Sophomore student and athlete, Lily Kohler, has been making waves in the pool since she was young, but it wasn’t until she was 10 that she began to stand out amongst her competition. She has made her mark in not only club swimming, but also in her high school team when she helped bring several relays and individual events to state-level competition. Kohler has devoted her life to the sport and practices upwards of 12 hours per week. When asked how she got into the sport she said,

“My dad was a swimmer, and my uncle was too. His whole family were swimmers, and they just put me in swim because they wanted to.” Lily further explains her family motivation by saying, “My brother went through all the difficulties with the sport that I am in now, and he knows how to overcome that.”

Unlike some athletes, it was not until she was about 10 years old that Kohler knew she should be a swimmer. After swimming a qualifying time, she was able to compete in her first large out-of-state meet which is when she realized how far her love for swimming had taken her. Lily realized that she could excel in her sport if she kept practicing and competing, so that’s what she did. The newfound motivation kept Kohler showing up to the pool everyday to practice and compete. Another factor that keeps her motivated are her friends.

“Being able to succeed at my goals and having fun with my friends while doing that”

She says that being able to see her friends every day gives her yet another motivation to keep going to practice. Not only is she motivated by her friends and seeing improvement in meets, but she is also motivated by the idea that she could one day be a collegiate athlete. Kohler says that the chance for her to get into college for the talent that she has is yet another motivator for her to swim. While she loves the sport, Lily said that the hardest part about swimming is that it’s such a mental game.

“The mental aspect of it, if your head is not in the right place, then your swimming isn’t either.”

Coming into the high school season, Kohler was a confident swimmer but had yet to place first in an individual meet. Lily had the skills and the times to compete with her competition and do well, but competing alongside Mehlville’s swim team helped boost her confidence both in and out of the pool. One of Mehlville’s biggest meets of the girls swimming season is the Nancy Brandt Invitational which allows them to compete with several different teams in the area before heading onto the MHSAA state championships. She discusses one of her favorite memories of high school swimming when she said,

“Starting high school swimming, and going to the Nancy Brandt meet because I had never really placed first alone before because there had always been faster people in club. And when I placed first, it made me feel really confident in my ability to swim.”

Kohler says that the reason that few people go to watch swim meets is because it is a more individual sport. She says the team aspect of this sport is not like your typical football or soccer team, but instead people that show up for you and cheer you on.

Kohler says that she is looking forward to the upcoming season and cannot wait to see what her future, and the future of her team, has in store.