Though swim regions don’t officially start in Juneau until Oct. 28 at Dimond Park Aquatic Center, Thunder Mountain High School swim head coach Josiah Loseby said he feels optimistic about the future based on what he’s seen from the meets so far.
“I think right now that we’ve been able to tell with each meet which areas that we’ve been working on and have really improved within and we’ve been really able to notice it and point it out to the swimmers and divers,” Loseby said. “The team has been able to see the direct correlation between what they’re doing during practice and how that directly improves their times during the meet setting. Also, we’ve been noticing what areas we have been struggling in during the practice setting and have been able to take that away and bring it back with us.”
TMHS swim team so far has had meets in Petersburg on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 and in Ketchikan back on the weekend of Sept.16. This weekend the team traveled According to Loseby, the pre-region meets serve more as a guide to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team, as well as see the competition.
“We train through these meets and they’re kind of just more like dipsticks for us to test and see where we’re at currently and how we’re progressing in comparison to last season and then also just to really kind of hone in and focus on those technical pieces in the water,” Loseby said. “It’s really just for the swimmers to see what’s really stuck from what we’ve been practicing and what we still need to focus on as individuals and the group as a whole.”
Going into this season, Loseby said it’s largely been a transitional year with the loss of seniors who played key roles coupled with the incoming addition of many new younger swimmers and divers to the team. Loseby also added that this year’s team has seen more girls involved than previous years.
“It’s been a lot of fun to see the young kids come in and to watch the older members of the team help to guide and point them in the direction that we feel is most positive for our group moving forward to help achieve the individual goals that people have set for themselves, but also those team goals that we’ve set set together,” Loseby said. “On the girl’s side of things, we have a pretty solid girl’s team this year across the board, which is really fun to have because usually for the last couple years, it’s been a little bit more boy heavy, so this year we’ve kind of transitioned into having a little bit more of a solid girl’s team.”
Above all this year, Loseby said he’s been most proud of the sportsmanship the kids have demonstrated within the meets by not only showing respect for themselves and fellow teammates, but also the other teams. Loseby said that while swimming and diving fast are great qualities for great swimmers, his ultimate goal is to see the kids continue on a path of being great people, as well.
“My goal is to help these kids really become the best individuals that they can be and that can be hard but so is going through life without having people believing in you, so I really strive to push that sportsmanship and push the values that are going to help kids be better in life and just be better people,” Loseby said. “So, I think that’s really been a standout for us this season from Craig all the way up until our most recent meet in Petersburg, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what we continue to do with that in Sitka and what we continue to do with that in regions and then ultimately state, as well.”
• Contact reporter Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.
THMS swim team featured in this photo in beach attire to show team spirit before their meet in Petersburg on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Regions begin on Oct. 28 in Juneau Dimond Park Aquatic Center. (Courtesy Photo / Josiah Loseby)
