maxwell blew the other racers out of the water! He shot right past them, touched one end and then he swam right back just as easily, touched it, swam back and then swam back again just to show off. He didn't even need to come up for air! Despite all the effort the Swim Bros had put into their racing, he hadn't even broken a sweat! Thanks to him they won the race.
He won all of his races after that. He tore past the competition like they were tortoises on land! None of them could even compete with him!
Suffice to say, the team took the Gold to the sound of roaring applause.
Maxwell laughed and held up the medals to the audience.
"Seriously man...how the hell do you do it?" Leon asked him in the locker room before he chugged down his water.
Maxwell shrugged. "Practice makes perfect so practice rain or shine! Practice makes perfect, so practice we will, practice makes perfect, so we’ll practice ‘til, we see the results that we’ve been practicing for, then we’ll go out and practice some more! Also breathing exercises. Those are important too."
