‘The improvement from day one has been unbelievable.’ Indian Land starts swim program
Before this year, Indian Land didn’t field a swim team.
Now, the Warriors are heading into their final regular season meet on Thursday at the Rock Hill Aquatic Center against region foes South Pointe and York — and by pretty much all indications, their first season has exceeded expectations.
“The improvement from day one has been unbelievable,” said head coach Kirsten Willis, who was once a swimmer at Lancaster High School and is now in her first year ever as a head coach. “The swimmers are excited to have a team of their own, and they have bonded together very quickly.”
Indian Land has an overall record of 5-2 when using combined scores of both the girls’ and boys’ results in the regular season events: The Warriors have wins over York and Gaffney as well as three decisions over Lancaster. The losses have come against region foe Catawba Ridge and 5A powerhouse Nation Ford.
But Willis looks at her team’s inaugural year and sees more than wins and losses.
“We have 35 swimmers on the two teams combined,” she said. “The turnout was tremendous. That is almost double what I thought we would have come out when we started.”
Indian Land individual swim success will ‘come in time’
Indian Land High School — situated in the northernmost part of Lancaster County, just south of the Carolinas border in S.C. — has a dozen swimmers who have varsity experience. Prior to this season, those individuals have been swimming with the Lancaster High School team.
“They have been super leaders for our younger swimmers, who had never been involved in competition on the varsity level,” she added. “Every swimmer on our team is better right now than the first day.”
The goal of the regular season is to get ready for the region meet and the state event, plus record times good enough to qualify for the state meet, Willis said — adding that the team already has “10 or 12” swimmers who’ve qualified for the state meet later this season.
Willis also said that the team is on pace to achieve its goals for the season, which are (1) to finish the season “without the coronavirus interfering” with it; (2) to get better every day; and (3) to be competitive in meets.
The Warriors are the new kids on the block, so to speak, in a region that features strong teams in South Pointe, Catawba Ridge, York and Lancaster.
The biggest take away for Willis in her first-ever season as a coach has been the attitude of the swimmers and the community.
“The swimmers have shown great pride in swimming for the Indian Land colors, and the community has really backed us,” she said. “I could not be happier.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 9:02 AM.