Summer 2012 Issue - De La Salle Institute

FEATURE STORY
De La Salle Aquatics:
A DEEP POOL OF TALENTED METEORS
One of the advantages of being in
existence for only 10 years is that as
De La Salle's Lourdes Hall Campus
grows, so do the opportunities
provided to its students.
With this in mind De La Salle
established a swimming and water
polo program for the young women
two years ago.
The girls swimming program, in its
second year of existence, is led by
Theresa Donnelly, who has been a
competitive swim coach for nearly
20 years at a variety of levels. Many
of the swimmers she has coached
have gone on to swim in college.
Donnelly also coaches the Meteor
girls water polo team, which has
been a junior-varsity program in
both years of its existence.
“The primary benefit of being a
member of De La Salle’s swim
team is learning the value of being
a member of a team,” Donnelly said.
“Participating in swimming also
has great physical benefits, building
endurance and stamina.”
During the 2011-12 season, there
were 17 student-athletes from the
Lourdes Hall Campus who were on
the Meteor swim team, with only
two of the swimmers being seniors.
One of the athletes who began her
competitive swimming career at De
La Salle is Destiny Guerrero ‘14.
Cat Jewers ‘12, Delilah Earley ‘14,
Wanda Fernandez ‘14, and
Destiny Guerrero ‘14 receive
instruction during practice.
s
s
Hannah Tassone ‘15 hones
her backstroke skills.
“Swimming had a huge impact on why
I chose De La Salle,” Guerrero said.
“I knew it was ‘D’s’ first year with a
swim team, so I felt more comfortable
trying out for the team as a new
swimmer. I didn’t feel like I was
going to be bad at swimming because
everyone else who joined felt the same
way as me.
“I have learned the proper way to
perform each swimming style and
I’ve learned that it’s not always about
winning. It’s about having fun with
your team and enjoying every moment
you have with them.”
One of Guerrero’s classmates, Sydney
Sheppard ‘14, is also glad she made
the decision to participate in De La
Salle’s aquatics program.
“I was never on a swim team
before,” Sheppard said. “I just started
swimming on a team the beginning of
my sophomore year, and I love it! ”
In the fall of 2011, the Meteors girls
swimming program received the
Illinois High School Association’s
Team Academic Achievement Award
for maintaining a grade-point average
of 3.0 or higher during its season.
“Statistics have proven that a busy
student makes a better student,”
Donnelly said.
Tryouts and practice for the 2012-13
girls swimming team will be held the
first week of the new school year. The
Meteors swim at the Valentine Boys
& Girls Club at 3400 S. Emerald in
Chicago.
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