Now practicing alone, swim team heads into first tournament

The new athletic director, Andy Lambert, has reinstated an old rule that other directors ignored saying unofficial teams cannot have official practices with Lake Zurich coaches, and both the coach and swimmers on the swim team are worried about how this will impact their performance—but they are banking on experience to carry their veteran-fueled team through the season.

For years now, the team has met every weekday and woken up before daylight to meet their coach, Jill Kragseth, for 6am practice, which is now only the swimmers and not the coach. Some swimmers are worried may be reducing the incentives to practice and stay committed may be dwindling. “Attendance at practice has been abysmal lately,” Amy Cooper, junior, said.

The seven members of the team often supplement their practices with membership on club teams that are not affiliated with Lake Zurich High School, like the Foglia Aquaducks. According to Cooper, this addition to their regimen is needed because the early schedule and lack of coach means they do not have enough time to practice and remain competitive.

“We have girls who are swimming with at least four different clubs outside of school,” Kragseth said. “It gives them a good foundation and a lot more hours.”

However, coach  likes to focus on the positives instead of dwelling on the problems with the new setup. The team’s first sectional meet (a meet with many other schools in the region)  is this weekend, and the energy is as high as ever.

“I think the girls have had a lot of experience with swimming throughout their lives, and so while this is a new experience for this year, I think their past experience as swimmers will help calm some of the nerves,” Kragseth said. “I would be more nervous if they had no nerves. Nerves are a good thing, it helps them swim better.”