Swimming Toward Success

Practicing twice a day can make life tough at times for a swimmer at the high school level.

Grinding out lap after lap, hour after hour, can get monotonous and can also lead to tension at its worst; but it can also lead to some memorable moments.

Having solid team captains can make a difference for athletes spending all that time together.

As the Abington Heights girls swim team chases after a Wyoming Valley Conference Northern Division title, the Lady Comets will look to seniors Vanessa Lempicky and Emma Gromelski for leadership, both in and out of the pool.

"They lead stretches, but they do more," Abington Heights girls swim coach Mary Gromelski said of her two captains. "It's a team thing. Pasta dinners, movie nights, they try to keep it fun and interesting for the kids."

The time away from the pool seems to be just as important as the time spent doing laps in the water.

"It's been a (team) tradition. It helps bring the team together, and we have a lot of fun with it," Lempicky said. "It's definitely important; otherwise we'd probably want to kill each other all the time. It makes things more bearable. That makes us work harder to reach our goals."

It helps that there is a measure of respect for the captains, because the team understands that Lemipcky and Gromelski, who is the daughter of the head coach, are life-long swimmers who know how tp put in the time necessary.

"She's very dedicated; she's been competing since she was very young. She came through the Gator program," coach Gromelski said of Lempicky. "She practices morning and night, but now it's down to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."

The same goes for Gromelski, who remembers when she first started swimming.

"I've done it since I was so young," she said. "I was taking Mommy and Me lessons by the time I was six months old. Since my mother was a coach, I was always around the pool. Instead of day care, I'd go to swim practice."

Gromelski learned the value of hard work and proper technique, crucial ingredients in swimming and the other sport she is pursuing in high school, softball, where she is a pitcher.

"I find myself to be very determined," she said. "That drive will help me later in life."

That drive came in handy on Jan. 24, when a set of unusual circumstances required Gromelski to dig deep within herself for strength and inspiration in a meet against rival Scranton Prep.

Trouble with a touch pad in her lane during the 100-yard butterfly caused the race to be held a second time, after the rest of the meet concluded. After the normal final event, the 400 freestyle relay - which she swam in - Gromelski needed to go back out and compete in the redo of the 100 butterfly.

Adding to the pressure was that the meet was close and she needed to place second to give Abington Heights a shot at winning.

"My stomach dropped; I wondered how I was going to pull it off," she said. "I had to refocus myself and put everything I had out there."

She had finished third in the first race, and somehow needed to find a way to improve one position for her team.

"I had butterflies. I knew how much was dependent on me," Gromelski said. "Adrenalin got me through it. I gave everything I had left."

It turned out to be enough as she placed second and helped the Lady Comets tie the Classics, 85-85.

That was another strong show of leadership and desire, traits that the captains have in abundance and that they take seriously.

"It's important to be a good leader; everyone looks up to you, so you have to be at your best at all times," Lempicky said. "You want to set a good example, to be a good role model."

The senior has been good about that, showing her teammates about how to persevere when things aren't going according to plan.

"She's a strong swimmer, and her mindset is good; she comes from a swimming family," coach Gromelski said. "She takes it (losing) well. She doesn't beat herself up when somebody beats her."

"She likes to win, but it's not like when she loses that she's done for the meet," coach Gromelski added.

There are ups and downs to any season, and keeping one's focus on what's important is among the captains' jobs.

"We're looking forward to doing well in districts and making it to states in the relays," Lempicky said. "We're hoping to have an amazing district meet and state meet."

And, of course, they are looking for more pasta dinners and movie nights to make the team bond even tighter.

"They're making memories for themselves," coach Gromelski said of the team. "They're with each other all the time."

Sign up for Text Alerts

Sign up for e-mail newsletters