EAST LANSING, Mich. — One of the hardest things that a high schooler can go through is transferring schools. Ava Harmon had to make that decision after her freshman year at Holt High when she decided to part ways with the Rams and transferred to East Lansing.
She made memories and formed close relationships with the swim team at Holt, but decided she needed to make a change. She decided to join a team coached by a woman at ELHS. She became known as the “missing puzzle piece” with her new school, and her new-found family.
In just her junior year, and her second season with the Trojans, she placed third in all of her events at the CAAC Blue Championships league meet, and made it to the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association meet (MISCA) and Division II State Championship meet.
“I was Ava’s first female coach, and so we’ve talked about that a lot,” said ELHS swim Coach Madelyn Zink. “Just seeing her swimming her freshman year and knowing her a bit in middle school, and kind of just seeing her not even evolve as a swimmer, but just evolve as a person, and like grow into herself, and be more comfortable on the pool deck, and be more comfortable asking questions, and just the comfortability of having another female in the room I think was a big change for her.”
Zink also serves as the head coach for ELHS’ men’s swim team. She said that having a first-time female coach was different for Harmon because it changes how you enter the room and helps build confidence. Zink has seen her become more comfortable with herself, and more comfortable with the people around her. Harmon even said that having a female coach for her was a “breath of fresh air,” adding that being at ELHS felt like she was where she was supposed to be.
Harmon began swimming at six. She grew up going to her older sister Audrey’s swim practices and fell in love with the sport through watching her training sessions. But, as time marched on, Hamron had a big decision to make on her future, especially after her sister, someone she had grown very close with, graduated.
Before reaching her goals, and earning a spot at MISCAs and States, Harmon faced challenges with her mental health and had to confront problems head on to push herself to her best potential.
“It's been really fun, but it's also been very hard because I've hit many, like, roadblocks. And last season, I hit a mental block that I just kind of was like, ‘Oh, I don't know. I'm just like, really over swim right now’,” said Harmon.
The next step in bettering her mental health and rediscovering the love she had for the sport was to see a sports psychologist. Not only did her psychologist help to better her, but they helped Harmon begin to believe in herself again, they helped her find different ways to overcome those roadblocks, and helped map out her season — a season that ultimately led Harmon to the biggest stage there is in high school swimming — the state championship meet.
“Swimming is a physical sport, but most of swim comes from like your mindset. That was something I really struggled with because I just had a hard time believing in myself and knowing what I was capable of doing,” said Harmon. “And just like talking to her [sports psychologist], she really just planned out my season for me, and what I was going to do during meets and how I was going to calm myself down.”
Now with senior year set to begin in nine months and new goals to set, Harmon also has decisions to make for her bigger future. Her options: be a varsity college swimmer, or start a new journey as a club swimmer and focus on her education.
Achieving what she puts her mind toward is the most amazing feeling for her as a swimmer, and the biggest reason she continues to put her best foot forward.
“I’m capable of doing these things, while also having all that support around me, and having friendships through swim, and having people around me that I know are there to support me, it’s just an amazing feeling,” said Harmon.