This week, the Posnack School varsity swim team will take to the water at their district meet. After months of hard work and competition, the team is ready to show their skills: success at districts can earn swimmers a chance to represent Posnack at the regional or even state level. But before the season ends, Posnack varsity swimmers want to reflect on the season they’ve shared, hype themselves up for districts, and prepare for the team’s future.
By the time school started in late August, the swim team had already been practicing daily for two weeks. They meet in the JCC pool, where blue-red lane dividers bob up and down on the rippling water, inviting new and experienced swimmers alike. Coach Ricardo, the varsity swim coach of nine years, remarks that he sees completely “different levels of swimmers coming in… Some of them have already been swimming before. Some of them are brand new to the sport.” Regardless, every athlete is competition-ready by the first meet: freshman Yarden Greenberg had never swum competitively before joining the team this year. “It was a new sport for me, so I didn’t really know what I was getting into,” she remarked, “but I really liked the experience.” Yarden has found her place swimming short-distance events, including the 50 and 100-meter freestyle, and enjoys competing on relays with her teammates. On the other side, seniors like Ilan Leff have been swimming since early middle school and have grown with the team. “The friend group that I have today was shaped by swimming,” explains Leff. “Compared to when we were sixth graders, we’ve all really improved and pushed each other.”
To celebrate graduating teammates, students and parents organized a senior night event, gifting baskets, snacks, and words of encouragement to the team’s beloved seniors. Senior Yonathan Benharush-Gal mentions that, of all of the meets this year, “my favorite was the senior night meet, because of all the motivation and support” his teammates gave him. Sophomores Irene Greene and Mia Stief agree: “On senior night, everybody is very connected. We all share snacks and eat food and have a lot of fun,” Greene mentioned, with Stief affirming that “everyone was much more energetic.”
Moments like senior night are the swim team’s reward for a season of dedicated practice. Coach Ricardo said consistent training and meets have put Posnack swimmers in a great spot this season, giving them the fitness and confidence to do well in districts. Before the season ends, this group has one last chance to show what they can do. Coach Ricardo is optimistic about results for the entire team, saying that “we have a group that looks very excited to go there and compete… we hope to see some time improvements and some people moving on to regionals.” But a group of seniors has goals beyond regionals: Yonatan Ben-David, Ethan Gal, Daniel Arazi, and Yonathan Benharush-Gal want to reach the state level in the men’s 200-meter medley relay. In this race, the four teammates swim 50 yards apiece, with each one swimming a different stroke. Ben-David talks about the district meet as a launching pad, giving his group “the chance to get into regionals and from there to states.” If the relay team is successful, it would be the first time Posnack reaches the state level in swimming.
Along with testing their skills, the district meet also allows swimmers to socialize and enjoy themselves. Fifteen other teams compete at the meet, meaning that it provides a great chance for Posnack competitors to catch up with swimming friends from other schools, like NSU and Donna Klein. Benharush-Gal mentions that he is “excited to see my friends outside of school that I know on the other teams, who I’ve come to know throughout the years.” Despite the event’s competitive nature, it gives swimmers a chance to celebrate their growth together and congratulate each other on well-earned achievements.
After the season ends, the seniors’ high school swim career will officially conclude. But what this graduating class will miss most is not practice or meets, but the connections they formed. “I’m going to miss … all my friends that I had on the team,” mentions Leff. “The support we showed each other and the motivation we gave each other is something you don’t find all the time. You know, the bond that we built is really, really cool to think about.” The swimmers aren’t the only ones experiencing this awe. Coach Ricardo has been coaching swim since these seniors were in middle school, watching their times drop year over year as they grew more confident in their abilities. Seeing these athletes prepare for their final meet gives Coach Ricardo a sense of fulfillment: “There are quite a few seniors that I’ve coached, since they were very, very little… So for me to sit and see them all grown up… is really rewarding.” Even after the class of 2027 moves on, they will still have a spot in their coach’s heart.
In their wake, the seniors leave behind a group of talented, hardworking underclassmen who are excited to improve year over year. Every freshman and sophomore swimmer mentioned looking forward to swimming throughout high school and enhancing their skills. So no matter the results of this year’s district meet, know that the future of Rams Varsity Swimming is in good hands.
