The Journey to Club Swimming: The Path to Balance and Passion

Blacksburg, VA -- Paige Gray’s love for swimming began at a very early age. As a child, she spent long days at the pool just having fun. “Paige started swimming when she was five years old. I honestly think her seeing my brother and me in the pool and on swim teams made her want to join in,” Wesley Gray said. What began as just a fun thing to do as a child turned into a formative part of her life. Now as a junior at Virginia Tech, she has made her own way for herself in continuing her sport in a way that she finds both fulfilling and manageable. 

via OA Swim & Dive Boosters

When it came time to start considering colleges, Paige knew that she wanted to continue swimming in some capacity. She knew early in high school that she would not be able to swim at the Division One level. “I chose club swim over division one early on. The problem with Division One is that when you are in high school, it takes a lot of effort to get there. I knew around ninth grade that I was good at swimming, just not good enough to swim at the Division One level. I still wanted to go to a Division One school, so I decided to pursue other avenues to be able to continue my sport,” Paige said.

Knowing that she wanted to continue swimming, Paige followed in her brothers' footsteps in joining the Virginia Tech Club Swim team. “One of my older brothers went to Virginia Tech, was on the club swimming team, and loved it. He got to travel to different colleges, and it was not as intense as year-round swim in high school, which was really appealing to me,” Paige said. One thing that stood out to Paige was the burnout that happens in such an intense sport, and she wanted to participate in something that would ensure that she did not fall out of love with the sport. 

Paige joined club swim her freshman year and has never looked back. She said, “Club swim is a tight-knit community. Everyone is there to support each other.” She has fallen in love with the camaraderie that the sport offers and even further loves the fact that it is the type of club sport where you can be as involved as you want to be. “Club swim here at Virginia Tech is definitely not super intense in terms of commitment. We practice two or three times a week whenever we are able to get pool time. You also don’t have to compete if you don’t want to, but I find meets the most fun,” she commented.

Club swimming’s atmosphere has promoted many rewarding friendships for Paige. “I met one of my best friends, Sophia, through club swim. We met our freshman year when we got to go to Ohio State for nationals,” she said. Sophia reflected on the experience, saying, “We were the only two freshman girls on the team that made it to nationals. Paige and I became fast friends because we were rooming together. We were both just so excited to be swimming at a meet as big as that.”. 

One memory that really stuck out to both of them from that meet was their mixed relay race. “Everyone on club swim is so competitive, so when we found out that we would be in the same heat as another team from Virginia Tech, we knew that it was going to be an extremely cutthroat race,” Sophia said. Paige discussed the prize for winning the heat: “I remember them saying the winner of the heat would receive a rubber ducky, and as corny of a prize as that sounds, I knew that I wanted that rubber ducky,” Paige said. Their team ended up winning that heat and won a rubber ducky. Paige still takes so much pride in that prize as it still resides on her dresser two years later. 

Club swim has provided Paige with a community that she really feels like herself in. Despite still having one year left at Virginia Tech, she has already started thinking about what her swimming life will look like following graduation. “I really want to continue to swim in some capacity after I leave Virginia Tech, whether that is just for exercise or participating in a master swim program for adults where I can still compete. Paige’s older brother Wesley commented on her continuing to follow in his footsteps: “After I graduated from Virginia Tech in 2019, I chose to join a master swim program so I could continue my love for swimming in a group setting, so just like Paige did when she was younger, following my brother’s and my footsteps, beginning to swim, I hope that she will do the same in

continuing to swim after she graduates from college.” 

Swimming has shaped a large part of Paige’s life. Her childhood friend Katie commented, “Her very first and only job was working as a lifeguard at her community pool, where she also was on the swim team. Swim has always been a super big part of her life.” Paige has learned so much from being not only a swimmer but also in such a tight-knit swim community. “Swim has shaped so many of my goals through shaping my mindset. I learned early on that you are going to have to work super hard to get where you want to be,” Paige said. She intends on taking the lessons that she learned from her competitive sport into her life post-graduation. 

As Paige looks beyond college, one thing will remain a constant in her life, and that is swimming and her love for it. It is more than just a sport for her; it is a part of who she is.