More Than a Time: Finding My Identity and Purpose in an Individual Sport - Center for Community and Connection

More Than a Time: Finding My Identity and Purpose in an Individual Sport

The Calvin meet was one of those events that really tested everyone’s spirit. It was long, draining, and the energy was low at times. One of my teammates had a race coming up, and I could see the stress weighing on them.

I’ve always been the one to hype others up before a race, so I knew I had to step in and help them shake off that nervous energy. I reminded them that they were ready, that they had put in the work, and to just trust themselves. Honestly, doing that helped me as much as it helped them.

It took me out of my own head and into a better mindset for my race that came up right after. I ended up swimming a personal best, and I truly believe it was because I wasn’t just focused on myself. By being there for my teammate, that positive energy carried over into my own performance.

For as long as I can remember, swimming has been a part of my life and identity from early mornings, the smell of chlorine and most of all the clock. Swimming is brutally honest, the numbers don't lie. You're either fast or you’re not, you either make the cut or you don't.

Swimming is considered an individual sport. You race alone. You dive in alone. It's just you, the water, and the clock. There's no one else to pass the ball to, no teammate to cover a bad moment. And for a long time, I thought that was all swimming was, me against the time, me against myself. My self worth felt tied to those numbers on the board. But somewhere in the middle of all the hard practices and endless laps, I started to see it differently.

Even though swimming is an individual sport, you're never truly alone. There's teammates next to you pushing through the same brutal set, the friend cheering for you at the end of the lane, the coach believing in you on the days you forget to believe in yourself.

That's when it hit me: In an individual sport, you get to choose what kind of teammate you want to be. You can be the swimmer who only focuses on your time, or, you can be the teammate who celebrates others, who cheers loudly even when it's not your race, who stays late to watch someone else finish a tough set.

You can be the one who knows exactly how hard it is and remind your teammates that they're not doing it alone.

I started asking myself: What do I want to bring to this team beyond my athletic ability and times? The answer came pretty easily. I want to be the teammate people look for on deck. Someone who shows up everyday ready to work hard but also makes practice a little lighter, a little more fun, especially when things get tough. I want to be that steady supportive presence, the one who brings a chill, calm vibe but isn't afraid to speak up when it's needed. The kind of person who makes people laugh, reminds everyone it's okay to have fun, and helps push others to be their best, both in and out of the pool.

Swimming has taught me discipline and resilience, but it also taught me about choice. The choice to be more than just a time to be more than the scoreboard. To bring heart,encouragement, and energy to a sport can feel so isolating if you let it. Because the clock can be intoxicating, it is easy to let yourself get fixated on the numbers, watching them tick by and feeling like you’re not improving no matter how hard you try. Some days it feels like months or even years can go by without seeing that breakthrough.

In a way living your life by a clock, constantly measuring progress, can make everything feel like a race. But I've learned that growth isn't always linear and sometimes that most valuable progress is the support you give and receive.

It's about showing up not just for the sport but the people around you and finding a balance between the grind and remembering why we do it in the first place.

At the end of the day, swimming is still about pushing myself. I still chase those personal bests. But I’ve learned that the kind of teammate I am matters just as much as the times I hit in the water. I want to be the reason people remember me for what I did as a teammate, friend, and person, more than what the clock defines me as. What truly lasts in the impact you made on others.

And honestly? The dreadful morning wake up calls, the hard sets, and the soreness that lingers makes it all worth it.

My name is Caitlin Aarseth and I'm an Elementary Education major at Northern. I am a Junior on the Swim and Dive team from Maple Grove, Minnesota.