Being a captain requires more than just skill; it requires leadership qualities and the heart to put the team before yourself. Liam Kimball is the perfect embodiment, from checking in on teammates constantly to motivating them in the pool during practices and meets. 

Kimball began his career as a diver and swimmer during his sophomore year. He would continue to dive until his junior year, in which he would commit full-time to swimming around two weeks into the season. 

“I regret diving for my first season; I should have been swimming the whole time so that I could have made as much progress as possible,” said Kimball. This change caused him to drop time rapidly, pushing his 100-yard freestyle almost 30 seconds faster from 1:32.30 to 1:05.77 and his 50-yard freestyle 10 seconds faster from 38.77 to 28.47 according to SwimCloud. 

Kimball mentioned one of his past teammates whom he still thinks about. 

“Andrew Orlowski had the biggest impact on me because he always showed up to practice with intense, contagious energy,” said Kimball. “Everyday, he was ready to swim and motivated everyone else to do the same.” Kimball finds himself following in Orlowski’s footsteps.

For Kimball, success is seen differently than it is for most people. Although he wants to succeed in swimming by setting low times and winning his events, he measures success more so by his ability to motivate others and by how he holds himself accountable in and out of the water. 

“The sport of swimming isn’t for everyone; many often quit before they get a chance to feel how good it can be,” Kimball said. “I almost quit at the beginning of my first season because the practices were really hard and my coach had very high expectations for me.” Kimball later talked about staying since he could tell he was getting better, and he didn’t want to give up on his teammates who were counting on him.

One thing that Kimball struggles with the most is balancing being a friend and teammate with the responsibility of holding people accountable during a tough set in the pool. Many people often take shortcuts to reach where they want to go.

“I try to make sure that my teammates know I am trying to help them and make them better when holding them accountable during a set,” Kimball said. “I try to be friendly and helpful with all of my teammates, which helps keep a positive team atmosphere while making sure everyone is focused during practice.”

Being a captain isn’t the only thing that helps Kimball push others on his team; he’s also lived through it. He’s done his time on the team, and now he uses that experience to help others. He has one piece of advice he makes sure to share with everyone that joins the team:

“Do the hard things in practice so that races become the easy part,” said Kimball.

The team always makes sure to have their fair share of fun alongside the hard work they put in. On the drive to the state open championship, the team put a fun twist on their ride by all carpooling and calling it a “convoy”.

“My all time favorite memory was when we deployed the convoy last year. We plowed through enemy territory, communicating with our walkie-talkies, and successfully achieved our mission,” said Kimball.

Throughout his swimming career, Kimball has put in the work and proved that he belongs on the Woodland Regional High School Swimming and Diving team. From motivating teammates to pushing himself and holding everyone accountable, he has always shown captain qualities and continues to as his senior year comes to a close.