As the National Schools Swimming Championships get underway today, Jai Narayan College and CMF College head coach Serena Heritage believes heart and determination could make the difference for her swimmers during this weekend’s meet.
Heritage says the teams are entering the competition focused on giving their best effort in the pool.
Jai Narayan High School will field a team of five swimmers, four girls and one boy while CMF Collage has entered a squad consisting of five male swimmers.
Among the athletes expected to lead Jai Narayan’s campaign are Fiji representatives Grace Elizabeth Khelan and Salote Leca.
Khelan has already made waves after qualifying for the Oceania Swimming Championships earlier this year, becoming one of Fiji’s youngest swimmers to reach that stage at just 14 years old.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Salote Leca of Jai Narayan Collage also made her debut appearance at the 14th Oceania Swimming Championships this year.
“They are here to push the team through,” Heritage said.
Heritage, who has coached both schools for the past five years, said it has been encouraging to witness the continued growth of school competition around the country.
“It’s a good thing that we have a big number of schools coming in,” she said.
“It’s good to see the sport grow because from when we started after covid, we’ve seen a huge growth in numbers of swimmers.”
Preparation, however, has not been entirely smooth for the two schools.
Heritage revealed training was disrupted after pools were closed off for two weeks while water cuts also affected scheduled sessions.
“The preparation was good, I’d say,” she explained.
“We’ve been effective because the training games closed the pool for two weeks, and then we also had a water shortage.”
Despite the setbacks, Heritage remains optimistic her swimmers can still produce strong performances.
“We’re just going to hang on to faith and do our best and see what prevails in these two days,” she said.
Rather than focusing heavily on tactics or comparisons with rival schools, Heritage believes mindset will ultimately determine success in the pool.
“You can’t coach hearts,” she said.
“If your swimmers got the heart to win, they will definitely win.”
As competition begins today, the experienced coach says her athletes are simply looking forward to enjoying the occasion and representing the schools proudly.
“We’re going in to have fun, trust in the Lord and we will pull through.”
