August 8, 2018 at 1:02 p.m.
Smaller Hodag swim squad ready for start of season
Smaller Hodag swim squad ready for start of season
There were 13 swimmers at practice on opening day and up to three more may join later. Regardless of the final number, this year's Hodag squad will likely not feature the depth of last year's squad, which posted a program-best runner-up finish in the Great Northern Conference.
"I think we have a small team but a good team," coach Jenny Heck said. "There's going to be spots for everybody and everybody's going to be able to contribute to the team. That's going to be great."
Much of the decline in numbers is due to the graduation of a large senior class. While there are a few incoming freshmen, there weren't enough to fill the void - at least from a numerical standpoint.
Regardless, Heck said she feels confident with the swimmers she has to begin the season.
"We know that the numbers are low, but we know we can do a lot with the numbers we have. I think we'll be very successful with the numbers we have," she said.
Heck enters her first full season with the girls' swim team, having had both the interim and co-coach tags removed from her position. She and Marna Winnicki stepped in to fill a vacancy created when the School District of Rhinelander and former coach Lindsay Byrka parted ways in the middle of last season.
Winnicki remains on staff this year and will serve as Heck's assistant coach.
Heck said the first couple of practices have been designed toward gauging where each individual swimmer is at to start the season. Some swimmers come in having trained year-round while others haven't swum competitively since the end of the high school season last November.
"We're just trying to get the kids who weren't here (in the summer) back in the water, see where were at, see where we need to be and start to figure out where we're going to place the swimmers for the next two meets," Heck said.
Time is of the essence. Though girls' swimming has one of the longest of the fall sports seasons, its competitions are among the earliest to get underway. The Hodags will have their opening meet, the Colby/Abbotsford pentathlon, this coming Wednesday and will be back in action the following day in an outdoor meet at the Bierman Family Aquatic Center in Merrill.
"We don't have much time. That's why it's so critical for the kids to get to practice this week and be at the practices," Heck said. "I know the season starts so early, having practice on Aug. 7, but when a third of our season takes place in August, we need to be here and ready to swim each day."
The Hodags were originally scheduled to have three meets next week but dropped an invite at Stevens Point next Friday and have picked up a competition Aug. 22 in Marshfield.
Rhinelander will host Lakeland and Wausau West in a non-conference triangular Aug. 28 at the Heck Family Community Pool and will open the Great Northern Conference schedule at home against Colby/Abbotsford two days later.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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