The Lincoln Log

The Abraham Lincoln High School’s Swim team kicked off the season with triumph and splendid start. On their first seasonal swim meet, new Lincoln swimmers defeated Galileo High school without any problem. The second meet was against Washington High School, which boy’s Varsity and Junior Varsity (JV) did very well. But unfortunately, our female swimmers on Varsity and JV lost the meet. The most recent meet was against Balboa High school, which all Varsity and JV dominated.

All Varsity and JV swimming teams are coached by Phong Pham, a Lincoln Alumni. Pham gets help from Billy Tam, the assistant coach, who is also a former Lincoln student. Both give support and training to the swimmers in order to aid improving themselves. Tam also helps beginning swimmers to learn how to swim with the right technique.

“Pham is a good coach, he really cares about his swimmers. He wants us to do good in life, in everything. Sometimes [Pham will] get mad and lecture us, but it’s because he really cares about us,” junior William Lee said.

Our swimming athletes spend long dedicating hours in the water to practice in order to gain a faster pace and more strength. From Mondays to Thursday, swimmers practice non stop for an hour and 45 minutes. On Saturdays, the athletes get out of pool in order to do “Dry-land.” Dry-land is a term for a variety of land exercises, such as push ups, running, sit ups and jumping. They work their bodies on land in order to improve in water.

“As a team we support each other. My team mates really push me to the limit and motivate me to do well; they also make [swimming] fun and enjoyable,” Lee said.

The swimmers have grown a close bond after spending a great amount of time together. Having to practice with each other, swimmers have grown to support and care about each other. And because this year, the team has gained more members, there is an even larger backbone that helps encourage them to do better.

“We are one big family. We support each other in every way we can, like by trying to encourage our team mates to attend swim practice everyday or we’d help each other on our swim skills,” Lee said.

The ALHS swim team hopes to continue with the good work. They also hope to make the finals and get a high rank. Since Lincoln and Lowell High School has always had such competition, it’s a wonder who’ll win this year. But with such great swimmers and supportive coaches, we are sure to expect something grand from our Lincoln swim team.