Swimming. A recreational activity for most in the summer, but a lifelong commitment to Senior August Foland. The days of swimming leisurely laps around the pool are long gone for Foland; swimming is now more than a sport to him: it’s a lifestyle.
Foland is known for his drive, commitment, determination, and skill in the sport. Swimming for a total of 12 years, Foland’s career began when he was just six years old at Western Athletic Club. Rather than being one of the kids struggling at swim lessons, swim was a second nature to Foland.
On January 21, the swim team celebrated senior night in a duel meet against Little Miami, honoring their seniors in their final season with the team. Foland was able to achieve a win and a personal best in the 500-yard freestyle, accompanied by teammates Junior Corbin Hazelett and Senior Mason Altman, and Freshman Aidenn Gaydosh from Little Miami. Foland also swam a 25 flat split in the 200-yard freestyle relay, a 30.70 split in the 200-yard Medley Relay in breaststroke, and a 1:09.60 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
So far this year, some of Foland’s best times were a 52.01 in the 100-yard freestyle, a 56.71 in the 100 backstroke, and making it to finals at Coaches Classic, the biggest high school meet in high school, arguably more competitive than the swim state meet.
Foland’s drive and determination aren’t just obvious through his times, but also his work ethic and commitment to his team and practices. Foland was doing two practices a day, waking up at 5:30 before school, wading into a freezing pool for one-on-one time with his coach to break down his swimming and dissect anything that needed to be addressed. Afterward, he hops out, goes to school, and practices again with the whole team.
As he explains an average practice to me, I’m astonished at not only the quantity of the work, but the quality Foland puts in. “An average day in practice would consist of a warm-up, which is about 500-1,000 yards,” He starts. “We would have a main set, which is the main workout for the day. This could be a range of paces, efforts, times, and yards, but usually it’s about 1,500 yards and hard race pace effort”.
Trying to be the best of the best, Foland has the same work ethic outside of the pool. “The best of the best are obsessive about going to practice, lifting, and details that often are overlooked,” He explains. “To be the best you can be at swim, you have to be practicing every day and trying to improve on the littlest things”.
This year, Foland has high hopes, but they are followed by reason. “This season, I am feeling extremely good about our team and our chances at state,” He exclaims. “It’s super exciting to me because I’ve never competed at state, and that’s been a goal of mine since freshman year”.
Foland plans to continue his swimming career in college at Franklin University and will continue to be a face of the Oak Hills Swim Team, even as an alumni.
