Synchro

We all know the struggle of extracurriculars: there’s so many to choose from and there’s no way to do them all. You’re faced a decision between many things that you enjoy, and it’s tough to let some go. What if there was an activity that incorporated everything you loved in one sport? Sophomore Olivia Heinze tells us there is.

“It’s definitely nerve-wracking, but it’s really exciting to represent your city and to be showing someone your performance and giving someone your best.”

This is how Heinze describes the feeling of doing what she loves in The Junior Olympics, synchronized swimming.

In all of the hard work, Olivia has proven her success with her qualification for the Junior Olympics, a reward given at the national level of synchronized swimming. Many dedicated synchro swimmers around the nation use The Junior Olympics as a stepping stone to advance into the actual Olympics.

“The Junior Olympics is more of like the top 50 to 60 teams in the nation. If I had wanted to be in the Olympics I would’ve had to move to California at a younger age to be closer to all the good coaches and good pools,” Heinze said. “I really love synchro but it’s not something that I want to consume my whole life.”

In the six years Olivia has been doing synchro, she’s learned to develop skills from many different sports, as synchro is a combination of many.

“Synchronized swimming really combines swimming, dancing, and gymnastics,” Heinze said. “Most people think it’s like water aerobics, like when you see old people standing in the water kind of like moving their arms or twisting. That’s definitely not what it is.”

In reality, synchro is very challenging and requires extreme dedication and resilience.

“We do have to have really strong resistance, really strong endurance, but we also have to be flexible, and able to count music,” Heinze said. “We never get to touch the bottom of the pool. And we have to hold our breath for a long time. It’s a performance sport so we perform routines, so it’s not like we’re just swimming.”

While the unique sport causes a physical strain and commitment, it also requires a major time commitment that impedes on other important parts of her life.

“We practice for a total of twelve hours a week. Especially now that I’m in highschool and I have so much homework, and I’m in all pre-AP classes, it’s a lot to handle,” Heinze said. “The pools I practice at now are like an hour away, so it takes a whole like six hours of my night. It’s definitely a time commitment. But I do enjoy competing and I really have made lasting friendships on the team.”

Along with synchronized swimming, Olivia is also involved in musical theatre which connects to synchro in many ways, such as core components of rhythm, music, dance, and teamwork.

“In musical theatre we do dancing, and anytime you sing you have to be able to keep a rhythm, a tempo, going in your head,” Heinze said. “Synchronized swimming is the same thing, we have counts, usually of 8, to music. It has definitely helped me become a better synchro swimmer.”

Even throughout all of the sports Olivia has participated in, from soccer, dance, lap swimming, and gymnastics, she fell in love with synchro for the culture and community of the sport.

“When you go to compete it’s like a whole different world. You just immerse yourself in the sport,” Heinze said. “I’ve had the opportunity to deal with different kinds of people. I’ve had to work with teammates that I wouldn’t necessarily want to, I’ve had to work with coaches, represented my city and my team.”

Olivia continues to pursue her passion and work through challenges.

While synchronized swimming may just be a sport to some, it has shaped Olivia into the person she is today, a strong athlete and a motivated student.

“It’s honestly made me a more complete person,” Heinze said. “I wouldn’t have had all the experiences that I have had because I’m a synchronized swimmer.”