At Marshfield High School the boys and girls swim team are working hard. Due to a boiler issue at their home pool in Mingus Park, both the boys and girls teams practice at North Bend’s swimming pool for the remainder of the season. During daily doubles, they practice from 6:15a.m. to 7:30a.m., and again after school. Practice is when they build up their speed and perfect their strokes. The perk to practicing in North Bend? It’s indoors. Mingus Park pool would mean that athletes would be swimming outside in frigid winter temperatures.
“Practicing inside is better because the weather is cold right now,” Junior Eliot Aley said. “If the weather is colder, the water will be colder, and we’ll have a harder time swimming because it messes with our muscles.”
The pirates have a swim meet every Friday, where they get to show off what they have been practicing.
Unlike most sports at Marshfield, the swim team is part of a special division where they have combined 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A together. This is different, because 4A is usually separate from the smaller sized schools. The head coach for both the girls and the boys team this year is Kathe McNutt, a long-time MHS coach. Assisting her this year is former MHS varsity swimmer Anna Hutchins. Coach McNutt spends a lot of time individually coaching each swimmer.
“I would describe my coach’s coaching style as very hands-on,” said junior Allison Wright. “She is always very involved with each swimmer and willing to help.”
McNutt shows up early before every morning practice to warm up the pool for the swimmers.
“Kathe is amazing and she works hard, said sophomore swimmer Charles Hatch. “And she’s tough on us to help us improve.”
The MHS swim team has been excelling this season, placing well in most meets, even winning several of them. While the goal is always to beat their personal record, the higher a swimmer places, the more points they earn for the team. Girls and boys teams are scored separately. In the end, the pirate swimmers all share a common goal–to make it to state in their designated race divisions.
