Freedom swim captain Abby Burnette described the last three months as a mental mind game for the Patriot swim team.

“We have to be prepared at any point, but we can lose [the season] at any point,” Burnette said.

The Patriots had three practices in November when the Bethlehem Area School District suspended winter sports practices and games for two months.

Some Patriots, including Burnette, Aliah Corrado, and Lily Anderson were able to work around that somewhat because they swim for a club team.

“It’s definitely been helpful because I have personal goals I want to achieve,” said Burnette, whose main events are the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke. “You can’t just get in a pool and perform. It depends on how you trained all season.”

Whether the Pates do or don’t swim club, all were encouraged to do their own dryland training at home.

“It made me stronger because I pushed myself to do longer core workouts or get on the Vasa to stay in shape,” Burnette said.

Once the BASD suspension was lifted in January, the Patriots had 11/2 weeks of practice before a spike in COVID cases at the high school suspended Freedom’s winter sports seasons again. No sooner had that suspension been lifted than a snowstorm closed school the first week in February, postponing practices, meets, and games.

The Patriots’ first swim meet is scheduled for Feb. 10 as of Press deadlines.

“I’m looking forward to just racing again and having coaches cheering me on, and I’m excited to be in that district environment,” Burnette said. “My stroke in the water feels really good, but it depends how it will be racing.”

Since swim meets are virtual this year and each team is competing in its home pool, the Pates will have to race the clock, themselves, or each other.

“I feel like it will be very quiet and kind of strange,” Burnette said. “The people we’re racing are teammates who we’re practicing with every day. It’s a mind switch with how we’re getting our times.”