'Great feeling of satisfaction'
- posted: 06 Nov. 2007
- scrollsports@byui.edu
It is quite possible that the John W. Hart swimming pool is the warmest spot on campus. Or at least in the Hart Building. Hang around the pool for a few minutes and things start to feel muggy and humid, especially compared to everything else around Rexburg.
So why would anyone want to spend a whole hour in there?
For Colt Peterson, a junior studying health science, it’s something that happens when he swims.
“It’s the moment when everything clicks, and it feels like you’re just gliding through the water,” Peterson said.
“There’s not a better feeling than after a good hard swim,” said Erin Larson, a junior studying health education.
Peterson and Larson both swim for the Spartans, one of the four competitive swim teams at BYU-Idaho. Besides sharing a team, they share similar reasons for starting to swim.
Before Larson started swimming at BYU-I, she trained at her local pool for a few triathlons in which she planned to compete. Peterson competed in a triathlon, but he said the swimming killed him. He originally joined the swim team to learn how to swim.
“Then I stayed because it was so much fun,” Peterson said.
Because he had never swum on a team, Peterson struggled to learn the proper strokes and flip turns.
“I was a little embarrassed,” Peterson admitted. “But the swim coaches and team members were great. They were always encouraging.”
Even though it was almost a full year before Peterson began to feel like he could compete well, he always enjoyed going to the swim meets and practices because of the camaraderie he shared with the other swimmers.
Larson agreed that the team is important to the experience.
“Everyone is super supportive, and they help me learn how to do all the strokes better,” Larson said.
Both Larson and Peterson described their participation as being part of a great social experience. Peterson has seen people he swam with in his first semester leave for their missions, come back, and then swim with him all over again.
“I love being able to recognize other swimmers on campus and say, ‘Hi,’” Peterson said.
Even though he isn’t winning any events, Peterson continues to have a great time participating on the Spartans swim team.
“The atmosphere of the swimming program stresses having fun and getting better than you used to be, not better than the other swimmers,” Peterson said. “Every time I jump in and remember what it used to feel like to swim, and I can feel my improvement, I get a great feeling of satisfaction.” 
