High school swimming have a vastly different preseason compared to those in most other sports.
While basketball, wrestling and hockey teams compete in a variety of preseason games or tournaments, swimmers often just train until the regular season meets begin.
“My focus this week is just focusing on drills on each stroke, the fundamentals, making sure they know how to do the correct turns, the starts. (The team) can all swim a legal fly, they can swim a legal breaststroke. That’s the main thing, to make sure they can do it legally,” said Messalonskee swim coach Beth Prelgovisk.
This season, however, the Waterville/Winslow and Messalonskee swim teams decided to add a twist to the preseason by scheduling a mock meet. Both teams practice at the Alfond Youth and Community Center in Waterville, making the preseason meet easier to put together.
“We have new swimmers on the team, we have new parents (who can be taught) how to run a meet,” said Prelgovisk. “We have our first meet (coming up), and we just wanted to make sure things are running well, that kids know how to get off the blocks, how to do the relay, how to do some events. We just wanted to get something going, and it was a good opportunity.”
A mock meet is set up like a traditional swim meet, with competitors taking part in multiple events, swimming against an opposing team. No scores are recorded and times can’t be used for state championship qualifying.
Swim teams in central Maine have 18 days — from the first practice on Nov. 20 to the first countable meet on Dec. 8 — to prepare for the season. Some veteran swimmers have a wealth of experience competing for a YMCA club team during the offseason. But new swimmers — freshmen or those who’ve never swam competitively before — have little time to get used to varsity competition.
“It’s good for the early events,” said Waterville/Winslow senior Sam Bernier. “I’ve already had Dolphins (club team) meets this season, because it starts early. But it’s especially great for the new swimmers, to show what (events) they can compete, and to show them the ropes of what you’re going to be doing in a meet, so this is what you need to be training for in the future.”
Maine Principals’ Association rules allow swim teams to compete in preseason mock meets.
Cony swimmers work on the freestyle during a Nov. 28 practice at the Kennebec Valley YMCA in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“It’s perfectly fine to do anything like that, it’s actually a good idea,” said Cony head coach Bob Johnston, a longtime central Maine swim coach and official.
Johnston said Cony likely would have scheduled a mock meet with Erskine Academy had the Eagles had enough swimmers. Erskine and Cony both practice at the Kennebec Valley YMCA in Augusta.
“We’ve got two and a half weeks of preseason, really,” Johnston said. “You count on the (swimmers) who’ve been doing it for a long enough time (to be ready). The really dedicated kids have started Stingrays (Kennebec Valley YMCA team) already. But if you look at the new kids, there’s six girls we’re giving swim lessons to… You just don’t know what you’re going to get.”
A mock meet is a not a new concept, especially in central Maine. Years ago, Cony — then led by former head coach Jon Millett — would organize its own mock meet.
“Jon Millett and I would organize a relay carnival,” Johnston said. “As long as it’s a preseason thing, you can’t keep score, it doesn’t go down on any (MPA) list as any official event, with times being used for state qualifying, that kind of stuff. A lot of schools do it, colleges especially. You invite three or four teams (to the event). When we did it, I think Messalonskee would come. But you just run a bunch of different events. It gets them used to diving in and racing.”
Added Waterville/Winslow head coach Justin Giroux: “When (Prelgovisk) asked, ‘hey, would you want to do it?’ I just thought it was a great idea. We have so many new swimmers, so why not? I think we’re using it as a confidence thing for the kids. Let’s do it in a low-stress environment. It’s already stressful enough, especially for those beginners.”
Johnston counts on his experienced swimmers, like senior captain Addison Burnham, to help new swimmers become accustomed to competing in the pool.
“For our new swimmers, we just kind of teach them the basics and teach them to swim decently at our first (few) meets,” Burnham said. “For our experienced swimmers, we just kind of warm up, make sure we get back in shape, make sure we’re ready to go.”
Members of the Waterville/Winslow and MCI swim teams focus on instructions from coach Justin Giroux during a Nov. 28 practice at the Alfond Youth and Community Center in Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
In preparation for the season, Burnham said she tries to spend as much time as possible in the pool without over-exerting her endurance training.
“I feel like it’s more feeling (in the pool) than amount (of laps) and more time,” Burnham said. “When you first get in (the pool) your times aren’t going to be as good as the middle of the season. But you try to work up to those times in the preseason.”
Erskine Academy coach Sue Burke said she is excited to see new swimmers on the team.
“(For veterans), I focus (the preseason) on getting stamina back,” Burke said. “Just getting back (to getting used to) swimming, because I only have two who swim year-round. … The new swimmers, it does take a lot more of my time, because it’s (breathing) in the water, (learning) freestyle, backstrok. Those are the two basic strokes I focus on for new freshmen that haven’t been competition swimming.”
For seniors Stephanie Kumnick and AJ Jarosz, who swim year-round with the Mid Maine Dolphins at the Alfond Youth and Community Center, helping newcomers is all about positive reinforcement.
“It’s just a lot of encouraging,” Kumnick said. “We all start somewhere.”
“We have a kid in our lane who is like, ‘I cannot do this (event),'” Jarosz laughed. “And I’m like, ‘nope, you can. Right now.'”
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