Oxford High School has welcomed a new coach to its roster.
Jackie Boswell, of Rochester, is now the Wildcat’s varsity girls swim coach, and has already begun to shape her team of 40 swimmers and divers.
The OHS mathematics teacher is no stranger to the sport of swimming. She swam for 11 years throughout elementary, middle and high school in Rochester, and even coached the Oakland Live Y’ers for a couple years.
Boswell, a 2005 Michigan State University graduate, said she always loved swimming and that being able to coach is what makes it all worthwhile.
‘Just seeing them improve and become better swimmers ? it’s so much fun to cheer them on and see their results,? she said. ‘I also wanted that extra relationship with the students.?
Even though their season doesn’t start until September, Boswell will be working with the girls every day until then doing core training on dry land and, of course, some laps in the pool.
Because it’s only the team’s second season, the coach said she will have to challenge the girls a lot more than they’re used to.
‘But not challenge them so much that half the team quits,? she joked. ‘I just want to show them where I want them to be in the next couple of years and make them better swimmers, technique-wise.?
Boswell said a swimmer’s technique will make or break their meet results. Technique makes them faster and more efficient.
She knows her team is a potpourri of swimmers, some who have never competed before, but Boswell said she knows the season will be a fun one.