Throughout the Tiger Sharks 2024 season, they will have to push through many rigorous meets against competitive teams that will continuously challenge them. After the Tiger Sharks’ Orange and Black meet, it is clear they will be ready.
On Friday, Sept. 20, the Tiger Sharks held their annual Orange, White, and Black meet. This year, head Coach Eric Vogan and assistant coach Susan Likins drastically changed the format of the meet.
“We decided to split the Tiger Sharks into only two teams this year instead of the traditional three,” Likins said. “Because we swam a relay only meet, which means each team needed more swimmers to fill out their roster.”
The coaches decided to change the meet to a relay-based format so they could better assess each swimmer’s abilities in the water. With the start of the new season, many of the Tiger Sharks’ top relay spots are up for grabs.
“We were looking for relay [swimmers] for our upcoming meets,” Vogan said. “Trying to find out what combinations might be best.”
The new relay format drastically impacted the meet in many ways, and not all for the better. While the relay style made the meet extremely enjoyable for many of the swimmers, some didn’t see the results they wanted.
“The change to a relay-exclusive meet denied us the opportunity to swim individual events,” Junior Lillie Lefors said. “I’ve always seen this meet as a starting-off point where I can gauge how much my summer training has done and what I still need to work on improving.”
Not every athlete can swim on a relay throughout the season. The new format allowed each swimmer to participate as part of a team. The relay teams set up ample opportunities for teammates to bond and build cohesiveness.
“I loved that the freshmen got this experience, seeing as it is a great event to bond with the team before the season officially starts”
In addition to the draft, another unexpected change occurred. In previous years, the coaches divided the teams evenly, but this year’s team captains picked their swimmers through a draft. Every round included a silly twist: birthday and middle name.
“I think the addition of the draft was a good idea because it took more strategic planning by the captains,” senior Max Likins said. “If the team captains didn’t pick the swimmers they needed, the outcome of the meet would have been very different.”
The swim meet ended in a large success that engaged and challenged the team. Many swimmers got their first touch of what competitive high school swimming is like.
“I really enjoyed the meet and plan to attend as many as [I] can,” freshman Max Gaylor said. “I’ve never had the opportunity to swim on a relay before so I had a great time and learned a lot”
The Orange and Black meet was just one of many stepping stones for the Tiger Sharks this year as they plan to dominate the competition all the way through state.
¨I think we had some really great swims and I think everyone had a good time. It introduced some of our new swimmers and families to the exciting world of swim meets,¨ Susan Likins said. ¨Black team won more events, but Orange was not far behind because they took second and third in lots of the relays. It just goes to show it´s now always the top winner that matters.¨
