The swim team at Tallmadge High School is one of the many sports that students can participate in, and it’s also one of the few that demands both individual and team excellence. This season, the team has high expectations for their performance despite the lower than average number of swimmers. Record and overall performance is not the main focus of the team for this year because it has been placed more on individual performance from meet to meet and getting personal and school records.

“I really don’t concern myself with our dual meet record. Over the years, I really just want the swimmers to focus on getting better every meet that they go to, whether it’s a dual meet or at a big invitational,” coach Elizabeth Zellers said.

While swimming may not be the most popular sport at the high school, those who participate in it all want to get better and see improvements in themselves and their team. For the 2024–25 year, there are around 16 swimmers, with some new and some old. Regardless of how long they have been swimming, Zellers said that she plans to turn them into great swimmers with constant practice and working with them one-on-one.

“The season is long; it’s five months, so there’s a lot of time spent working before they get to see those really nice results at sectionals and districts,” Zellers said.

Being a big commitment, the team needs its captains and leaders to step up and take charge for this year and setting an example for the new swimmers and rest of the team. Seniors Alaina Wood and Bella Richards are some of the few who have stepped up into the leader role.

The biggest challenge of being a leader is “having the motivation to go every day. As a leader I am trying to set an example of discipline,” Wood said.

Zellers plans to keep the practices consistent and focused on building technique and endurance throughout the season to ensure that the swimmers improve with every practice. Zellers believes that steady improvement will help set the foundation for personal records and scoring points at big meets.

Richards said, “Because swimming is somewhat of an independent sport I know certain people on both the boys and girls side will do well individually, but collectively, I don’t think Tallmadge will do great this year for both boys and girls.”