After finishing 3rd at the league meet last year the boy’s swim team is hopeful that this year will be much better. “Many of the guys have done club swimming in the off season,” says Coach Jackson, and team captains believe improvement can already be seen. “I think this season’s going to be good, we’ll have a much better chance of succeeding due to the new league,” says Austin Doolittle.
Swimming has one of the longest seasons of all the sports offered in high school going from November to March, plus with three hour practices all season, things can seem to drag on for the team. “Three hours is long and tiring, but it’s the only way we’ll get better,” says Mitch Poyer.
As with every sport, each year teammates must say goodbye to graduating seniors. “We lost some depth last year when Robert Baker and Andrew Benkovsky graduated,” says Doolittle, “but we’re also gaining new swimmers that already have some swimming experience, which will bring more opportunity for victories.” The team is welcoming a new diving coach as well, Lena Wileczek, who will help the team gain pivotal points throughout the season, giving them a better chance for success. With two returning divers that attended the regional meet last year, things area already looking bright for them.
Fewer people have come out for the team this year however, which worries a lot of the boys because in previous years there have always been too many on the team, this year there will be trouble finding people to fill every event. “We’re going to have the best times in a while,” says Jackson
The boy’s team is optimistic that they will succeed. With the help from the new coach and returning members, this season has the potential to be very rewarding.
