You’re standing on the block, awaiting the buzzer’s approval. Your heart is racing, the air is cold against your wet swimsuit. The anticipation almost makes you sick. You begin to lose focus. What was my old personal record? What breath count am I supposed to aim for? What classes am I missing for this swim meet? BEEP! The other swimmers make a grand entrance into the water, but your mind is preoccupied with the tornado of information you are somehow expected to manage. Balancing busy schedules and misinformation can be catalysts of failure in a student-swimmer’s career. How can one get reliable information regarding their swim times, meet information, and scores? The Sheldon High School Husky swimmers sought to solve this query! Through the use of the Sheldon High School swim Instagram page, swimmers were able to further their goals of becoming better athletes while having positive experiences as a team! Rhetorical devices such as kairos and ethos were integral in furthering the goals of the Sheldon High School swim team.

The Sheldon High School Instagram page effectively and efficiently spreads factual details and provides guidance and direction to new or struggling swimmers. This app acted as a direct link to coaches and fellow swimmers alike! The coach was able to turnout posts in real time relating to changes in scheduling, the team’s shortcomings, and even positive words of affirmation. Sentimental moments, such as the team’s Senior Night, were posted, providing a sense of intimacy and family to the team. The coach had direct messages open, so people were able to go straight to her with any of their questions. People interested in joining the team could click the link in the bio to register for tryouts. Swimmers sounded off in the comments about their past experiences, and what we could do better. The Instagram page also provided an instant connection to the rest of the Sheldon Swim discourse community. Simply by tapping the Instagram page’s followers, scrolling through the comments, or clicking on the tagged posts, you could meet dozens of people just like you or more experienced than you to help guide you through this new world. This connectedness led to group chats, reposts, and q/as that ultimately made the team reach their goals of improving team sportsmanship and speed.

While the swim team’s Instagram page was mostly seen as a triumph for communication and connectedness, it did have its shortcomings. Nearly all information was prescribed through this page, and not every swimmer had a cell phone or was allowed easy access to social media. This made them rely on other swimmers for important information in a game of high-stakes telephone. Another issue some had with the Instagram page was that they didn’t feel comfortable with the posts. While you did have to sign a release waiver to be featured on the page, which most everyone did, there were still some student-athletes who were ill at ease with the whole thing. Beyond the sweaty swimsuit mess everyone is in during the meets, there is some shame that comes with the Sheldon High School swim team’s constant losses; not everyone loves that being broadcasted. Despite the page’s issues, it continues to serve as an important discourse document for the Sheldon High School swim team.

An important and effective rhetorical device used by this discourse community was kairos. Kairos translates to “the right time” in Ancient Greece. When referring to Kairos as a rhetorical device, we recognize the effectiveness of the text through the timing in which the author decided it would be the most significant. In the case of the Sheldon Swim Instagram page, Kairos was a crucial component. If information regarding a deadline for parka returns is posted after the deadline, what is the point of posting it at all? Why post when and where the location of a meet is if it’s already been played? Timing was also important in effectively improving the team in the short season. Swimming only has a 3-month season, so student swimmers need to improve exponentially within a very short time frame. By getting back to students quickly and posting tips effectively throughout the season, the goals of the team were met.

Another important rhetorical device utilized by the Sheldon High School Instagram page is Ethos. Ethos refers to the credibility of the author. The Instagram page is, and always has been run by the head swim coach. Since she was the only person with access to this account, you knew that the questions you asked through direct message were being answered from an accurate source. Swim group chats consisting of other student swimmers can help, but have also, time and time again, proved to spread misinformation and confusion. Having one source that one could always turn to for accurate information was crucial to the team’s success. There have been many occasions where I have texted my coach through Instagram to receive videos of my dives and strokes, sheets of all my records, and advice specifically regarding my strengths and weaknesses as a team member.

All in all, the rhetorical devices of Kairos and Ethos allowed members of the discourse community, Sheldon High School swim team, to receive timely, accurate information from a trustworthy source and ultimately further the discourse community’s goals of becoming faster swimmers and creating tighter bonds with their team members. Although the Instagram page is not without its faults, it continues to serve as a great means of team communication to this day! The Instagram page became a community in and of itself, and the discourse community greatly benefited from having such a platform.