Dayton Swim Team's First Year with New Coach Off to Good Start

DAYTON – The Dayton Swim Team is under new leadership for the first time in a decade, with new Head Coach Jamie Trump taking the reins for the 2017 summer season.

The change in coaching occurred after veteran coach Rosy Nechodom retired following the 2016 season. Following many questions and receiving support from various community members and parents, Trump decided to take on the challenge.

"People had been asking me if I was going to coach this year," Trump explained. "I decided to go back to school for my master's, and so my summer was open."

The team is comprised of 29 kids ranging in age from five to 18. While 29 is somewhat low, Trump thinks that the kids participating will benefit from the season and will still have a good showing.

"We are a relatively small team, so we definitely need everyone we can to qualify for County (the league championship meet)," Trump said.

Swimmers are required by league rules to participate in at least half of the six regular season meets during the year to take part in the county meet. In order to compete with the other teams in the league, Dayton will need most of their kids to qualify to have the opportunity to gain enough points to stay with the other teams.

This also means that the kids must travel to at least one away meet, as Dayton is only hosting two swim meets this summer. Other swim teams include Pomeroy and St. John-Endicott-Lacrosse, which will both be hosting meets. A Walla Walla club swimming team will also compete at a Dayton meet, but they are not a part of the league.

This year's Dayton squad will also feature a lot of the kids racing in multiple of all available events in their age group in order to gain the most amount of points for the team. Trump is preparing the kids for this by having them focus on getting the most out of their strokes to avoid tiring out early in races and meets.

"A small team means that kids need to swim a lot," Trump stated. "I have been focusing on efficient and smart strokes with the kids so they don't waste their energy."

Trump has taken this new role in stride, even though there are things that you cannot prepare for. But she has been able to get into a groove due to the help of countless parents and volunteers that have helped her run the team, which takes her about 15-20 hours a week.

"It is really important to me that people realize that coaching swim team is really a community effort," she said. "I have had numerous helpers contributing to this team...the morning lifeguards, Carl Robanske, Aneesha Dieu, Jeremy Trump and parents. I have a very supportive board as well. Honestly, I wouldn't want to try to do it by myself."

An average practice, which is held from 8-10 a.m. each weekday morning, with the older kids taking the first hour, followed by the younger kids in the later hour, focuses on swimming the whole time so kids can learn and build cardio.

Trump says that, even if her kids were not a part of the team, she would still coach. They plan on getting the word out earlier next year so that they can try to have a higher number of swimmers, but at the end of the day, it is about the kids having fun.

"I love these kids and I really want to see them excel," Trump said.