Looking eager to get back in the water, the boys swim team appeared jovial, yet focused. According to head coach Amanda Forsberg, the team will greatly benefit from the new underclassmen members of the team.

“We finished really strong last year. We lost three great seniors but I think coming back we look to piggyback off of that. We have a lot of new younger swimmers, but it is only day two,” Forsberg said. “We will have to wait and see where they are, although, we did a time trial and some of them seem like they’ll fit in really quickly very nicely.”

Senior captain Adam Recknagel said he believes his team will have a great season.

“I think we are going to do great. These new young swimmers have a lot of potential,” Recknagel said. “I believe the mindset we’re in is the most important key to success.”

Assistant coach Joe Yaeger said the team from the get go is looking get into peak physical fitness by swimming distance.

“Well right now we need to get a lot of these guys condition go up. (For increasing) their lung capacity it’s a lot of yards in order to get swimmers into that grove of maintaining condition,” Yaeger said.

Forsberg said this early in the season the focus is on establishing where all members of the team are in their benchmark times coming from the offseason.

“Some people come in shape, others don’t so we just try to see what we can do to catch up and stay in the same spot as we go into winter break. Our first conference meet is not until after winter break, so we have a lot of time to get some good training in,” Forsberg said. “We have two non conference meets before that, and we will be starting dryland and lifting so we will just go from there.”

Yaeger said the the new, younger members of the team will have to work hard for the whole team to succeed.

“(My goal for is) for these guys is to enjoy the season and hit some of their best times. Last year they lost a large group of senior leaders, real fast guys. This year we are looking for that middle group,” Yaeger said. “Freshmen, sophomores and juniors really need to step up and take on some of the pressure. Not just expect that other kids will win the meet for them.”

The next conference relay is 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at Richfield Middle School.