The start of the swimming season is near, and TJ’s Girls’ Swim Team is looking forward to a great season.
Photo by Kiera Classen
This winter, the Thomas Jefferson Girls’ Swim Team will be preparing for another successful season.
Head Coach Cindy Allen will direct the girls and train them to swim the best they can, and is jubilant towards the season. “The beginning of the season is fun because it’s great to see new and returning faces and to see their excitement.”
The swimmers are also excited for the season to start. “Even though we lost a lot of seniors, the team is still looking good and we have a lot of time to grow before the season starts,” said Junior Rachel Uyemura who has been swimming with TJ since her freshman year. This year, the Lady Swimmers have only one senior, Kiera Classen, who has also been an asset to the team since her freshman year.
Coach Allen says that this year is different from previous years due to their lack of swimmers. “Our numbers are down this year and there was a steady drop off. I’m surprised that more girls don’t want to swim.” Allen describes how the team has great chemistry and everyone is very mellow. They are still looking for girls to be on the team. For anyone interested, they meet everyday at the pool, except on Wednesdays, and they have morning workouts a three times a week. “Wednesday is a day off so they can get whatever they need to get done without missing practice. It usually cuts down on the absences during the week,” says Allen.
The goals for the swim team have been through many changes through the years. “This year, our goal is to get more sophomore and freshmen. It can be tough with not many underclassmen.” Allen believes that any sport is good for freshmen to meet new people. “Some girls don’t want to do swimming because they don’t want to mess up their hair before school, but there is a whole group of girls who are going though the same thing. They just need to try something different.”
The past few years the swimmers have done well in the city meets. They want to keep their success going through this year and continue on into the future. “I think we will do well like every year,” said Uyemura.
The girls have their first meet on Wednesday, December 7th at Manual High School. It is the DPS Girls Relay Meet, so go out and show them your support.
Wednesday 12/7 DPS Girls Relay Meet @Manual 4:15 p.m.
Wednesday 12/14 Montbello/East @Manual 4:15 p.m.
Friday 12/16 Harrison @TJ 4:15 p.m.
Saturday 1/7 Valor Invite @Colorado School of Mines 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday 1/18 George Washington/Lincoln @TJ 4:15 p.m.
Saturday 1/21 Fountain Ft. Carson Invite @Fountain Ft. Carson 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday 1/25 West/South/North @North 4:15 p.m.
Saturday 1/28 DPS B Meet @Manual
Friday 2/3 DPS Girls League Swim Prelims @Manual 4:15p.m.
Saturday 2/4 DPS Girls League Swim/Dive Finals @Manual 9:00a.m
