My younger 15 year old

Growing up as a swimmer, my life was fully dedicated to the sport. Training, competitions, early mornings… all while trying to keep up with school. Balancing swimming and academics was normal for me, but making decisions about my future wasn’t.

In Spain, when you’re 15 years old, you’re in your last year of compulsory secondary school (4º de ESO). That’s when you’re expected to decide whether you want to continue with the two years of upper secondary education before university, known as "Bachillerato".

At that age, you’re asked to choose a direction. If you decide to do "Bachillerato", you also have to choose a specialization: Science, Social Sciences, Humanities, or Arts. That choice shapes the subjects you study for the next two years and leads up to one big university entrance exam you prepare for during that entire time.

I didn’t really know what I wanted to study, what options existed, or how my choices could affect my future, all I knew was that i did not want to stop swimming while going to university. I end up choosing the Science option, mainly because it felt like the option that kept the most doors open if I wanted to do something related to sport later on.

What followed were two very intense years.

Instead of being some of the best years of school, they were filled with stress, pressure, and constant thinking about what was coming next. I was trying to get good grades, swim fast, improve as an athlete, and at the same time figure out my future.

Looking back, the hardest part wasn’t the workload. It was the lack of direction. Once everything was done, I wasn’t ready to go to the US the following year. My English level wasn’t good enough, the whole system seemed complicated and unclear, and there was no clear path. I basically had to take a gap year to get myself together and prepare for my future.

That experience is a big reason why we’re building the Swim Lab at Wave Wise.

We want to support student-athletes from a younger age, so they don’t have to guess their way through important decisions. We want swimmers to have a clear path, combining sport and education, with people around them who understand both.

The Swim Lab isn’t just about performance in the pool. It’s about helping swimmers:

• Progress with a plan

• Feel supported academically and athletically

• Understand their options early

• Move toward university with confidence when the time comes

  
  

No swimmer should feel alone when choosing their future.

This is about creating the support system I wish I had, and making sure the next generation of swimmers grows with clarity, balance, and belief in what’s possible.