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01/10/2018 11:00 PMCompetition is what draws Aidan Henry to the water, and that’s certainly evident based on the waves he’s making in his sophomore year with the Branford-Guilford boys’ swimming and diving team. Aidan, a Guilford resident, has already qualified for states in several events this season, including the 200 freestyle with a qualifying time of 1:48.63, as well as the 200 individual medley (2:04.97), the 500 freestyle (4:57.80), and the 100 freestyle (50.26).
“With swimming, I love the competition. It’s guys going in the pool and really going at it. I love being a part of that,” Aidan says. “Making states is really fun and exciting. I can’t wait to get higher up in competition.”
Aidan says he likes persevering through the longer heats by swimming distance events. However, Aidan also enjoys the events where he can showcase his versatile skill-set, while charging full steam ahead.
“I love the freestyle events, especially the long-distance ones. You have to be strategic and out-pace and out-think the other guys,” says Aidan, who also swims for the Bulldog club team at Yale University, where his father, Jim Henry, is the head of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. “I also like the individual medley, because you have to go all out and go as fast as you can. It’s four strokes, and it’s pure endurance.”
In terms of his team, Aidan is in unique situation by being a part of a co-op program with students from Branford. Aidan says that no matter what school they go to, every athlete on the team is all about working hard for the person next to them.
“This team is really awesome. I love the team we have. We have a young team with a lot of talent and promise for the future,” Aidan says. “We encourage and cheer each other on, win or lose. We also have great guidance from our coaches.”
In a short span of time, first-year Head Coach Jen Amasino has seen how Aidan brings a nice mix of characteristics to the pool. Amasino says Aidan is a serious swimmer who wants to make sure that everyone is enjoying themselves.
“[Aidan] strives to push himself in practice to be the best he can be. When he gets to a meet and behind the block, Aidan will give it everything he has to beat the swimmer next to him,” says Amasino. “But outside of his competitiveness, Aidan has a very laid back and funny personality. He is always joking around with his teammates and makes light of most situations. This characteristic makes him a great teammate because, while he does encourage his teammates to push themselves, he does it in a fun way that can make the hardest swim practice go by that much faster because everyone is laughing and staying positive. High school swimming is a fun, enjoyable experience, and Aidan 100 percent contributes to creating this atmosphere for himself and his teammates.”
As he plunges into this sophomore season, Aidan says the most important thing for his team is that everyone gives everything they have every day. If that happens, Aidan believes the rest will take care of itself.
“It’s about how far we can go,” says Aidan. “We have to push ourselves to the absolute limit and just keep going.”