Kalli Fama is an undoubtedly excellent athlete. Top competitor on the swim team, with multiple records broken, but it’s what makes her good, that is inspirational. After 11 years of dedication to the sport, her hard work is proving to pay off this season.

Within the sport of swim, the goal is to be fast. A swimmer’s goal is to advance from point A to point B as fast as possible. Fama is undeniably successful in this advancement, particularly through her commitment and dedication, even to a point in which her coach notices.

“A couple weeks ago she was really sick” Stephanie Carrasco, the head swim coach remarked on a recent memory of Kalli. “She said ‘I’m gonna swim, they may not be my best times, but i am still gonna do it for the team’ Her times were probably some of the fastest I have seen her swim this year. Just because she has that motivation, she has that drive.”

Fama was first introduced to the sport when she came to Arizona from New Mexico, “I moved to Arizona and I had never even seen a pool.” Fama stated. But when she got into the water, a love for swim emerged immediately.

“I kinda just did it by myself and learned, I went on a YMCA team, learned the strokes and the races,” Fama explained, “then I went on to my club team and the family environment is what I just thrive off of.”

From her club team, which she joined at the age of six, she kept on swimming and practicing, improving her abilities each year. Last year Fama made Jr. Nationals, where she was only 1.4 seconds off for an Olympic Trial cut for the 200 backstroke.

Although Fama is extremely decorated within her club team, she still swims competitively at Perry High, where instead of the races being counted individually, such as in club races, the points are collective.

“You’re racing another team, it’s not just ‘I have to go faster myself’, it’s that we need to go faster as a team to beat this other team”  Fama elaborated.

The energy and team love that Fama radiates is not only recognized by her coach, but by her teammates as well. Trent Daw, a swimmer for the boys swim team remarked; “She’s a great leader who goes out and competes every race”

Overall, the story of Kalli Fama is that of an athlete who works for the strong finish. The dedication and commitment she gives to the sport, to both her club and school teams, and the constant energy to go through a race in sickness or health. Fama proves each season that she is a leader on the team and works very hard to not only improver her own swimming, but to help her teammates improve as well. Her dedication is what makes her stand out to the coaches among the other swimmers, she has beaten 5 school records in only 3 years as a member of the swim team, and plans to destroy even more this season as a junior, as well as next year, as a senior.

“No matter what event I put her in she is giving 100 percent.”  Carrasco stated.

The swim team as a whole, even with losing a huge group of seniors from last season, just finished their first invitational, where girls finished sixth out of forty teams, and the boys finished seventeenth out of 40 teams.