Due to their recent success in competitions, the LBJ Swim and Dive team will expand the team with the addition of a new junior varsity (JV) team. In the past, LBJ swimming has only been able to accommodate 55 swimmers. The addition will increase the opportunity of swimming competitively for LBJ to swimmers who may not have made the cut last season. According to Tracie Gardner, the head swim coach for both varsity and the new JV team, growing interest in joining has necessitated expansion.

“Swim is an increasingly popular sport, and our team has grown every year, with the exception of the last one,” Gardner said.

Before its expansion, the LBJ swim team allowed for 30 fewer swimmers. Senior captain Aspen Kissinger said she not only believes the addition is good for the success of the team but to also expand the Pool Jags experience.

“We saw that a lot of opportunities were being missed when we had one team,” Kissinger said.
“I hope it will make the team even closer, just because we have a bigger family and we will have bigger practices and better dry land where we have more people coming,” Kissinger said.

Having two separate teams also allows more swimmers to get as many opportunities to compete as possible and allows recreational swimmers to be part of the team.

“When we have one team with two separate parts we have opportunities for both varsity and JV and we are also giving more opportunities to those who only swim for part of the year and aren’t competitive in it to have a place on the team and experience the team spirit,” Kissinger said.

Although there are two different parts of the team, Kilday said she does not expect there to be many differences other than separate meets between the teams. She said this is because the team encourages bonding with one another.

“The whole team will still be a unit, so for practices and parties and any kind of social event we will still be together,” said Kilday. “The only difference is that we will have certain JV meets and different varsity meets.”

Junior captain Sachin Allums agreed that the close-knit dynamic the team is known for will not be threatened by the addition of a JV team. According to Allums, the meets they participate in will be the only difference between them.

“Since the only thing that’s different for the JV team is the meets, we are still going to have all of our parties, we are still going to have our practices together, I think that part of the swim team will still be the same,” Allums said.

One day a week, the team meets away from the pool for dryland practices. According to Kissinger, these give the team a chance to meet as a group and to improve and bond together.

“I am really looking forward to drylands just because it’s honestly my favorite part of the week,” Kissinger said. “It’s Monday morning before school, and it’s a really good chance to get together with friends and work out and really wake up and usually we do dance competitions or acroyoga and fun stuff that doesn’t necessarily correlate to swimming, but is a super fun team experience.”

With the new changes happening with the team, Kilday is excited for the year. She said this is not only because of the team’s expansion, but also because she looks forward to leading as a captain.

“I am most excited for hopefully being the best senior captain that I can be and really giving my time to the team,” Kilday said. “I want to make sure that this change doesn’t decrease how close people are. I want the social aspect of the team to be strong. I am really looking forward to this year, and I hope we can grow as a team both in size and in spirit.”