As the winter season has gotten started, the anticipation for the Normal West High School Boys Swim team is reaching its peak.

With Head Coach Dawn Fudge at the helm, the team is gearing up for a promising and exciting season. In an exclusive interview with Coach Fudge, she sat down to give us the scoop on her swim team this year.

Looking forward to the season, Fudge acknowledged that the Inter-city Meet and the Conference meet will pose challenges for the team. However, these meets often give the team a chance to compete against their peers and friends from other schools, creating a fun yet competitive atmosphere.

Fudge acknowledges that the goals of each swimmer varies drastically, with some of them aiming to attend a D1 school and others are just beginners joining for fun.

Fudge’s way of juggling teammates with different aspirations is incorporating teamwork: “Each swimmer brings their own strengths to the team,” she adds.

Being that the girls swim season has just wrapped up, Coach Fudge remarked on some attributes, including work ethic and teamwork from the Girls team that she wants to instill in the boys upcoming season.

She has full confidence in the boys and knows that they possess these qualities.

Isaiah Herbst, Andy Cunningham, and Cole Hamel are a couple of this year’s seniors, and they are feeling the pressure to fill the shoes of last year’s seniors of Nate Burrell and Noah Jett.

Coach Fudge also discussed her plan on training regimes in ensuring good results at meets.

Fudge mentioned the importance of dryland activities, including cardio and weight training, with a focus on building up yardage and tapering down before key meets.

The boys swim team meets Monday through Saturday, and most of the swimmers return year after year.

“Yes we’re here to be teammates but when it comes down to it, we are here to have fun. We will have some days where we will meet up for breakfast, [we have] Christmas music days ,etc.” Coach Fudge explains that the importance in having fun.  Fudge acknowledges that not every swimmer is there because they want to be a professional swimmer.

Some just love to swim.

Coach Fudge is excited to see what this upcoming season brings and how these swimmers will work together to do their very best at every meet, especially conference and inter-city.

In the midst of all of that she hopes that her team has the most fun possible.