Rams Start Bonding in Open Spaces

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FORT COLLINS – Team bonding is crucial in developing a culture.

The action can take many forms, Sunday's exercise at the Horsetooth Open Water event one of the more unique ones for Colorado State's women's swimming and diving team.

"Can I say trauma bonding?" senior Megan Hager asked.

Most certainly, because in some ways the 2.4 mile swim on a crisp Sunday morning gave off the specific vibe to some of them, most of whom don't have experience swimming outside of lanes, some of whom are sprinters by nature, avoiding any and all distance.

"It's something we all have to do together. I feel it's a formative experience, especially for the first years coming here," Hager said. "It kinda stinks to be honest. But here we are, swimming around in a lake at 7 in the morning in September."

It's a different beast, and nothing the Rams will ever do during the season. At the start, the air temperature was 58 degrees, but the water was listed at 72. For a swimmer, that's cold, and none of the Rams were wearing wetsuits.

There is no wall. There is no black line at the bottom of the pool, just murky water which forces a swimmer to lift their head to see where they're going. It makes backs ache, and if they have tired shoulders to begin with, they're going to feel them even more at the end.

It's an event with other collegiate swim teams in attendance, but they don't view the competition in the same manner as a dual meet.

Which is why head coach Christopher Woodard – who competed himself, doing the 1.2 mile swim all breaststroke – puts it on the schedule each season. The training is good, but not the most important part of the day.

"It's giving them a challenge to overcome, to kind of get out of their comfort zone; to be comfortable being uncomfortable," he said. "That's the best part. I dread doing it, but then you feel better after doing it and they'll always come out with stories about it.

"Sometimes we exist in a bubble as student-athletes and we forget this is our community, our reservoir, such a cool opportunity we can do in our own backyard."

Not all of the Rams met in the Moby Parking lot at 5:40 a.m., feeling apprehensive. Freshman Maddi Geyer wouldn't say she was looking forward to it, but swimming in open water is something she actually likes.

"I think it's just a good hour to swim, because it's something different from what I normally do," she said. "I like open water because I just close my eyes and go."

She finished third overall in the collegiate division, finishing in 41:22. Her roommate, Tess Whinery was the next Ram to cross the finish line – a short sprint up a concreate slab after climbing out of the water – in 43:19, with transfer Rylee O'Neill in at 44:38 on the clock.

Geyer liked the assignment personally, but also understood the underlying goal. Besides, she may be a rookie to the team, not to the task at hand.

"I think it's something out of our comfort zone, so that's always good for team bonding. It's a fun thing to get up to do on a Sunday morning," Geyer said. "I mean, I wasn't looking forward to it. I started doing open water two years ago, and I didn't expect to be good at it. We just did it with my old club team -- our coach made us do it -- and it was something I was good at, which I wasn't expecting. I'd been swimming for 13 years, so it's always fun to find something new you're good at."

Hager, a sprinter by trade, has done this twice. Her freshman year was wiped out by the pandemic, last year due to cold temperatures. It's out of her wheelhouse, but she has found the mindlessness of the swim can be pretty enjoyable, calling it meditative.

The results of the way show mini packs from some of the teams, girls who went in together, stuck together and some even exited and even crossed the finish hand in hand.

To Hager, it represents what the day is all about.

"We can do hard things together. It's somber, for sure," she said. "You load into those vans at 5:55 a.m. Hilarious. As a team it's good. It's our first event we go to together, but it's not like a meet. You don't have the stress of a meet and competing at an event where you have to do well in your races. For most of the team, it's an off event to swim a distance freestyle. It's nice, and you get to see everyone together and have a team breakfast. You're out here on a Sunday knowing we all didn't particularly want to do it, but at the same time, you're there for each other. If you have a buddy you swim next to, you're there for them. If you don't have a buddy, it's miserable."

Which initially makes the finish feel like the best part of the day, being done with the race for another year. But it also makes what is looming – the upcoming season in clear, chlorinated water – a challenge they're more than ready to accept.

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Maddi Geyer

Megan Hager