This year, the SHS swim team is saying goodbye to their captain of two years, senior Tayla Young. She is not only admired for her determination and strength in the water, but also for her leadership and kindness on the pool deck.
Young has been swimming since a very young age, but her passion for competitive swimming grew when she got into high school. Young was on the swim team for all four years of her highschool career, and during her junior and senior year, she took on the role of team captain. Being a team captain entailed helping the coach put in meet entries for swimmers, making hotel arrangements, organizing team dinners, and being a voice for the team.
Young said that her favorite part about swimming was “definitely the team.” She then went on to explain that swimming may be viewed more as an individual sport, but, in reality, it is very team oriented. As a team, they push through workouts, cheer each other on and improve.
This winter, the girls swim team hosted a meet at the local aquatic center. The home meet was the swim team’s senior night, and since the only senior on the team was Young the meet celebrated her accomplishments. Over Young’s many years of swimming, she has built strong friendships with many of the girls on the team. A portion of the meet was dedicated for the team to celebrate Young and her last year of swimming. Each teammate was given the opportunity to share their thoughts about Young with the family, friends, and competitors who had gathered.
Teammate Melissa Lang recognized the times that she and Young had spent swimming together and what a great person she was. Lang went on to say that,
“You [Tayla] are a major part of the reason why this team is a family, and I can’t even think about what swimming without you will look like.”
Teammate Shae Merchant recognized Young as being, “caring, talented, courageous, and compassionate.” All beautiful words to describe a special person.
Merchant then went on to say, “I have especially enjoyed kicking butt on our state relays together.”
Young has made an amazing impact on the team. Salida High School will miss Young and her amazing personality, but we can’t wait to see the wonderful things she goes on to do.
