Leavenworth swim team begins summer season

Every weekday morning for the next weeks, Leavenworth residents and visitors can find a plethora of swimmers practicing at the local pool.

The Leavenworth swim team kicked off their summer season with 130 athletes competing in various age divisions. Coach Rachel Blyth, who returns for another season, said the team is comprised of veteran swimmers who competed in previous season to rookies to the water.

For practices, athletes are divided into three age groups: 13-18 year olds, who practice from 7:30-8:20 a.m,, ages 10-11 who utilize the pool from 8:20-9:10 a.m. and kids 9 and younger, who practice from 9:10-9:45 a.m.

Blyth, who coaches Wenatchee’s Velocity Swimming team that competes year-round, noted that the summer swimming season is more “laid back” compared to year-round swimming or competition at the high school level.

“Kids have more activities going on in the summer, so the season so we try and keep it low impact” Blyth said. “Summer acts as cross training for some athletes. It’s also a good way to develop a life skill for kids who live in this area.”

Blyth added that swimming is a sport has an individual component where athletes can challenge themselves, measure their progress and beat their own time.

Some of the older athletes will even transition to working at the pool as a lifeguard, or compete alongside Eastmont High School’s swim team.

Also returning to the Leavenworth swim team coaching staff is Nikolai Kostka, who swam for Velocity Swimming.

Two new additions to the coaching staff are Carson Rieke and Connor Ashcraft. Both Rieke and Ashcraft are Cascade High School alumni and swam for the  Leavenworth team. Blyth added that having Ashcraft and Rieke on board has been helpful for her and the team.

Blyth said she and the coaching staff focus on teaching water safety and introducing the competitive side of the sport to the younger athletes. Older athletes will spend practice doing warm ups and various stroke swimming drills.

Coaches also focus on teaching proper techniques to prevent them from being disqualified at meets.

“We want to get them a feel for the blocks before our meets, and our backstroke flags are closer than in regulation, so we’ll prepare for that,” Blyth added. “We also work on getting them signed up for events, which can take some time during practice. The older athletes have specific events they compete in.”

Two returning swimmers on this year’s team are Cascade High School’s Zoey McDevitt and Landon Davies. Both athletes have competed on the team since six years old.

McDevitt, whose favorite event is the breasstroke, said she loves to swim and getting in the water. For a people person like Davies, who likes to race in the butterfly, being on the swim team allows him interact with and compete alongside his friends. 

Competing in swimming also helps McDevitt and Davies, who compete in cross country and track, prepare for the fall and spring sports seasons.

Leavenworth will compete in the Wenatchee Valley Summer Swim League (WVSSL) against five other teams: Cashmere, Ephrata, Quincy, Waterville and the Wenatchee Racquet Aquatic Club.

The team travels to Quincy for their first meet on June 20.