By Alex Riley
Special Contributor to SMUMustangs.com
 
The afternoon sun has begun to crest in California and Pablo Lara Carrillo is fixated on his cell phone. Squinting at the screen, he's trying to keep an eye on the blur moving through the water. It's hard to get all the details, but Pablo has a general idea of how his sister, Sofia Lara, is doing at this week's SMU swim meet.
 
"I Facetime whoever is there so I can watch from my phone. I don't know if it's silly or not to watch her from my phone and not be there, but I get to see her and how much she's improving," Pablo said with a laugh.
 
Sofia was there at the Robinson & Lindley Aquatics Center for Pablo's meets. And her sister Pia's meets. And her other brother Fernando's meets.
 
Now, they're all returning the favor.
 
In the blood
SMU swimming is what the Lara Carrillos do.
 
The family moved from Mexico to Dallas in 2005 so Sofia's older siblings could have a shot at getting a quality education while competing in America. Pia, Fernando and Pablo are each two years apart. Sofia was born seven years after the youngest brother.
 
Their parents decided early that the family needed a sport everyone could take part in, without each having to attend a practice or game at a different location. They tried tennis, but the pool is where the first three children found a rhythm. By the time Sofia was born, there wasn't much of a choice.
 
"They all took swimming lessons and they all loved it and they were like, 'OK, let's put the baby in it,'" Sofia joked. "I think we all kind of fueled each other with our passion for swimming since we all were just pushing each other to become better."
 
Pia started the Blue and Red trend, enrolling at SMU in 2007. Fernando followed in 2009, then Pablo in 2011.
 
Sitting next to their parents in the stands was Sofia, a cheerleader for her siblings and the team.
 
"There's a really cool photo of her when she was little wearing an SMU cap at an SMU swim meet," Pablo said. "At every swim meet I had at SMU, I knew Sofia was going to be there. And she did the same thing for my brother and my sister."
 
Uncertain future
After watching her siblings attend SMU, there was a lingering question in the Lara Carrillo household – would Sofia follow?
 
Early on, that answer was a resounding no.
 
"She always said she didn't want to go to SMU. We all kind of accepted the fact that she wasn't going to go there," Pablo said. "Obviously, we wanted her to go to SMU to stay closer to home because we all lived in Dallas back then and we all swam for the same team and loved the atmosphere, but she was like, 'No, no, no.'"
 
Sofia thought she had seen what SMU had to offer. After all, she'd spent countless hours on campus watching her siblings swim and she knew coach Steve Collins. She thought about blazing a different trail.
 
It wasn't until a college visit that Sofia got to see parts of campus that weren't tied to athletics. It was that experience that convinced her to stay close to home.
 
"I think all my siblings thought it at one point, like there's no way we're all going to go to SMU," Sofia said. "But then I started seeing all the other schools and I was like, 'There's absolutely no way I'm going to choose any other school over SMU. SMU's just like too good. I can't compare anything to this.' It was kind of crazy."
 
Swimming, however, was a different story. She was unsure if she wanted to continue competing once she graduated from Highland Park High School.
 
During her junior year, she began to see some drastic improvements. Her times got quicker. She became more competitive. The sport, which had been a grind for a few seasons, finally became fun again.
 
Attending SMU was an academic decision. She met with Collins to discuss the possibility of walking on with the team. He agreed to let her join as a volunteer manager, which would allow her to work with the team, help the program and develop her skills. After a year, they'd revisit her status.
 
"This was a very hard decision to make, because it was very hard to see what the future had in store, so it was either concentrate fully on my academics or take a leap of faith to try swim and manage," Sofia said. "With the help of my siblings and coaches at the time, they were able to convince me to take this leap because they knew that I would always regret not knowing what if, and thanks to them I made one of the best decisions of my life."
 
A year to improve
The life of a team manager isn't exactly glamorous.
 
It's a lot of tedious work to get practice started, grabbing equipment when needed and complete any number of small tasks to help move things along. Sofia did it in stride during the 2018-19 season. But it wasn't always easy.
 
"It was sometimes hard. I've never been much of a fan of racing, but it definitely hurt sometimes (to not compete)," she said. "We were all training together but I knew if it's meant to be one day it'll happen. But it was definitely sometimes hard to get up in the morning, but I knew there was a goal in the end and I was trying to reach it. That kept me motivated."
 
Being around the program gave her a chance to make friends and get involved. It also gave her an opportunity to showcase her level of commitment.
 
When she wasn't in class or helping as a manager, Sofia was in the pool, working on her stroke. She and Collins had agreed to meet at the end of the year and discuss what the next step was for her.
 
Initially, the idea of competing at a handful of 2019-20 meets was bandied about. When they met again, the number of times she would swim jumped even higher. Her dedication was not going unnoticed.
 
"She is a team person through and through that is always the first person to step up and support her teammates," Collins said. "Sofia's hard work and dedication paid off as she earned a roster spot on the team and has continued to be a great teammate and Mustang."
 
Pushing for more
The phone will invariably ring sometime after practice. One of the siblings is on the other end of the line with questions and advice. After all, they've been through this too.
 
"They always were supporting me. They were like this is going to be extremely, extremely tough but you can do it," Sofia said. "I know whenever I'm struggling academically or in the pool, I always talk to them. They're like, 'If we can do it, you can do it.' It's a good dynamic to have there to support me."
 
So far, Sofia has swam in six of the team's eight meets this season, taking part in a range events from the 100 fly to the 1,650 free.
 
After every meet, Pablo gets the video and breaks it down. He calls Sofia and discusses what is happening and strategizes ways to improve. He's seen her steady improvement and believes there's even more to be had.
 
"She's definitely the best one out of all of us. I always say Sofia got the best parts of all of us," he said.

For Sofia, the experience has been a whirlwind. Not long ago she was unsure if she even wanted to keep swimming. Now, she can't imagine life without it.
 
Last year, she stood on the deck and watched as her teammates jumped into the water. This year, she's anticipating the start horn. She loves having a familial cheering section. She also has a new family at SMU. After all, it's a tradition.
 
"I didn't know how much fun meets were until I was finally able to be in them with the whole team. All these girls are amazing and I think they've become my best friends. It's just awesome to compete with them. The best feeling is to put on your SMU cap, get on the blocks and race for your team," Sofia said.
 
"I've never been happier. I was like, 'This is why I did everything last year. This is what all the hard things that we worked through are for.'"