University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Diary - Samara Gelb
November 11, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 11, 2008
I've been swimming since I was six, and since then wherever I swam at was labeled as a team. It could be a club team, a summer team or a school team, but it was always labeled as a team. However, even in the few short months I've been here at the University of Tennessee, I've already realized a million times over that what I had before was nowhere close to what a team should be. What I am a part of here as a Lady Vol swimmer is in every essence what a team is meant to be.
Before, my concept of a team was simply a group that was called by the same name. We all practiced together, but not because we wanted to, but because that was what we were told to do. We were all individuals working towards our own goals.
Being a Lady Vol has taught me that there is so much more to being part of a team. You are no longer just an individual, but part of a whole, a whole that demands the best and is there to support you through it all. Our team is a group that has the highest goals and every belief that every member can achieve them. And we hold these beliefs in and out of the water, inspiring each other to excel in everything we do.
We are a team and therefore we work together to act with passion and determination, inspiring each other to be the best we can be. We are a group that comes together every day, but not just because we have to, because we want to be there for each other. At the end of every day, we are the Lady Volunteer swimming and diving team, but more than that we are a family, always there to support, challenge and inspire each other, and I could not be more thankful to be part of such an amazing team.
