This year’s MIll Creek swim season has never started off so completely different than any of the other past years. There are new guidelines and restrictions the coaches, the swimmers, and the parents must follow. During practice the coaches have to wear masks and keep a distance from each other and only 24 swimmers are allowed to train at practice all at once. With guidelines in place to protect everyone, most swimmers are practicing with a club team instead of the designated Bogan Park Pool. For both teams attending a meet there are only allowed to be a total of 50 people combined. When swimmers attend meets, girls and boy meets will attend on separate days to minimize too much family and friends interactions at meet events.

“This is a strange year. In a normal year the team would usually have about 85 athletes on the team and pretty much all of them would make the team. This year is different because of Covid.’’ The head coach, Creed said earlier last week. The guidelines for the pool restricts four swimmers to a lane during practice. Coach Creed adds, “They have to reduce their squad, by only having 55 to 60 athletes on the team.” Based on the guidelines and restrictions that the coaches have to follow, the team will experience more cuts, than any in the previous years.

In the previous years, the coaches would only have to cut swimmers that couldn’t keep up with the group but this year Mill Creek time trials were last thursday and there will be obvious reductions to the team. The team does make exceptions to kids who are still playing fall sports and are returning back to swim for the upcoming season. Coach Creed says, “They may have cuts for a second time.” This will be determined by how many come out from the fall sport and whether they’re strong swimmers or not.

After recently speaking to the most highly recommended swimmers on the team, they had a lot to say about the upcoming swim season success with the covid guidelines they have to follow.

Anna smith 11, said “ I’m hoping the swim season goes well but with covid everything is a lot different. I’m hoping our team does well and can place in the top ten in the county this year.”

“I think the swim season is going to turn out really well because the freshmen here seem really promising and they have outgoing personalities. I want everybody to come together, as like a family, so everybody feels comfortable together,like last year, and the freshman keep on passing it on to other freshmen,”William Pierce, 12, said.