Dryden’s Lee talks virtual swim meets

On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the Dryden boys swimming team had its first meet of the season, taking on Watkins Glen. However, they were in different pools in different counties. It was the first of five scheduled virtual meets for the team, as COVID protocols have prevented head-to-head, in-person competition in swimming.

Junior Ben Lee was the lone swimmer to win a race for Dryden, taking home the 100 breaststroke by just over half a second. Lee did not know he had won the race until three days later at practice when the team received the results from Watkins Glen. He discussed the experience of racing virtually.

“It’s very strange,” Lee said. “A normal meet, you get up on the blocks and there’s usually your teammates racing with you. They’re a lane spaced over like during normal meets, but there’s just not a guy in between you two. You sort of have to pretend like a guy’s there and race against your imagination.”

Lee went into more detail about what it’s like racing against opponents you can’t see.

“In breaststroke, every time I come up for air, I try and make sure I can see my opponent’s head bobbing up and down out of the corner of my eye and try and make myself go faster, or I pretend that there are sharks in the water coming after you just to try and push yourself and then go faster,” he said. “There are a lot of teammates who weren’t able to swim because they didn’t have enough practices. Hopefully next week, I’ll be able to race against them and get a better time.”

He touched on his narrow victory, which would have been very exciting in a normal year.

“I think I beat a guy by milliseconds during my race,” Lee said. “That’s sort of nerve-wracking thinking that a guy was that close and you didn’t even see him. You sort of have to shadowbox and just imagine that he’s there and always try to go faster.”

With postseason activity far from certain, stakes are a bit lower for regular-season meets this year. The unknown results didn’t weigh too heavily on Lee’s mind during the week.

“It’s not really that serious, I guess,” Lee said. “You’re not just constantly thinking about what place you got and hoping you got a good time and just hoping you did well. Then, my coach posted the results. He printed out a piece of paper and you just go over, looking. Then, you’re like, ‘Oh, I just barely beat this guy.’ It’s strange.”

The coach for Dryden this year is Ryan Carmody, who is in his first year with the Purple Lions. He’s made an impact on the team quickly.

“The new coach is amazing,” Lee said. “I really like him. He puts together good workouts. You can joke around with him. He’s a nice guy, but then he always makes sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to and practicing your techniques and getting faster.”

Currently, the swim team is one of just three active sports in Dryden, the others being boys and girls bowling. It’s a unique position for the sport, and Lee is reminded of that every day.

“It’s sort of fun,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get some of my friends to join swim just to keep them interested in sports and to not just be lazy. But I guess that’s sort of difficult to do — getting people interested. It’s strange because usually, when you practice after school, once you leave to get into the car, you see all the other teams practicing. But now, the halls are silent.”

Lee is in a leadership position on the team this year. There are two seniors and two juniors on the squad, and he affirmed that the team is focused and experienced, but there is still work to be done.

“Guys are pretty serious,” he said. “They know what they’re doing. They’ve been swimming for a while. The big issue is lane lines, though. We need to work on taking out the lane lines. But I think that’s it. They’re all really good swimmers.”

Lee and the boys swimming team will be back at it next week with matches against both Southern Cayuga and Lansing. It is an odd year, but student-athletes have proven thus far that they will go through anything just to compete in any way, shape or form.