Cole Ores has been swimming competitively for almost 11 years. He is an 11th grader at Vero Beach High School and his best event is the 200-yard freestyle.
Last week Vero Beach competed against county rival Sebastian River in their final meet of the season before districts begin. The meet was cut short due to the weather but Ores was pleased with his team’s performance. “Usually Sebastian beats us every year but I think we were ahead by a few points.” Ores said. “It was one of our bigger meets and we had a lot of good swims from everybody.”
Ores has been improving on his 200 freestyle times as he prepares for districts and he feels that the support he receives from his teammates makes him a stronger competitor. “The swim team members at Vero Beach are very close. We aren’t a swim team – we’re a swim family,” Ores said. “The sport comes down to individuals against the clock but during practices we help each other and talk about techniques that can help us win.”
To an outsider, swimming may appear to be more of a pastime than a competitive sport but Ores insists the sport demands complete physical and mental devotion. “Even though swimming is not a big spectator sport in my opinion it’s the most physically challenging sport that’s out there,” Ores said. “Everyone who swims puts in extreme dedication and extreme amounts of time and constant training trying to better your technique and endurance. The people who don’t understand what we do are missing out on a great sport.”
Whether it’s because of concussions or torn ACLs, many athletes have a difficult time maintaining the love they have for a particular sport into their senior years. Ores believes swimming is something he’ll be able to do forever. “The thing with swimming is that it’s not a perishable skill. You’ll have it all of your life and you can stay in shape with swimming,” Ores said.
