This year, the Clayton girls’ swim team has experienced a coaching shift: last year’s head coach, David Kohmetscher, switched places with the former assistant coach, Katelyn Eustis.
Both are math teachers at CHS. Eustis is in her sixth season with the CHS swim team, and she has enjoyed her time coaching thus far.

“I really enjoy the girls a lot,” Eustis said. “It’s a great group of girls. They do well in school.”

Eustis is confident that the coaching change was the best route in light of Kohmetscher’s many other responsibilities in the math department and in the district.

“Mr. Kohmetscher has a lot more outside commitments,” Eustis said. Those include being the chair of the mathematics department.

Senior Elizabeth Sikora has been on the team since her freshman year. Sikora also recognizes Eustis’s depth of commitment.

“Ms. Eustis is really dedicated and excited about swimming, and she wants everyone to do well,” Sikora said.

Senior Cecily Lane, another four-year Clayton swimmer, pointed out that Eustis is approachable, which is a good quality in a coach.

“She has definitely taken her place as a leader, which is really what we have always needed,” Lane said. “She wants to make swimming fun.”

Aided by a smooth transition to a new head coach, the team is motivated to continue to work hard in 2011.
“It’s been great,” Eustis said. “Everybody’s pretty motivated right now.”

Added volume is one asset the team can count on.

“I think our greatest strength is that we have a ton of freshmen,” Eustis said. “They don’t have a lot of experience, but they’re motivated to get better.”

The team has 24 swimmers this year. Eustis identified Danielle Sikora, Julia Grasse, Katherine Kirchoff, Elizabeth Sikora, and Kate Harrison as athletes to watch as the season continues. There are three divers on the team: Emma Rivard, Michaela Edlin, and Hillary Wilson.

Both rookies and veteran swimmers have things to work on. For Lane, a balance between having fun and working hard is key for a successful season.

“Over the past years I have been on the team, we have worked at creating a really fun environment to make the team really close and make the girls want to come to practice and swim,” Lane said. “Because swimming is such a hard sport to get a lot of people to join, making it fun was a top priority.”

Now that so many freshmen have joined the team, the priorities have shifted somewhat

“Now we really need to focus on the swimming aspect of the team,” Lane said. “The new swimmers got a little bit of a taste of the meets last semester, and we are looking forward to this semester where they are comfortable in the competition environment. Competing would be something we need to work on.”

Now that the freshmen have become acclimated to the sport, it’s time for the team to focus on improving their times and working towards hopes for state competition.

“We need to work on swimming faster and more aggressively in meets,” Sikora said. “Now that everyone knows the basics, it’s time to work on sprints and other ways that we can get faster times.”

Thankfully, many of the freshmen remain enthusiastic about the season. Team bonding events help keep the team motivated.
“Team dinners are really fun, and they are a good way to bond as a team outside of the pool,” Sikora said. “We have only had one so far, and I hope that we can have more in the future.”

In addition to more practices, meets are more frequent in the last few weeks of the season.

“We had a really good meet against Webster,” Eustis said. In past years, Webster has been a challenge for the team, but this year, the Hounds gave them a good fight. The team is gearing up for several upcoming meets, but after practicing hard over winter break, things are looking up.

“As a team, we are all good swimmers, but we just need to work on taking it to the next level,” Sikora said.

Eustis plans to come back as head coach again next year, continuing to build on a strong foundation.