The leaves have fallen, thermometers hover at a chilly 35 degrees, and every Christmas song ever created plague the radio.
These signs can only mean one thing: it’s time to dive into the boys’ swim season. The only no-cut sport of the winter sports season, boys’ swimming has attracted about 20 boys this year. There are six freshmen and the captains are seniors Jack Clancy and Alex Martin.
Martin hopes that this low number will allow the boys to form a closer bond than is usual with the larger teams that they have seen in the past. This new season has also brought changes in the coaching staff. Will Lowell replaced Leslie Lorenz as head coach. Last year, Coach Lorenz helped the boys obtain four state appearances. Coach Lowell hopes to exceed this number this year. Lowell previously coached at Cascade, a select swim team in Seattle. He also was assistant coach for the girls swim team in the fall. Coach Lowell likes to focus on form, and has already worked on fixing the form of some returning swimmers. He employs a coaching style that has been described as “serious, but casual at the same time” by the boys on the team. Lowell has already made an impression as new head coach.
The season started mid-November, as the boys prepared for their first meet on December 4th. The boys won their first meet, despite not many of the swimmers participating in the meet due to illness. The success of the first meet shows promise for the season to come. With the season just starting, it is early to determine how the team is looking for an appearance at the state meet, but the team has great potential.