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04/09/2020 12:00 AMKyle Borrelli set a few specific goals for himself heading into his sophomore year with the Greater New Haven Warriors boys’ swimming and diving team. One of those goals was to complete the 100-meter freestyle in less than 56 seconds.
When the Warriors hosted Sheehan for their regular-season finale on Feb. 24, Kyle had one last opportunity to reach that goal. Kyle jumped into the pool and wound up finishing the 100 freestyle with a lifetime-best time of 55.9 seconds, proving that the more he competes, the more he improves.
“That was something that I was really happy about. I wanted to break 56 seconds in the 100 free,” Kyle says. “Earlier in the season, I swam the 100 free for the first time this season, and I finished around 56. I hadn’t swam it in a while and thought it would be great to be able to cut down on that time and make it to SCC finals. And even though I didn’t make it, I did drop a significant amount of time, and it was really exciting.”
Kyle competed for the North Haven boys’ swim team as a freshman last year before the Indians joined forces with athletes from East Haven, Guilford, and North Branford to form the Warriors’ co-op this season. Kyle had participated in swimming as a youngster, but was no longer active in the sport when he started high school. However, Kyle’s brother Stephen was already on the squad, and knowing that he had the chance to practice and compete alongside his brother motivated Kyle to get back in the water.
“My brother and sister joined the team before me, and I had a little bit of experience when I didn’t enjoy it as much, but I thought I’d give it a try again,” says Kyle. “It was a really great experience working with my brother. I don’t always get to see him in a working environment. When we would swim in the same lane, we would try to compete in practice to push each other, to become better in the sport.”
Kyle mostly competes in the sprinting events for the Warriors, typically swimming the 50 and 100 freestyles. However, Kyle also likes competing in the 100 breaststroke.
“The 50 free, I’m able to just push myself for a really short amount of time and just go for it,” Kyle says. “I really enjoy the 100 breaststroke. It’s one of my favorite strokes. I’m really excited I got to do that this season.”
Outside of his individual events, being part of a team is an important part of Kyle’s career as a swimmer. Kyle wants to contribute to the greater good of a team and, this year, he helped the Warriors win the SCC Division 2 title.
Head Coach Martha Phelan has seen Kyle improve by leaps and bounds throughout the past two seasons. Phelan says that Kyle seemed to get faster after every single meet during the recent campaign.
“Kyle has been on a trajectory of just getting better and better. This year, I mapped his times out, and it’s unbelievable how much time he has dropped,” says Phelan. “We had some pretty big wins this year against Amity and Daniel Hand. Kyle is one of those swimmers that understands every point matters. He was really instrumental in accruing points both individually and on a team. From day one, every meet his times improved. He never plateaued.”
After earning Most Improved Player honors as a freshman, Kyle decided to take swimming more seriously and devote additional time to his training. Kyle practiced with Coach Phelan over the summer in order to prepare for his sophomore year. When the season began, he pushed himself as hard as possible in every practice until he started seeing results.
As Kyle improved his times, he was doing so while working with a group of new athletes as part of the Warriors’ co-op. While the change came as a bit of a shock at first, Kyle says that it ultimately made his experience even more enriching.
“This year, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to like the team, because I don’t always like meeting new people. I knew the North Haven team, but I was a little scared competing with three new towns,” Kyle says. “But once I got on the team and I started swimming with them and I knew everyone there, it was really great. Once I got to know them all, they were just like everyone else. They were great, and I was really glad to experience that this year.”
Kyle wasn’t sure what to expect when he decided to get back into swimming as a freshman. During the last two seasons, he’s come out of his shell while trimming his times significantly. Now, Kyle loves the sport and is eager to follow up his sophomore success with a great junior campaign.
“Being able to call myself a swimmer is a real accomplishment,” Kyle says. “Personally, I think swimming is one of the hardest sports out there. It requires all aspects of your strength. Being able to call myself a swimmer is pretty cool.”