Goshen swim team expands its horizons in inaugural varsity season

By Josh Lashley
GOSHEN — Every sports program will eventually face its trials and tribulations. It’s not whether a team is going to encounter obstacles, but how it works to overcome them that’s important.
The Goshen High School swim program, in its inaugural season at the varsity level, faced more challenges this winter than their more established opponents. But the Gladiators progressed throughout the winter and even captured a victory over Burke.
“There were a couple of meets towards the end of the season where the boys were asking to swim new events like the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly,” Goshen head coach Melissa Kubik said. “I realized how far they had come at that point. The 50 freestyle was fun, but they wanted to expand their swimming experience. By the time we got to Section preliminaries and every single swimmer got a best time in their events, we knew our season had been a success.”
Each and every student-athlete on the Goshen roster made his presence felt in encouraging ways this winter.
“With such a small team this season, all the boys were leaders in their own way,” Kubik said. “Whether it be practice motivation, team spirit at meets or simply helping each other out with stroke technique or school work.
“Each and every athlete in our team made huge improvements this season. From our experienced swimmers to our rookies, everyone had huge improvements in stroke technique and event times. We had 100 percent improvement from the first meet to Sections, I could not be prouder.”
The future looks bright for the Goshen swim program.
“The most important thing we focus on is building for the future,” Kubik said. “We are lucky to have all our athletes returning next season. Our eldest swimmers were juniors this year and will be back next year. Developing leadership within our program has been easy with captains Jessie Shih and Amit Fuchs leading the pack.
“We really have to thank our amazing parent booster club for believing in this program and working so hard to make it a reality. There are plenty of ways to support our growing program.”