Laps of luxury
Aquatic center upgrades give champion Tigersharks new place to make waves
More than just Valentine’s Day, Thursday, Feb. 14 was a day that began a huge transformation for the Texas High Tigersharks.
In the morning hours, as the team was leaving for the State Championships in Austin, work crews began the five-month process of remodeling the TISD Aquatic Center on the campus of Texarkana College.
The long-overdue process closed the pool for the spring and summer. In the interim the Tigersharks have called the outdoor pool at CHRISTUS St. Michael’s fitness center home.
“It has gone really well for us,” head swim coach Eric Vogan said. “St. Michael’s has worked really hard to keep the water temperature very nice for us. They are really concerned, making sure the temperature doesn’t get to hot for us.”
During the first two months, practices were carried out as steam rose from the pool in the wee morning hours of an East Texas spring. The first morning of practice saw the team hit the water with an ambient air temperature of 48 degrees, a fact that worried senior all-state swimmer Owen Likins.
“I thought, ‘This isn’t going to go well; we are all going to get pneumonia or something,’” Likins said. “After about a week, though, you got used to it, and once you were in the water it was pretty nice.”
Senior co-captain Haley Wood had similiar thoughts.
“We were swimming in steam and it was very dark, so we had to adjust to those factors, but that adjustment has only made us stronger. I am very thankful that St. Michael’s let us use their pool. It is good for us to experience different types of pools,” Wood said.
The cold, dark mornings have slowly made their way to typical summer mornings, hot and humid with the steam coming off the pool deck instead of the water.
“I knew it would get a lot warmer, but to tell you the truth, I would prefer the wind and the cold to the heat,” Vogan said.
Vogan likes being able to have diverse training sessions at St. Michael.
“We can send the kids out on runs, and I know they are safe running the loop around the hospital. They then get in the water and we go to work,” he said.
For multi-sport state qualifier Likins, there were both similarities and differences to his other sports.
“I do those 30-degree winter track workouts, so you get kind of use to that part of it. Being actually in the water, though, is different. You want to stay in the water,” he smiled.
The team has changed some of their training techniques due to a more confined area and having fewer lanes. Coaches and swimmers alike agree that the change has given them a fresh outlook on training.
There is excitement about the incoming freshmen and their potential, but they have some really big shoes to fill as several key swimmers were lost to graduation.
“That is just the way it is around here when you are so successful for such a long period of time,” Vogan said. “We are training very hard and that is what I expect out of this team.”
For Wood, a three-time state meet qualifier, “it has helped us with our team building. We have been there for each other and it will really show in our team stability. I am most looking forward to the new locker rooms. I know the pool will be great, but we spend a lot of time changing and then getting ready for school so having better facilities in that area will be super cool.”
TISD chief operating officer Brad Bailey said, “All renovations are going as expected and are in the final phases. When you renovate an older building there will be some unexpected areas that need attention. There were a few of those areas, but the TISD Construction and Maintenance Team has done an amazing job and I am proud of everyone’s hard work to meet our deadline.”
The TISD aquatic center will be a state-of-the-art high school swim facility.
The pool is slated to reopen for the team at the end of the month. The boys will be going for their 22nd consecutive regional championship, while the girls will be swimming for their 11th title in a row.
The building will not be exactly the same as the one stalwarts such as Coy Bryant, Christy Mullinax, Quentin Harris and Alex McCoy swam in. It will be much better. Likins, Wood, Max Young and John David Cass will have the facilities that they and their teammates deserve as they try to put their names on par with those of Matt Cox, Jason Sadowski and Katie Richardson, along with other school record holders