A new assistant coach, new suits, and new team members? The swim team’s future is looking bright!

The Beaver Area Bobcat swimming and diving team officially started preseason workouts October 17. The team is practicing twice a week until winter sports become mandatory November 17.

The team is excited for the season and will kick off their competitions with their first meet against Seton LaSalle at home December 14.

The Bobcats are led by head coach Marc Williams for the fifth year in a row, and he is now accompanied by new assistant coach Shane Landy.

Coach Landy’s name may sound familiar because he is Beaver Area Spanish teacher Mrs. Landy’s husband. He is the successor to assistant coach Jason Bonnar who was a part of the team for two years.

The team also boasts record numbers for the season. The swim team lost seven male swimmers and one female swimmer to graduation after last season but has gained over a dozen new members!

Senior Graham Lovra explained, “We lost a lot of great athletes last year, but we’ve gained a lot of promising rookies. I can’t wait to get to know all of them, and I think we’re going to have a great season.”

With all these new teammates the girls’ team broke the record for the most athletes on the Bobcat swim team in recent memory. The team broke the previous record of 14 athletes with a continuously rising number.

Surprisingly, these new members are not mostly freshmen, and the team has seen a peak of interest from mostly sophomores and juniors and even two new seniors.

Additionally, for the first time in three years, the Bobcats can attend preseason workouts at their own pool!

The Bobcats could not practice at home for preseason in 2020 due to COVID-19, practiced at Moon in 2021, and practiced at Blackhawk in 2022.

These away practices also were always between 8-10 p.m. which was the only time the team could get pool time. This arrangement was hard on returning members and scared away many curious rookies.

The opportunity to now swim in the state-of-the-art Beaver pool all season is exciting for all team members and enticing to those who want to try the sport.

To maintain tradition, the Beaver Area swim team wears plain black swimsuits with certain years having a white Bobcat head on the hip—but not anymore. The Bobcats switched swimsuit brands from TYR to Speedo, which allows them to buy brand new suits that are both maroon and gray in a wavy pattern.

The new suits are a popular choice among the team and it will be exciting to know who the Bobcats are at large meets.

With so many changes the team is looking towards the future and is ready for a great season . . . see you in the pool!