Winter sports are starting again soon, which means the swim team is getting ready to start. This year the swim team will have a new coaching staff including head coach Brian Kephart and assistant coaches Megan Yingling and Heidi Soldner.
Head coach Brian Kephart is new to this year’s coaching staff but not new to coaching.
“I coached Altoona swimming after I graduated from high school for a little while in college,” Kephart said. “I got back to coaching about five or six years ago once my children started swimming competitively. I was an assistant coach at Altoona before leaving three years ago to coach at the Blair Regional YMCA, where I am currently.”
This is the same case with assistant coaches Soldner and Yingling.
“I have been involved in coaching swimming on and off for the past 26 years,” Soldner said. “I was a volunteer coach along with Coach Brian [Kephart] during my first year of teaching with the district in the late 1990’s, and I have coached off and on since then at the Blair Regional YMCA.”
“I have been involved in swimming since I was in fifth grade,” Yingling said. “Whether it was teaching lessons, swimming for the YMCA or lifeguarding, you could always find me around water. When I had the opportunity to teach the beginner swim classes here at the high school, it reignited my love for swimming.”
During this season, there will be 11 meets and one invitational, spanning from mid- November to the end of February. There will be a district meet at the end of the season for all swimmers that reach qualifying times. The coaches plan to have practices Monday through Friday. The practices will be approximately two hours each.
Recently, the swim team had an open swim for any student interested in swimming. This was held on Oct. 22 in the field house. The coaches had 35 students attend.
“The open swim went well,” Kephart said. “Coach Ying and I were overwhelmed by the turn out. It was great to see so many kids show interest in possibly joining the swim team.”
Kephart plans to improve the team’s record this year. He says by adding more kids to the roster, they will be able to score more points and ultimately win more meets.
“I want to help improve everyone’s technique,” Kephart said. “You must have good technique if you want to be a good swimmer. Strength and conditioning are very important, but it’s the blend of all these things that can help make someone a top swimmer. I also want to improve everyone’s pride in their sport and in their school. By being positive and focusing on the swimmer and their needs, I think we can make many improvements.”
