He was competing in the biggest meet of his swimming career, the Brazilian nationals, swimming the 50-meter butterfly. Before he knew it, butterflies were turning in his stomach.
“While I was waiting for the storm to pass, my head began to spin, and I couldn’t focus on my upcoming heat,” Ferreira said.
After a couple of long minutes, the gun sounded and the race began. Not taking a breath is one way that helps Ferreira to swim faster and to help him stay focused. All was well until the last stretch of the pool when Ferreira took his first breath, slowing him down.
“I don’t know why I even took that breath,” Ferreira said. “I wasn’t out of breath, and once I finished the race and saw the times, I knew it was a mistake.”
Swimming two hundredths of a second too slow to make the cut, Ferreira regretted that breath with everything he had. But, Ferreira was still the fastest 16-year-old Brazilian.
After learning he was traveling abroad to the U.S., Ferreira knew he wanted to continue swimming, regardless of the new environment. He especially wanted to swim here because of America’s success in swimming.
“The U.S.A. is the best place to swim,” Ferreira said. “It has the best swimmers and coaches. I was so excited when I found out that I was going to be able to come here. I knew right away I was going to swim.”
One thing Ferreira wasn’t happy about was missing the Brazilian nationals. Although it was a hard decision, he was eager to right his wrong.
“I have always wanted to swim in the U.S.A,” Ferreira said. “I didn’t want to miss the Brazilian national swimming meet, but I knew I would never get this experience to swim here again.”
Going from the No. 1 swimmer in Brazil to the top two at RBHS, the competition is harder. Ferreira also had to adjust to the murky waters at HHS. He had been accustomed to the traditional Brazilian practices of just swimming laps, but RBHS is different.
“I’m not a very good runner,” Ferreira said, “so it was kind of hard for me to keep up.”
Along with running, the way practices are structured was a difficult adjustment. Going from a fairly small swim program to a bigger one, Ferreira is working his way to the top.
“I am starting to get used to the intensity of each practice,” Ferreira said. “It was difficult for me to jump right into practices because they are so much different than mine at home.”
Moving to a new country and school was tough, but Ferreira was able to keep his Brazilian cool. Although he has only been here a few weeks, Ferreira is already becoming familiar with RBHS and its students.
“I wasn’t nervous, but I didn’t know anything about American schools so it was kind of weird and strange,” Ferreira said. “Everyone smiles at me. It’s like they already know who I am, so I just smile back.”
Smiles in the hallway have helped Ferreira overcome a minor injury this year. He was swimming with a broken wrist for three weeks and was worried about competing while hurt. Luckily, it wasn’t an issue.
“I was nervous about my race and if I could swim or not,” Ferreira said. “Thankfully, I can still swim.”
Ferreira is glad to be a part of the swim team because he is enjoying the bond with the other swimmers and coaches.
“All of the guys are very nice and are good teammates,” Ferreira said. “One of my coaches is very funny and likes to make fun of me because of my accent, and the other is always trying to help me and improve my style.”
Ferreira’s goal is to get a scholarship to the University of Missouri—Columbia so he can study here and become a lawyer. He enjoys that Columbia is less busy than his hometown and would love to return and continue his swimming career.
“I would love to come back to Missouri,” Ferreira said. “Swimming in the U.S.A. has always been a goal of mine.”
By Caraline Trecha
