After facing the disappointment of being cut from her second-grade swimming team during her debut season, Molly MacKinnon ’24 quickly learned the value of grit and determination. Fast forward ten years, and she’s the Co-Captain of Andover Girls Swimming and Diving, aiming to share her knowledge of the sport with her teammates.
“I started competitively swimming in second grade when I joined my club team back in Chicago, but I grew up swimming with a summer league team, and all the older girls were part of the same club team and they inspired me to join… I practiced really hard and then six months later I was on the team,” said MacKinnon.
In contrast to her experience in the summer league, MacKinnon found Andover introducing a different team aspect to swimming, which is typically considered a more individualized sport. She appreciated that the Andover swim team promoted a collective effort towards shared goals, rather than solely pursuing individual performances.
“I really love Andover’s team specifically because it is a really different environment than the club sport that I grew up in because [it’s] a team sport even though swimming is an individual sport. We are all working towards beating the other team and competing in meets like Easterns [Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships] and New Englands… We have relays and we are cheering for each other on the side of the pool, so it really feels like a team sport,” said MacKinnon.
MacKinnon highlighted her favorite aspect of swimming being the races. She emphasized the importance of maintaining the mindset of thinking of races as opportunities to continually push for self-improvement.
“I really love races just because they are an opportunity to really show how much you have grown and how hard you have been working and I have reframed my mindset over the past few years because I used to get really nervous before all of my races, but now I view every race as a new opportunity to go faster and show what I can do,” said MacKinnon.
In addition to being Co-Captain, MacKinnon serves on campus as a Blue Key Head. Sophia You ’26 highlighted how MacKinnon’s additional role helped motivate and energize the team throughout practices and competition.
“Molly is a great Captain and she is also a Blue Key Head, so she always comes to practice with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. She is also a great motivator because every time when I am feeling a little bit down or tired, she always motivates me to go into faster intervals or faster lanes to push myself to become a better swimmer,” said You.
As a Co-Captain, MacKinnon focuses on influencing her teammates to challenge themselves to progress both individually and as a team. She acknowledged that the team can attain large victories through their collective effort.
“I definitely try to be really supportive and understanding of everyone on the team, but I also push everyone to work their hardest in practice because everyone is looking forward [to] meets throughout the season. We are not going to get the results we want individually or the results we want as a team if we are not showing up everyday and working hard,” said MacKinnon.
