One of the goals that Varsity Girls Swim/Dive Coach Jackie Boswell has is rewriting the record board on the pool wall.
‘With some of the girls that left the team this year, it leaves alot of room for improvement on that record board,? she said.
Coach Boswell wants to see the team continually improve year after year, and the addition of the year round swim team through the Recreation League can help that happen. It has already identifed some quality swimmers at an early age.
The hard work started early this year because nine of the girls on the team were on the Recreation team, headed up by Assistant Coach Heather Miller, that won four medals this past summer.
‘That year-round feeder program is going to be a huge help,? said Boswell.
Entering their final year in the Flint Metro League, the Wildcat swim and dive team brings 37 members to the pool, one of the biggest for Coach Boswell.
‘We have a large team with 37 girls on the team right now, nine of which are on the dive team,? said Boswell. ‘We only have one girl that has dove before…lots of room for girls to step up.?
After finishing second to Fenton in the standings last year, Boswell wants her team to take the next step forward. Since only two points separated second through fourthin the final standings, she wants to be able to extend that margin.
‘I think we have a lot of potential and a lot of talent going into this year and I think it is very doable to chase down Fenton,? she said.
Helping lead that charge are new coaches Glen Walker, who has over 20 years of swimming experience, and Brandon Figurski, who graduated from Lake Orion in 2007 and still holds the diving record.
‘He (Brandon) is great because he can get up there and explain it to the girls and show them. He is taking them from a level where they haven’t done it before and teaching them. You can already see the improvement after two weeks,? she said.
‘The fact that I am going to have quality help in Heather and Glen is going to be extremely helpful,? she said.
Boswell said that with all the coaches having experience teaching swimming, it should help make the faster swimmers more efficient and help raise the level of the middle class swimmers. ‘It’s going to be an awesome year because I have so much help.?
Coach Miller came on board halfway through the season last year, and Coach Boswell could see a difference between her first year-and-a-half and the end of the season.
Leadership is one of the overwhelming strengths on this year’s team. After team pictures last week, some of the stronger swimmers were helping other members of the swim teams with their kick flip technique without being told by the coaches.
That leadership comes from captains and senior swimmers Rikki Jarvis and Jennifer Sunman.
Senior Olivia Martin will captain the Dive Team. Seniors Kara Charles, Kaitlyn Kimmel, Brittney Resk and Xiomara Rodriguez will be looked upon to provide consistency in the pool.
Even with seven seniors on the roster, Coach Boswell noted that she sees a lot of talent in the juniors and sophomores. Junior Captain Sarah Skelton and Junior Jenna Mallard, along with Sophomores Claire Patrell, Emily Gilmore and Ellen Saville are going to provide the necessary depth to help sustain the program and step into the roles when the seniors leave.
‘We have some really good incoming freshman,? she added. ‘We have alot of younger girls that are going to help build the program over the next couple of years.?
The early season schedule is going to be swimming against some high-level matches against teams outside of the FML.
Coach Boswell is also looking for lane sponsors and event sponsors.
An event sponsor will have their name in every program for the entire season. Cost: $100.
A lane sponsor will have a sign bearing their name on the wall all season long. Cost: $400.
For more information about becoming a sponsor, contact Coach Boswell at (248) 891-0276.
The girls open the season Wednesday, Sept. 9 against Waterford Kettering.