LADIES FIRST!

The long journey to the IHSAA State Meet begins today for the girls on the YHS swim team. For the record, it'll take 110 days to get there for those who are talented enough to make it. And many of them are capable of doing just that.

The first day of practice marks the debut of new head coach Matt Routh, himself a former Tiger swimmer from the class of 2006. Matt will guide the Tigers through their third coaching change in as many years, and there are bound to be bumps along the way as athletes get used to a new coach and vice versa. But this year's edition of the Tigers, both boys and girls, could make some noise.

The Lady Tigers have several formidable weapons, led by junior All-American backstroker Larah Beaver. But sophomores Jessica Extine, Kersea Gable and Caroline Grasso also possess top-shelf ability. That quartertet is capable of making a strong run at the YHS 200-yard medley relay record of 1:49.91, and I'll go out on a limb now and predict that if all four girls stay healthy this season, they will break the record in February. Beaver, Extine, Gable and Grasso will also haul in a lot of points in their individual events, too.

Look for senior Gabby LaVoie to score significant points in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles, with juniors Kirsten Nickoli, Chappell Railey and Chelsea Watters also capable of contributing lots of points in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyles and other strokes.

The boys don't hold their first practice of the IHSAA season for another two weeks. But anticipation is high for the YHS guys as well. Seniors Michael Heavilon, Hunter Hoffman and Adam Voss are ready to go out with a bang in their final go 'round. All three look strong in pre-season club practices, and put up impressive times in the recent club meet at Fishers.

When you add in freshman Scott Heavilon, the Tigers have a roster short on depth, but long on talent. Look for the boys to make a serious run at the school record board in February, especially in the 400-yard freestyle relay. That 3:12.23 put up two seasons ago could be in play, especially if the younger half of the Heavilon brothers continues to improve as rapidly as he has in the last couple of seasons.

Hang on fans and parents, this should be one wild ride in 2010-11.

GO TIGERS!

TRAGEDY STRIKES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

Just read a stunning piece of news this afternoon--American open water swimmer Fran Crippen lost consciousness during a race today in the United Arab Emirates and died at the age of 26. One of his teammates realized Crippen hadn't finished the race and yelled for help--the competitors jumped back in the water to go search for Crippen, but it was too late.

His body was found near a buoy about two hours later. Officials aren't sure what caused Crippen's death.

Just another reason to hug your sons and daughters and tell them how much you love them. None of us is guaranteed a tomorrow.

A TIGER COMES BACK HOME

A former Yorktown swimmer will be taking charge of the Tiger's program for the rapidly approaching 2010-11 season. Matt Routh has been named YHS head coach, following last week's resignation of Brad Grieshop. Routh will begin his coaching duties on Monday, when the girls hold their first practice of the IHSAA season.

Routh graduated from Yorktown in 2006. He earned both All-American and Academic All-American honors from the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA), and also once held a YHS record in the 400 freestyle relay with Nick Reising, Brenden Butler and Jordan Extine. Routh went on to win two letters on the swimming team at Wabash College before hanging up his Speedo.

Matt, congratulations, welcome home, and good luck.

GO TIGERS!

SWIMMERS DETERMINED TO TRIUMPH OVER COACHING TURMOIL

Losing a coach is difficult--losing one just 14 days before the start of your season is even tougher. But the Yorktown Tigers are responding to the sudden resignation of head coach Brad Grieshop with a steely resolve to control their own destiny.

The YHS Lady Tigers gathered for a hastily called
"swimmers only" pizza dinner and team meeting Monday night, just hours after learning they'll be going through another coaching change. They shed tears, talked about their goals for this year, and decided to make the best of a bad situation.

The girls are focusing on keeping their routine intact as longtime volunteer assistant coach Frank Mattingly prepares to guide the team through the early part of the season. They're already scheduling weekly team building activities to keep their bond strong. Nobody forced them to do any of this. They're doing it on their own, because they care about their school, their team, and each other. They're taking ownership of the one thing they can control at this point--how they move forward from here.

As the above photo illustrates, every team is a sum of its parts. And the most important part is the athletes. Coaches write the workouts, take the splits, and shout the instructions. But the swimmers determine the outcome of any contest. And these girls will determine for themselves whether losing a coach two weeks before the start of practice ruins their season, or makes them an even more formidable force to be reckoned with in the months to come.

Knowing these girls the way I do, I'm betting that they'll lock arms, compete for one other, and lead the Lady Tigers to an outstanding 2010-11 season.

GO TIGERS!

GRIESHOP RESIGNS, COACHING SEARCH BEGINS

Tears flowed freely yesterday from coaches, swimmers and parents after Brad Grieshop announced his resignation from both his Yorktown coaching positions. Grieshop has accepted an age group coaching position with the Southeastern Swim Club, and will move on in the near future.

Brad made an immediate and lasting impact on both the Yorktown High School and Yorktown Swim Club athletes and programs. As a rookie head coach in 2008-09, Brad inherited a program in turmoil and put it back on the right path. Brad was named the Hoosier Heritage Conference boys Coach of the Year as YHS won the HHC championship that season. Brad went on to capture the boys Coach of the Year award at the IHSAA Sectional a month later, beating out coaching veterans Andy Pederson of Hamilton Southeastern and Ken Stopkotte of Fishers for the honor.

In little over two years at Yorktown, Brad has coached high school All-Americans and club state champions, collegiate swimmers home on breaks, and the smallest beginners fresh out of Swim America lessons.

Brad, we congratulate you on a great step up in your coaching career, and wish you all the best at Southeastern and beyond.

See ya 'round the pool.