NEW SPORTS SWIMMING

Coach Williams gives us an overview on the Inaugural Season of PA's swim team. By Coach Megan Williams

On October 23, 2023, twelve courageous high school students put on their goggles and took the plunge as a part of Providence Academy’s first-ever swim team. Most of these athletes had little to no competitive swimming experience. The PA team was lucky enough to establish a great working relationship with the recreation department of Johnson City and practiced 4-5 days a week using the Memorial Park Community Center Pool and the Freedom Hall pool. The team interacted with the public each day at these facilities, and even more important than swimming, they were able to be Christ-like examples and advocates for PA each day.

Middle school science and logic teacher Megan Williams took the reins as head coach this year. “This team was different than any other swim team that I have ever coached. Because so many of them were so new, we spent a lot of time developing very fundamental skills to build a strong foundation. This was a very coachable group of athletes that embraced learning the technical aspects of the sport. Therefore, we saw incredible improvements over the course of the season.” The PA team competed in seven meets (each meet had several teams competing) within NE TN. Despite their small size, PA came away beating several teams, including some from much larger high schools.

The team is already looking ahead to next season and ways to get more PA students involved with swimming from preK –12th grade. Stay tuned and make a splash!