LAPS FOR THE ‘MAGIS’ – THE BETTER ‘MORE’

“I learned that hard work really does pay off when you stick with it,” Ranson said. She credits Head Coach Nick Frasersmith along with Coach Repaci for their support. “They push us and encourage us to be there for our teammates. They push me to be better. I see my teammates going fast and that makes me want to work harder. Getting better just takes a lot of working harder.”

 

Classmate Natalie Daum ’27 doesn’t mind the challenge. “Everything is hard about swimming; you don’t go into practice thinking, I want this to be easy. I like the grind of it; I like really pushing myself to see how far I can go.” This year, Daum qualified for every event in the State Meet. “We might get one or two a year that do that,” Frasersmith said. “Breaststroke and back stroke are completely different events that require different muscles, yet she qualified in all events, which is quite an accomplishment.”

 

“Freshman year, I wanted to rush the process, but then I learned that hard work always comes first,” Robynn Pigford ‘25 said, “When you put in the hard work, you get the results you want and have been hoping to achieve.” Pigford has played multiple sports, but Regis Jesuit was her first school team. She usually swims 50 and 100 freestyle. At first, her time for the 50 freestyle was close to 50 seconds; she improved that to 31.11 towards the end of this season.

 

“At first, I was inexperienced and did not really know what I was doing. I wanted to swim because it’s something that I enjoy doing. When I saw others making great times, I would think, ‘What am I missing? What am I doing that is not getting me what I want?’ I just needed time to learn more; I needed patience.”

 

Ranson values the encouragement she gets from watching the intensity of the top swimmers. “I see Natalie (Daum) in practice every day, and she makes me want to work harder and be as good as her. I definitely don’t have the best technique, but I’m trying to improve,” she admitted. The coaches have helped Ranson develop better technique that had shaved seconds off her times. Coach Frasersmith is “real strict with us, but he understands me and motivates me to want to get better.” 

 

The Latin word magis literally translates as “more.” One might be tempted to think that the girls swimming team exemplifies magis because it requires more practices and more laps, but Jesuits use this concept to express seeking the better good and going beyond the first efforts to achieve something significant. It has to do with making good choices and being willing to go far beyond one’s comfort zone. It reflects a willingness to take on challenges and discover resources within oneself you did not know you had.

 

Frasersmith coached Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin ’13 but doesn’t consider that level of success as what defines magis. “As a coach, I think it’s just patience and understanding—not everyone on the team is going to be an Olympian, actually only a small percentage will. When they leave here, it’s not all about their times, but how they’ve moved forward and progressed. Working on the small things and teaching them the little things—they become the big things and you become a better swimmer. [One] girl who came in as a freshman could barely make it across the pool. We’re a no-cut sport and encourage everybody to be there. By the time she graduated, she swam every single event. She went on to college and then started her own swimming program. She got the love of it, and she got that through the support of everybody else. It doesn’t matter your ability, it’s who you are and what you bring to it.”

 

Daum started swimming when she was seven and now swims year-round except for a three-week break in the summer from her club team. “Nick has been my coach since I was in seventh grade. Before then, I had talent, but I didn’t know what working hard meant. Nick is my biggest supporter. He knows if I’m slacking on something. He’ll say, ‘Come on, Natalie, you’re better than this; you can do this.’ For the past four years, he has always been there for me and pushing me to be the best I can possibly be.”

 

Daum says that her commitment comes from her goals. “Every single time I get in the water, I always want more. After every single race, I always write down my goals and keep on working to get there. When I was younger, it was like ‘I’m going to swim really fast so I can get out and have a cup of ice cream.’ Now, it’s like, ‘This is what I do, and I love what I do.’ I like really pushing myself to see how far I can go. I enjoy the chase. After a long day at school, I can get in the water and leave everything outside the water out there. The water is my happy place.”

 

“I enjoy seeing the hard work that really pays off,” Coach Frasersmith said, “When I look at all we’ve done in swimming—the banners, the championships, the accolades we have received—what is really special are the teams that have come together to achieve that. It’s not necessarily by having superstars on the team. It’s by having a team that supports each other.”

 

“I would not be where I am right now without all my teammates,” Daum said. “As much as I try to be a positive person, sometimes I look up at the (timing) board and think, ‘Oh, gosh, I don’t even think I can do this.’ There’s always somebody who lifts my head up and says, “You got this. You’re strong; you can do this.’

 

Even though Pigford has less experience than team members like Daum, she feels supported. “This team has meant so much to me; some of my very best friends are on this team. I grew up with them. These four years have brought a bond with my teammates that took me by surprise. We support each other not only in the pool but even outside of school.”

 

Frasersmith takes the long view of why swimming is important. “What we tend to see out of high school sports and swimming are life lessons. When you talk to swimmers 10 or 15 years out of high school, they don’t remember the times they posted; they remember the struggles and successes they and their friends went through. What is important is to create a positive culture. That’s the challenge.”