Powell swimmers had the opportunity to get in the water for two weeks of training before fall seasons kick off, participating in the Powell Panthers Summer Swim Camp over the weeks of July 21-25 and July 28-Aug. 1.

Panther girls’ coach Bob Smartt alongside assistant coach Bailey Jackson led the camp, bringing in athletes from the boys’ and girls’ high school teams to train alongside an eighth grader to help improve technique before the season.

“The high school swim season is only 12 weeks, so to be able to do a two week training camp is a big help for the team,” Smartt said.

Smartt said five incoming freshmen attended, with those athletes learning alongside the older athletes in different ways over the 10 days.

“For the older athletes, swim camp is a great way to learn new drills and to start to build an endurance base,” Smartt said. “For our incoming freshmen, it is a great way to learn the types of training and technique that we use.”

He said the technique the girls’ swim team uses is important to focus on now, training specific movements in order to ensure the athletes are using the proper technique once the season rolls around.

“The easiest time to change an athlete’s technique is at the beginning of a new training cycle,” Smartt said. “So we spend a great deal of time in camp focusing on good strokes, turns, starts and underwater kicking.”

This season the Panthers will return a number of athletes from last year’s squad, having graduated only one competitor.

Returning will be a number of point getters, including a pair of All-State swimmers in seniors Kaitlin Diver and Patricia Christensen. Smartt said it was important to get those athletes in the water to compete against some of the best boys’ swimmers before the season.

“It was helpful to have two of the fastest athletes on the boys’ team attend camp and provide competition for our top girls,” Smartt said.

In addition to those top athletes attending the camp, Smartt said those five freshmen along with the eighth grader will be beneficial in the long run for the Panthers, who are aiming at a return to the podium this year.

“We were excited to have five freshmen in camp this year who will make a big contribution this year to the team … With the help of the freshmen class we believe getting back to the podium at state is a very realistic goal,” Smartt said. “We also had one eighth grader who will be stronger in the upcoming middle school season. The eighth grader we had in camp last year is expected to be an impact athlete and to score at state this year.”

The Panthers will reconvene in the pool on Aug. 18 for their first practice of the fall season.