By making practices more rigorous and intense, head coach Heather Moore is changing up the schedule this season to try to help the team improve as much as possible.
Swim team head coach Heather Moore is new at Souderton, but according to swim coach Megan Malmquist, she is anything but new to coaching and teaching in the physical arts.
“She brings many, many, many years of expertise to our swimming program,” Malmquist said. “In addition to swimming knowledge, she has already been coaching many of these kids since they were less than eight years old as a part of our community program.”
According to Malmquist, Moore has knowledge that is a big benefit to the swim program. Moore, who has a doctorate in physical therapy and owns a local physical therapy business, has great knowledge of how muscles and joints work.
The training program includes mandatory practices in the mornings, afternoons and Saturday mornings.
“We have mandatory lifting on Monday and Wednesday morning, and we hired a lifting coach to come in and run those sessions,” Moore said.
According to Moore, there are also optional lifting sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, and regular swim practices every day.
Moore said she believes that the team can rise to the challenge of the program and make it a great season.
Malmquist is also excited to watch the team train with their program.
“We’re going to ramp up their schedule, and [the team] couldn’t be more excited to meet that challenge,” Malmquist said.
According to senior swimmer Ryan Christie, Moore is more intense than the previous coach in how she runs practices.
“When we were just having a regular practice, nothing too crazy, she would be in the pool, yelling, and that kind of energy is really a driving force to make us want to work harder,” Christie said.
Senior diver Alyssa Gehman thinks that the qualities that make a coach a good coach include supporting their athletes and finding the right balance. “Knowing when to be there for your athletes, but also when to push them, so finding that balance [is important],” Gehman said.
Another thing that the team is well credited with by both of their head coaches is their energy. “This team has so much energy,” Malmquist said. “They are bouncing off the walls, [and] they are ready to go.”
Moore also noted the team for their enthusiasm. “I am excited for the energy the team is bringing,” Moore said.
Malmquist and Moore have both coached some of the team for over 10 years, which allows them a unique perspective on the growth of the team.
“We see them from the part where they don’t know how to swim at all up to being state and relay record-breaking swimmers,” Malmquist said.
Christie said it will be fun to watch the whole team progress. “We have some guys that are already super fast and some guys that are just starting out,” Christie said.