Craig Vetor '10--From the beginning of the season, Christmas training seemed like a small in a distant future, but believe it or not...time flies...and so did we--to Florida that is! Being my second year on the Wabash swimming and diving team, I had known from experience that it was going to be a blast, regardless if we were going to a new location. Thus far, the trip has been exactly what I had expected, and with the upscale hotel, places to visit, great times with teammates, the beach, food, and the awesome abundance of Florida babes, it has been dream come true.

Starting out, this year we flew to Florida as opposed to taking a charter bus. A definite plus because what took us 22 hours (someone timed our journey on a stopwatch, I can’t quite remember the exact time) last year, had only taken a few this time around. Although I enjoyed the long bus ride being able to spend more time with teammates talking/watching movies/playing cards, I thoroughly enjoyed air travel. I was one of many who had never flown before.

Once we got here, we had to play a little game of tetris trying to fit everybody and their luggage into three vans...but crammed into a van or not, we were hungry! We stopped at the always reliable McDonald’s and ordered a slew of burgers. Yes, this was a task, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. In this case, hunger. Speaking of food, we get FREE breakfast when we wake up before practice. What an awesome deal! As I have always said--you can’t swim on an empty stomach!

Although we have much fun here, we hardly forget the reason we came--swimming and/or diving. The outdoor pool we are swimming at is pretty sweet. We swim both long course and short course meters so we really get the best of both worlds (we just remember to bring tinted goggles for backstroke as you look directly into the sun!). But when we got there we hit the ground running with two-a-day practices and dryland workouts. Yes, it is tough, but it’s a lot of fun doing this kind of work with your friends in a place like Florida.

After a tough practice today, we were free to do pretty much whatever. There was a group of people who went to the beach to enjoy another day soaking up the sun and attacking the waves. Also there were people who went to the mall to check out what this side of Florida has to offer. If a swimmer/diver didn’t want to do either of those things, they were free to hang out at the hotel to stretch and relax. As for myself, I went to the mall. The mall was quite upscale...and merchandise overpriced. Though I didn’t buy anything (besides food), this didn’t stop many swimmers from purchasing a souvenir on their training trip. Now we are all back from our separate ways, ready to take on another practice.

Of course the number one priority is training when it comes to this trip, but as Coach Weitz has said before this trip, the reason a training trip is so important is the bonds one makes with teammates. So far, it seems like the team has really come along, and that make sit all worth while. After we head back to Crawfordsville, I look forward to seeing some amazing swims at conference in Canton, OH. All I have to say is...look out!