Senior Emily Ngo wakes up almost every morning at the crack of dawn to get ready for swim practice. Morning practice starts at 5:45 a.m., which means she has to be ready far before then. She does her usual routine: she brushes her teeth and washes her face, gets dressed, and heads to practice — again, and again.
Ngo has been perfecting this routine since she first joined the Huron swim team in her freshman year. She was six years old when she first began swimming through lessons at Goldfish; this eventually progressed into swimming for club swim teams as well.
So when it came to high school swimming, Ngo knew immediately what she would do — though her decision didn’t come without doubts.
“I basically knew from the start that I wanted to join,” said Ngo. “I had a [lot of] hesitation when I first joined, though. I only knew around three people at the time, so it was quite intimidating.”
Despite initially being uncertain, Ngo has found a belonging within Huron’s swim team. In fact, it’s one of the things she loves most about swimming.
“I love how you’re able to connect with your teammates,” said Ngo. “Not in a competitive way, but more as in a way to bond together and cheer each other on as a team.”
Ngo added that the support is especially significant on the team.
“Even though [swim practices] are hard, there’s a lot of support here, and we all help each other become our best selves.”
Last year, Ngo was named as one of the co-captains for the 2025 Huron swim team.
“I was really excited,” said Ngo about how she felt when she was named. “I kinda expected to be named co-captain based on how I was the past season, so I wasn’t too surprised.”
So far, her experience as captain has been going fairly well.
“Being a captain is very fun,” said Ngo. “We plan a lot of the merch, we do a lot of the bonding events…lead the cheers, and just overall be a good role model for the rest of the team.”
However, this important role doesn’t come without its challenges.
“The challenging thing, in my opinion, is trying to be a role model all the time,” said Ngo. “Captains should always show up on time, maintain a positive attitude, and be a good example to help influence the team to do the same. But we’re all human as well, so it’s not always achievable.”
This hasn’t been Ngo’s first experience with an obstacle. In the winter of this year, Ngo was debating quitting the swim team due to various reasons, one of which was to drop time in her main event, 100 breaststroke.
“There was a time when I wasn’t happy with my swimming times,” said Ngo. “With academics and other extracurricular activities, I seriously thought about quitting altogether.”
However, by making small but crucial changes, Ngo was fortunately able to overcome this difficult challenge.
“By thinking about my future goals and [realizing] that I couldn’t step away now,” said Ngo. “It was also really important to change my mindset. [I thought], ‘don’t quit after just one bad day.’ So, I stuck through and I actually saw a lot more improvement. Not only did I drop a lot in times, but I qualified for states for the first time.”
After years and years spent in natatoriums with slippery tiled floors and pools of chlorine-blue water, Ngo has learned nothing short of many crucial lessons.
“I’ve learned to be more resilient,” said Ngo. “There are a lot of times [during] races when I don’t get my best time, and I keep [asking] myself and wondering, ‘oh, what could I do better? Why? Like, why is this going wrong? What am I doing? Should I be doing this?’ I realized that you just have to persevere.”
While it’s important to be determined, Ngo also added that it’s key not to be too hard on yourself.
“Don’t get too stressed out about yourself,” said Ngo. “A lot of times it’s not your fault…there’s a ton of factors that can play into something that goes wrong. As long as you explore all those possibilities and fine-tune your details, you will get what you want.”
As a captain in her final year, Ngo will leave the swim team filled with fond memories for both herself and future members.
“It feels bittersweet in a way, [since] almost everything I do will be my last,” said Ngo. “I’ll definitely miss all the traditions and meets that we do.”
