Schools
Youthful Hopkins Swimmers Hope For Late-Season Success
The Royals weren't represented at state last winter. Coach Greg Bartz hopes that changes this March.
Something just didn’t feel right last March. boys swimming and diving coach Greg Bartz and his Royals squad had a distinct void in the end of its season.
Hopkins didn’t have an individual, a relay or its team qualify for the state meet.
“We want to get back to the state meet,” Bartz said. “It was weird having that week off.”
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Even at this early stage in the season, the Royals are beginning to build toward that goal. Hopkins has a young roster, but the talent level even in the younger grades is there, Bartz said. The key is to develop that talent throughout the season with hopes of making a push at the end of the season.
To do so, Bartz is looking to his senior leadership. Hopkins has six seniors on this year’s squad—down from 20 seniors three years ago—and that group is tasked with helping 15 juniors, 14 sophomores and 18 swimmers from seventh ninth grades.
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“We base our team on skills and being together,” senior captain Paddy Goeman said. “We really like to stress that with our young kids, and we like to focus on being together and being a team as a whole.”
Bartz said the talent is evident across the board. From seventh-grader Corey Lau, who swam the team’s third fastest breaststroke time at Thursday’s exhibition Lake Conference relay meet. Junior Nick Wilkerson, sophomore Collin Lau, junior Dennis Dadeshev and junior Brandon Tupper, among others, are also strong swimmers who Bartz hopes will make an impact this year.
“I’m very excited to see what (the team) can do,” Bartz said.
Bartz said, along with his goal to send members of this team to state, he hopes that the upperclassmen on this squad will display the type of leadership that shows future classes how to conduct themselves.
“In the pool, showing them day to day workouts and how to work hard,” Bartz said. “But outside the pool, what it takes to be a good swimmer and a good teammate, too.”
Goeman said his main goal is to help teach fundamentals in the pool.
“What I try to do is work one on one and try to find their strengths and enhance those,” Goeman said.
The Royals hope that nurturing philosophy pays off, both in March and in future seasons.
“I’m very excited to see what they can do,” Bartz said.
