Hopewell Junior High Swim Team Kicks Off Season!

On Thursday, April 3rd, Coach Kathi Lopez took her Junior High swimmers to Blackhawk High School for their first scrimmage. The swimmers encouraged each other with positive reinforcement and tried their best in all of their events.

The Competition:

Today’s competition was all about where the team was starting. Everyone had their first opportunity to show Coach Lopez their starting point. All of the swimmers were supported and encouraged by their teammates and coaches. Most of our athletes posted their best times at today’s sporting event.  At today’s competition, we had the following individuals compete:

Women’s Events:

•    Evelyn Cagnon- Finished seconr in the 100 IM and First in the 50 Fly.

•    Claire Newberry- the 50 Free and the 50 Back.

•    Stella Sannan- the 50 Free and the 50 Breast.

Men’s Events:

•    Jack Bulebush-  the 50 Free and the 50 Breast

•    Jackson Karpy- the 100 IM and the 50 Back

•    Holden Webster- the 200 Free and the 50 Breast

Exploring Junior High Swimming:

In junior high swimming, it is an introduction and ground level for future varsity swimmers. At this level, Coach Kathi focuses mainly on the technical aspects of swimming. This includes starts and turns, finishes, breakouts, correct kicking, and strategies to help them improve their speed. This is the time that students are exposed to the atmosphere of swimming and what it would be like when they move into the Varsity program. Coach Kathi promotes a positive environment where all students are welcome. She constantly encourages students to interact with each other and supports them through that process.

As a volunteer coach for junior high swimming, it is advantageous to watch the junior high students get excited and happy to watch their teammates succeed. As the team improves, the individual athlete’s mood improves as well. Watching others succeed motivates them to strive for excellence and push themselves through practice to get better. This week, Coach Kathi and I worked with the swimmers on relays, starts, flip turns, core work, and so much more. These things occur daily at practice.

Final Remarks:

Coach Kathi, myself, and Coach Barb are very excited to see what this season has to bring and how far our young athletes can excel this year. We are all hopeful that we as a team can be inclusive to everyone, and create an enjoyable environment where our athletes enjoy showing up to.