Coaches revamp awards: swim teams take new approach to traditional post-season wrap-up

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Senior Ben Thiss dives off the blocks as the third leg of the 400 freestyle relay at the State Competition. This relay was composed of senior Mark Hancher, senior John Heldman, Thiss, and senior Isaac Goldstein. They made finals and placed 15th.

Sports awards for JV and Varsity swimming contained numerous changes from the traditional process. Instead of the usual speeches and oral discussions about the season, Coach Dr. Daniel Carl compiled a small visual slide on each swimmer.

“It was nice to hear Dr. Carl talk about each and every swimmer on the team. Even though sports awards took longer this year, it was worth it for the attention we all received,” junior Elizabeth Walden said.

As the coaches talked about each swimmer, they were able to focus on specific positive traits and reflect on tremendous improvements that the team as a whole made. The swimmers were given two words each to describe their characters and how they have influenced the team.

“I appreciated Doc [Dr. Carl] taking the time to be specific in what he said about each of us,” senior Benjamin Thiss said.

In addition to all of the presentation changes, for the first time, the swim team had a culminating video of the entire season and all of the moments that they spent together.

“I enjoyed having the video as a way for us all to celebrate how far we have come this year. Even though the season is over, it is good to hold on to everything that happened,” said junior Paige Parr.