Boys swim team enters season with new varsity head coach
More stories from Faye Smith
Sophomore Creed Eckerberg swims the breaststroke during practice on Nov. 15.
The boys swim team splashes into a new season with the addition of their new varsity head coach Shawna Cole. With a background in competitive club swim as well as competing with Missouri State, an NCAA Division one school, Cole’s first high school coaching position begins at Newton High School.
Even though her coaching experiences until now have been with club swim teams, Cole has high expectations for the boys team this upcoming season, not just as athletes, but as genuine people.
“I think my expectations are high and my practices are tough, but as far as that goes, my personality and relationships and work on building those are just as important. It matters more that they are good kids and they will become good men rather than how fast they are,” Cole said.
With a total of 27 boys, the swim team has undergone changes in practice routines, as well as overall coaching. During practices there are three main groups of swimmers that range from beginners, to club swimmers and state qualifiers. This has shown Cole what the real goal is for the entire team as a whole.
“As a team I would like for the boys who just started swimming, I want to see growth and improvement from past years. Just their attitude and work ethic improve. I’ve already seen in just three days an attitude and work ethic change. Kind of as a team atmosphere I hope it continues to grow and get better,” Cole said.
For senior swim captain Noah Massanari, he feels that even though he’s endured tough practices over this first week, Cole’s coaching style has not only affected the way he will compete, but her role in their success.
“The difficulty [of practice] is really going to help us compete on a higher level. I feel more motivated at practices for sure and she’s definitely going to keep on top of us. She’s also played a big part in these first couple of practices and I can tell she’s definitely going to push us,” Massanari said. “Her way of coaching, preaching positivity. I think she has a good set of coaching skills that will play a role in our success.”