Swimming in COVID Infested Waters: The Battle of Keeping the Swim Season Afloat By Asa Reese

"I’m disappointed in the Metro League and the WIAA," says senior captain swimmer Paco Palacián.

This year, O’Dea swimming has taken a turn down a path that isn’t the same as previous years. The season began off strong with the team beating Bishop Blanchet week 1, beating Nathan Hale week 2, and beating rival school Eastside Catholic week 3.

With a heavy quarantine last year, the team was not able to gather and compete, however, things have been somewhat better this year.

When talking to senior swimmer Peter Leary about getting back into swimming he mentioned, "I definitely had a hard time getting back into swim because I've been running for two years straight.”

The team practices 5 days a week and even gets in an early 5 am morning practice Mondays and Fridays. The Irish this year have been an unstoppable force in the pool; they’ve outscored their opponents by 65 points or more in their past 3 meets.

The team was dedicated in the early stages of the season but due to COVID and winter break, the team’s season was cut short and put to a halt. As of January 13th, 2022, the team has not participated in a swim meet since December 17th, 2021.

"I feel frustrated because we’ve put in a lot of practice time and work with no ability to show it and compete against other schools," says Palacián.

Palacián and Leary are veterans this year after previously swimming for the Irish for the past 4 years. Their frustrations have continued to rise as the Metro League and WIAA have continued to put numerous winter sports including boys swimming on pause.

Even though hopes have gotten low, and the level of dedication has shifted Palacián says that he still expects the team to finish the season strong and get through the adversity.