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11/21/2017 11:00 PMWhen Sally Nardella was named a senior captain for the Branford girls’ swimming and diving team, she completely shifted her focus in the pool. Sally had stopped swimming year-round prior to entering high school, but after earning the title of captain, she used that opportunity as motivation to get back in the water on a full-time basis. The whole experience has made Sally like swimming that much more.
“My oldest sister used to swim, so I grew up going to her meets. My mom said I always loved the water, and you could never get me out of the pool as a kid. Once I started swimming, I loved it,” says Sally. “Swimming has always been a big part of everything, and it’s always been something different. A lot of my friends don’t swim, so it was nice to have a separate community.”
Hornets’ Head Coach Scott Butler always knew that Sally possessed a wealth of talent. Butler says he was impressed with Sally’s willingness to work even harder as one of the Hornets’ leaders this fall.
“She made the important decision to pick up with the [Soundview YMCA Stingrays] to set a precedent as a captain. It was an important step to make her commitment to this sport in her new role of captain,” Butler says. “What sets her apart—in our dual-meets she doesn’t do freestyle, because that’s where we’re the strongest. She fills the role of our weaker events, because even though they’re not her best events, her times are top two or three for Branford High School.”
Sally is the youngest of her siblings, so she wasn’t used to being in a leadership role. Although the experience of being a leader was brand new to her, Sally grew into it and truly loved being a captain.
“Being a captain this year has meant so much to me. Being the youngest of three, I’ve seen my sisters go through it, too, and experience that, and to be the older person for these girls to look up to is awesome, because I’ve never been a role model. I’ve always been looking up to others,” says Sally. “It’s nice to see it from that point of view where the girls are coming to me and I’m guiding them. We had an awesome group of girls, and I was so happy I got to lead them this season.”
Sally’s best events are the freestyles. Her favorite is the 200, and she recently set her personal-best high school time of 2:00.61 while placing fifth in the event at the Class M State Championship. She also recorded a personal-best mark of 55.92 with her ninth-place performance in the 100 freestyle at states.
“It’s always been something I succeeded in the most. As I got older I continued to grow more attached to the freestyle. Once I was in it, I was in it, and I wanted to keep myself where I was to grow throughout my high school career,” Sally says. “Whenever I’m in the 200, I feel very confident in my swim. It’s not a distance event where it’s long and boring or a sprint where it’s over in two seconds. I have time to figure out how I want to swim it. Depending on how I am, I can pace myself, so it’s the perfect distance for me.”
Branford was unable to swim in its home pool at Walsh Intermediate School for the majority of the 2017 season. However, the Hornets were able to return toward the end of the campaign, and that made Sally and her fellow Hornets quite happy.
“We’re getting more practice time now that we’re back at Walsh, which is key,” says Sally. “Going into the postseason, we start tapering back our yardage and workout at a higher intensity. It helps build up stamina, but gives your muscles a little break, so you’re not sore and your body is well rested.”
With her high school carer having come to a close, Sally doesn’t plan on competing at the varsity level in college, although she wants to keep swimming in her life one way or the other.
“I’ve thought about it. I’d like to do club swimming instead of real full-time swimming in college,” says Sally. “I never thought about swimming in college when I was a junior. I’ve always looked at doing club, because it’s something I don’t want to totally get rid of.”