TAMPA, Fla. - Thanks to the coronavirus, normalcy is a rarity. That’s why the Academy of the Holy Names swim team craves it.

“This is their safe haven,” head coach Bill Shaffer said.

Holy Names freshman Ashlin Cannella is like a fish out of water when she can’t be in the pool.

“In the water, I don’t know, that’s where I like being,” Ashlin said. “I can just think about everything, focus, pay attention to myself.”

Ashlin’s sister Cailin felt the same way about the water. As a nationally ranked swimmer for the Jaguars, Cailin was at home in the pool.

“I just liked being in the water,” Cailin said in 2016. “And, like, being with friends.”

For Cailin, the pool was her happy place. And her happiness was taken away. Shortly after her 13th birthday, Cailin was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. What started as knee pain turned out to be something way more sinister.

She endured various treatments, even knee replacement surgery, anything to get back into the water. But a year after her diagnosis, Cailin took her last breath after telling her mom “I’ve got this.”

“If I’m trying to motivate myself, I think about what she went through,” Ashlin said.

It’s been three years since Cailin passed away. The school dedicated a memorial in her honor. It’s right next to her happy place. The photo, one taken by her coach, shows Cailin smiling with a rainbow overhead. That photo is Coach Shaffer’s screensaver.

“Whenever I have trouble, I just open up my phone and look at it,” Shaffer said.

Cailin would have been a junior this season, and no doubt, contributing in a big way. But just because she is no longer in the pool, doesn’t mean she isn’t making a difference.

“She’s still bringing stuff to the swim team and perspective,” Shaffer said.

Its a family. And families help each other get through the tough times. Cailin’s passing was beyond tough, but the Jaguars continue to find ways to not mourn, but honor her.

Right before the start of the Jaguars recent meet against Plant, a rainbow appeared over the school. The swimmers said it was Cailin. She’s somehow always with them.

“It just shows the strength that we can draw from,” Shaffer said. “She’s our swim angel. She constantly looks over us.”