By Crawford Craig

Before dawn—long before most teenagers wake up—high school swimmers trade warm beds for pool lanes. 

Alarms sound at 4:00 a.m. Waffles are slathered with Nutella. Swim backpacks are filled with towels and shower gear. Headlights slice through dark streets. Cars slide into empty pool parking lots. 

Bright lights and booming music soon engulf the pool deck. Sleepy hands tug at goggles. By 4:50 a.m., dozens of silicone caps bob in the choppy pool, all chasing the next wall.

As the sun rises over the horizon, swimmers have already grinded through thousands of meters, fueled by discipline and the sharp bite of chlorine. When swimmers arrive at school—hair still damp—they are already four hours into a 16-hour day. For some, the morning workout leaves them energized and ready to take on the day’s challenges.

Behind these predawn sessions is an intense lifestyle for year-round high school swimmers. A typical week includes daily practices, weight training, long days at school, extracurricular commitments, nightly homework, and travel meets on most weekends. By the time they reach 11th grade, swimmers are also driving for the first time, studying for the ACT or SAT, and beginning the college recruitment process. 

When early mornings, late nights, and busy weekends collide, sleep becomes a valuable commodity in a swimmer’s life. Yet, every swimmer I’ve talked to affirmed that the sacrifices made along the way are well worth it. Teamwork, achievement, and the sheer love of swimming outweigh the lost hours of sleep and busy schedules. 

When you talk to swimmers about their routines and what impacts their daily lives, sleep comes up again and again. With jarring wake times as early as 4:00 a.m., it’s no wonder year-round swimmers are so focused on when and how much they sleep. 

My Collegiate swimming teammate Jasper Jones (‘27), who swims year-round for NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, shared that when she doubles (swim practice in the morning and afternoon), she goes to bed at 11:00 p.m. and wakes at 4:20 a.m., yielding five hours and 20 minutes of sleep. Collegiate and NOVA swimmer Valentina Linkonis (‘27) reported getting roughly six hours a night. 

I swim for SwimRVA, and my morning wake time is similar, with a 4:10 a.m. start, but I am in bed by 8:30 p.m. most evenings, shooting for as close to eight hours as I can get. I also strive to align my doubles with days I have block free periods, or Tuesdays and Fridays, when I have early release from school. Again, my goal is to get as close to eight hours of sleep as I can. But in order to fit in two practices, a full day of school, homework, meals, and eight hours of sleep, careful planning is essential.

Charlie Mayr (’24), a swimmer at the University of Notre Dame. Photo credit: Charlie Mayr via instagram @c_mayr24.

When asked about his sleep, Collegiate alumnus Charlie Mayr (‘24), who currently swims for the Division I Notre Dame Swimming and Diving team, commented, “I get on average seven to eight [hours] a night…sometimes more, if I don’t have a morning swim.”

Middle School math teacher Mike Peters, Collegiate’s Head Swimming and Diving Coach, has spent most of his life either as a competitive swimmer or swim coach. He swam for Brown University and also coaches for Southampton Recreation Association during the summer months. With Peters’ dynamic swim experience comes a depth of understanding about the value of sleep and how hard swimmers work to prioritize sleep: “There’s no such thing as a reasonable sleep schedule for swimming, as much as you guys practice in the morning, but the ability to get to bed at a time that you can still get enough sleep to be able to perform at your maximum ability at practice is pretty impressive.” 

Whether we swim in high school or college, and no matter how many hours we sleep at night, all swimmers cherish the “swimmer’s nap”— that sacred rest period on competition days after lunch or between races. As soon as the morning session concludes and lunch is devoured, backpack-clad swimmers file back into shared hotel rooms for their mid-day slumber. From a young age, when swimmers start traveling for meets, they learn to honor this golden quiet hour.

Positive peer pressure runs deep during naptime, with roommates making sure their teammates stay quiet and get the rest they need before the excitement of finals later in the day. You learn very quickly that you don’t want to be the one who keeps your teammates awake during naptime.

A 2013 study investigating the relationship between social ties and adolescent sleep determined that “social relational factors outperform developmental factors in determining youths’ sleep patterns, particularly pointing to the importance of parental, peer, and school ties in promoting healthy sleep behaviors.” It will come to no surprise to swimmers that social scientists concluded that “youths had healthier sleep (longer duration and of higher quality) when social ties were a source of support.” 

For swimmers, sleep isn’t just personal—it’s part of the culture, reinforced by the decisions supportive teammates make together. Knowing that your teammates also prioritize sleep—sometimes even at the cost of a fun night out with friends—creates a level of social acceptance and expectation that everyone is going to catch plenty of z’s. 

Middle School math teacher and head swimming and diving coach Mike Peters. Photo credit: Stephen Laming.

In fact, sleep is so important to swimmers and other athletes that researchers have implemented extensive studies on how much sleep student-athletes need and the impact their sleep habits have on their athletic performance and overall well-being.

Research on the sleep habits of high school athletes reveals that poor sleep habits are associated with negative outcomes for high school students. Not surprisingly, high school athletes are particularly susceptible to the negative impact of poor sleep because of the competing demands of both athletics and academics during an already stressful developmental stage of life. 

Averaging six hours each night, Linkonis echoed the scientific findings: “Although I am adjusted to this schedule, I do believe if I got more sleep, my academic and athletic performances would benefit greatly. Unfortunately, it is hard to balance a heavy academic load, seven to eight practices a week, a social life, and good mental and physical health.”

A National Institute of Health study on sleep found that sleep affects not just athletes’ physical health but their cognitive health, too: “Sleep loss and/or poor sleep quality can impair muscular strength, speed, and other aspects of physical performance. Sleep issues can also increase the risk of concussions and other injuries, and impair recovery following injury. Cognitive performance is also impacted in a number of domains, including vigilance, learning and memory, decision-making, and creativity.”

Jones commented that her sleep takes a hit from the pressure she experiences balancing her school and swim responsibilities: “The demands are definitely very stressful, mainly from a sleep deprivation standpoint.” 

I also feel the impact of less sleep when I’m in the pool, with slower sets and an overall groggy head. Conversely, when I stay disciplined and prioritize my sleep, I feel stronger during practices and competitions, and I am significantly more productive when completing my school work.

As a college sophomore, Mayr shared that the impact of sleep doesn’t only affect high school athletes. “Sleep schedules are definitely different [in college], as we can hear other people partying in the dorms on Thursdays at 1:00 a.m. while we are attempting to sleep. I live with one guy who doesn’t swim anymore, and he usually stays up until 1:00 a.m. I think lack of sleep can impact many factors. It can make training feel awful and impossible to pay attention in class. It definitely can impact all those factors.”

According to a 2022 study on the sleep habits of high school student-athletes and nonathletes during a semester, “79% percent of student-athletes and 87% of nonathletes failed to meet the minimally recommended eight hours of total sleep time per night.” 

While these numbers indicate that student-athletes are getting less sleep than their non-athlete peers, researchers also discovered some interesting and positive patterns: high school student-athletes have earlier bedtimes and wake times, and these earlier bedtimes and wake times are associated with better sleep duration and efficiency for the student-athletes in the study. 

Whether in the pool or classroom, if athletes are sleeping well and waking early in the morning ready to conquer the day, they’re better positioned to be more productive and more efficient across many facets of their lives. 

One trend that emerged among all the swimmers with whom I spoke is their capacity to organize their time and manage responsibilities. Because swimmers practice up to seven days each week and sometimes twice a day—plus travel competitions that can last four days—schedules are tight, and all waking moments must be prioritized. 

While swimmers use organizational tools, such as checklists and Schoology calendars, to stay on top of deadlines, they also get creative. For example, they report completing assignments in unconventional settings, such as buses and shared hotel rooms. Jones finished her 10th Grade English exam poolside at Greensboro Aquatic Center, while I finished my last two final English papers in between sessions at the University of Maryland’s Natatorium and the Hampton Aquaplex. If you’ve ever attended a chlorine-infused indoor swim meet filled to the brim with a cacophony of music and cheering, you’d know these swim complexes are definitely not libraries.

Instead of waiting for quiet time to come to her, Linkonis creates it: “I take pictures and screenshots of my notes on my phone and carry them around with me to study when I have any free moment.” 

Photo credit: SwimRVA.

Having lived the life of a student-athlete himself, Coach Peters shared, “So I went through this when I was growing up as well. So I know what it was like to try to balance both school and swimming. And sometimes it got really hard. And I just had to be very proactive rather than being reactive.”

As for being proactive, no time is more important to plan ahead than when planning for competitions and missing school.

Swim meets are long days, starting as early as 6:00 a.m., lasting until as late as 10:00 p.m. Meets also span up to five days of competition, especially during championship season. Add in travel, and you’re facing seven days for just one swim meet. 

A great example is a national meet. This December, several Collegiate swimmers are traveling to Indianapolis for the Speedo Winter Junior Championships, which is a four-day meet (not including travel). Not only do we travel for six days, but Winter Juniors are at the end of the semester, right before exams—not an ideal time to miss school.

Here’s where planning and flexibility come into play. Mapping out your weeks, even your entire semester, months in advance, helps get it all done. 

As early as Middle School, Collegiate students learn the importance of agency and self-advocacy through direct communication with their teachers, especially when they expect to miss school. Beyond keeping students on track academically, these practices create a respectful school culture and positive teacher-student relationships. 

For year-round swimmers at Collegiate, there are numerous levels of Upper School infrastructure to help student-athletes learn how to manage their time and provide support when the pressure builds. From teachers and advisors to Academic Services, there is always an experienced adult on hand to help student-athletes develop strategies to accomplish their goals.

Coach Peters provides support for his student-athletes not only in the pool and classroom but also in their overall lives. A strong advocate of communication and prioritizing student mental health, Peters asserted honesty is at the core of developing strong relationships with teachers and coaches, whether “you’re having trouble either balancing a workload, finding that time to recover, finding that time to rest, or if you’re having trouble in school.” Peters also shared that coaches and teachers are very willing to show grace to students, especially when they are honest about needing help, or even after they’ve made a mistake: “Whether it’s something that comes up and you made a mistake and you realized, ‘I didn’t get ready for this test, and now I’m stuck in this situation,’ coming to me and being honest about it… we’re going to find a way to work that out.”

Collegiate’s 2024 State Champion girls swim team. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Linkonis attested to the supportive environment Collegiate creates for its student-athletes: “Teachers are very lenient with work around swim meets. I plan ahead and send them emails a couple of days before I’m leaving and make up the work I missed over the duration I was away.” 

At the college level, Notre Dame has an academic advisor specifically for their swimmers to ensure athletes are enrolled in the correct classes and they prioritize communication with professors. Mayr explained, “Teachers are all super understanding and will always be willing to sit down to make things work if we have to miss blocks. We are also able to take quizzes and tests while away for meets if we bring our advisor with us to proctor.”

So despite the insanely early alarms, perpetually chlorine-soaked skin, and jam-packed schedules, why keep swimming? One word: Community.

Mayr emphasized the value of the relationships swimming offers: “Swimming has always been an outlet for me, regardless of what’s going on around me. I love the community around the pool just as much as the sport, too. The people and coaches around it make the sport what it is.” Linkonis agreed: “I keep going because of my friends. The bonds you build with people through the sport create a very tight community, making it very hard to leave [swimming].” 

From the coach’s perspective, Peters focuses on investing in relationships with his swimmers that will endure far beyond the time they spend in the pool: “I want the relationship we have to go past that, where if I see you down the road, we have fond memories where I find out about how your life goes on after you swim.”

I couldn’t agree more. Swimming at SwimRVA has given me more than athletic training—it’s been a reliable support system. My teammates span high schools from across Richmond, yet we spend more time together than with most classmates. We’ve piled into vans and airplanes before sunrise, pushed each other through grueling sets, and swapped race stories over Never Ending Pasta Bowls at Olive Garden. We’ve also leaned on our coaches, not just for stroke advice, but for life advice. They listen, support, and serve as role models. They know when to raise the bar higher or when to pull us aside, to remind us why we all love the sport so much. Our coaches’ steadfast belief in us fosters our investment in ourselves.

I have learned that swimming isn’t just about chasing the next personal best or nationals cut. It’s also not defined by early bedtimes, setting two alarms to make sure I’m on time, or social sacrifices. Swimming is actually about the community that makes the grind worth it. It’s proof that rewarding things are much, much better when you don’t do them alone.