The Bobcat swim and dive team is back in the pool, not ours of course, but a pool!

The first day of mandatory practices for winter sports is November 18, making the swim and dive team in the heat of their preseason practices.

The Bobcats currently practice from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Blackhawk High School Tuesdays and Thursdays for the preseason while our indoor pool is extensively renovated.

The Bobcat pool renovation is suspected to be finished for the new year, but no one knows for certain.

As of now the swim team has almost doubled in size from their 24 members last season to 40 and counting this season.

New swim team member sophomore Ryan Minnick stated, “[training is] difficult, but that’s what makes it fun. Coach really pushes us past our limits, but in the end that’s when we improve.”

Even though last season ended with a losing record for the boys swim team, with 12 new members the team may win certain meets that were lost just because of the team’s inability to put swimmers on the blocks.

On the other hand, the girls team had a winning season last year with an overall 7-4 record, but did not gain near the number of new swimmers that boys did.

The Lady Cats gained nine new members, but also lost half of their A relay team members to graduation.

Returning swimmer junior Sam Lindemann said, “Swimming was and still is very fun, and all the people are great! I learned how to swim because I couldn’t before and now I love backstroke and fly!”

Hopes are looking up for both teams, and the excitement for the new pool is extremely evident.

The team is still led by head coach Marc Williams and assistant coach Jason Bonnar.

Anyone interested in joining swim or dive still can join the team until November 18.