Mon, Nov. 10, marked the official beginning of the swim season. OHSAA regulates how early all sports can start official practices and this year for swimmers, everything is pushed back a week.

“Tryouts are usually fun because it is the first time we all get to see each other again,” senior Rick Niu said.

Mon. and Tues. were tryouts for Varsity. On Monday coach Dan Carl had everyone just get in and complete a typical workout, so he could see how the swimmers look in the pool. Then on Tues, everyone completed the infamous first test set.

“Obviously test sets are the hardest, but I like how they bring us together as a team. It is fun to all cheer for each other when we are working so hard,” senior Benjamin Thiss said.

A test set is a set, or section of the workout, that the swimmers usually complete “all out,” or as fast as they can, recording their times as they go. These types of sets require a tremendous amount of work, and they are a good gauge for how in or out of shape everyone is.

“Our test set [on Tuesday] was pretty hard. It was a wake up call for how much work I have ahead of me before the first meet,” Thiss said.

SHS will compete in its first meet on Dec. 6. Between now and then, it is just time to build a team and get in shape.