Kiana Deland - Pushing Through

At a young age my parents practically threw me in the backyard pool and said “Swim!”. I would spend endless hours going in circles in my pool until my parents finally convinced me to join a competitive team. Originally they thought that synchronized swimming would be the best fit, but after much consideration, at 10 years old I decided to pursue their dream of being a competitive swimmer in the City of Ottawa.

 

At first, my focus was not on swimming, but on my love for soccer. I had played since I was very young, and had much more of a passion for it than swimming. As the years passed, I eventually had to choose one sport to focus on since swim practices were overpowering my life. Excelling in every sport I played was my strong suit, but when it came to choosing just one, that was the hard part. Alongside swimming in high school, I also played on the school basketball team. It felt like I was majoring in sports and minoring in school. Fast forward to grade 12, when I needed to choose where I wanted to attend school, I also had to factor in if I wanted to play sports, and which one.

 

Laurentian University and a university in Halifax were my top two choices, because they both have similar Outdoor Learning programs. I ended up choosing Laurentian and joining the swim team here, and haven’t looked back since. I have met the most amazing people in my program, my residence and on the swim team that push me to be the best version of myself everyday.

 

But it hasn’t always been happy, go lucky Kiana. We all have our breaking points, and mine was in grade 12. I had just gotten back from a school trip to Europe, and tried to swing back into swimming as if I hadn’t left. But that was not the case. Missing practices, adding time and feeling sluggish was a regular deal and I couldn’t take it anymore. Quitting was the only solution in my mind. Obviously I had thought about it when I was younger, but what kid doesn’t? My coach started to tell that I was slacking off, and decided to pull me aside one day to ask me if anything was up. As I started explaining to him that I just couldn’t get back into the groove he assured me that this was a regular thing among swimmers. The demanding sport cannot be left for more than a week without feeling like you’re drowning once you jump in the water. He told me that I needed to push myself like I have been for many years before and to be a great leader of perseverance for the younger kids.

 

Then it happened. I gained it back. I remembered why I fell in love with swimming in the first place. I had finally gone under a minute for my one hundred freestyle race. The cheering from teammates, congratulations from coaches and my own self-pride at an all time high, I was back in the game. Since that moment, I have only looked forward in my swimming career. So far in my University career I have cut times dramatically, made divisionals as a first year and won first place in an 800 freestyle without even training for it.

 

Why do I still love it? The teamwork. Although swimming is mostly an individual sport, you need that support from your fellow teammates and coaches in order to push yourself to your limits. Obviously I still have my lows days where I am not confident in my abilities, my flip turns are off or I’m intimidated by other girls in my races, but I still choose everyday to go to practice and work my butt off so I can perform to the best of my abilities.

 

Stephanie Pickering