Swimming
Favorite athlete: Ian Crocker (Olympian)
Favorite team: USA
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memories in swimming were being able to mention workouts to people and have them be totally confused, and also to be completely part of the team, for instance, in relays when it was a mutual view that every second counted and that you were swimming for your team – you were essentially pouring your heart out for the team into every stroke, kick and turn.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When one of my teammates ran out of clean underwear in their house, so they wore a swimsuit to school.
Music on your iPod: Bush, Green Day, Linkin Park, Incubus, Rage Against the Machine, the Cranberries, blink 182, My Chemical Romance, Beastie Boys and Led Zeppelin (I love music! My range lies within many genres. This is a limited list out of many artists.)
Future plans: Attend University of Scranton and graduate, get into a medical school and become a doctor, specifically a radiologist or coroner.
Words to live by: ‘Follow your bliss’ and ‘Man is a universe within himself.’ – Bob Marley
One goal before turning 30: Learn how to surf.
One thing people don’t know about me: I LOVE war movies and military clothes.
Natalie Caruso has learned a lot from the orchids she tends.
“They have their own personalities and attitudes,” said the senior captain of the Neshaminy swim team. “Each one is different. They like some things and not others and they will tell you what they want.
“I have one that’s doing wonderfully, but I believe it’s because I did the legwork and the research and I paid attention to what it was telling me.
“A lot of people just get a plant and water it and think that’s all they need to do, but it’s very important to get to know a plant. Sometimes they need more care, but once you get the knack of it, they do fine and flourish.”
That ability to nurture has stood her in good stead as she faced her senior season with a very young, inexperienced team.
“At times it was really hard because not all of them really knew what they were doing, but they were willing to learn and willing to follow and that made it a lot easier,” Caruso said. “Sometimes you have opposition but that wasn’t an issue here.”
Caruso’s formula is simple.
“I try to network as best as I can,” she said. “Even if I’m not super best friends with some of the new people, there is still a level of respect for each other and that’s so important. Because of that respect, we didn’t really have a lot of issues other than the fact that we had so many new people.”
Neshaminy coach Brian Suter relied on Caruso this year.
“She was a real leader,” he said. “She had to take a team that was basically a novice team and mentor those kids to compete in a highly competitive league.
“While our overall record didn’t necessarily show that we were competitive against other teams, the fact that she was able to keep the team together and help it progress speaks volumes about her.
“She led by example with her work ethic and by always being a positive influence on the team members.
“We had a lot of youth on our team this year and our team could have gone in multiple directions, but right now we’re on a good path and she was a big part of that. She was able to instill in the younger kids what it means to be on a competitive team - that it means working hard and having a good attitude and doing things for your team.
“She showed them that they could persevere and that they could do it, that they could swim with the other teams in our league.”
Suter credited Caruso for her positive leadership.
“There was no one moment, no single episode that stands out in my mind,” the Redskins’ coach said. “It was just an entire season of her demonstrating to the others what they needed to do and what it meant to be on the team, and she did it every single day.
“When I look at her and reflect on our season, that’s the legacy that Natalie left on our team. Her character is the essence of what swimming is.”
Caruso is a home-grown Neshaminy swimmer, having started as a child in the Neshaminy Aquatic Program, then moving on to the district’s competitive swim team, CORE, before progressing to the high school team.
“I was always drawn to water and I loved swimming,” said Caruso, who is now teaching in the very aquatics program where she learned to swim. “It was just something I liked to be in or around. It was just a part of me.
“Even as a kid, I had a real thing for water. My parents would give me a tub of water and I would find ways to amuse myself with it.”
Caruso is hoping that her next stop is the University of Scranton.
“It’s about 95 percent sure that I’ll be going there,” she said of her top choice. “They have a great science program and I’m going for pre-med so science is going to be a big aspect of my college career. “
She would like swimming to be another big aspect of her college years.
“I would definitely like to continue to swim,” she said. “It’s a great way of going to a new place and instantly getting that family connection, and I loved being on the high school team so I want to continue that.
“I’m very excited about that possibility.”
Although Caruso’s time with the team is over, the seeds she planted will bear fruit.
“It’s a little sad that I won’t be with the team anymore, but I’m so excited to see them next year,” she said. “When I visit over the holidays, I’m really hoping they’ll have a meet or two so I can see how they’re doing.
“I really do have a sense of accomplishment for what I did here, that I helped get this group ready for the next level. This team is my pride. It’s what connected me to the school and it really is a big chunk of where I got my school pride from.
“I think high school would have been very different for me if I hadn’t joined the swim team when I first got here. It showed me a wonderful group of people and I definitely love the sport. This made high school for me.”
