Southlake Carroll head swimming coach Kevin Murphy has announced tryouts for the Dragon swim and dive program on March 29 at the Elise Cerami Aquatic Center.
Athletes heading into eighth, ninth and tenth grade are invited to try out between 10 and 11 a.m., and no swimming experience is required, Murphy said.
"Competitive swimming is a great sport, where every swimmer gets an opportunity to show what they can do," Murphy said. "There are no bench-warmers in our sport at Southlake Carroll. Everyone competes and gets an opportunity to excel based on their ability, hard work and performance."
Junior varsity competitive swimming, held during the fourth- and eighth-period blocks are a great spot to improve on swimming skills. All athletes must be able to swim safely.
Murphy noted that, in the past, plenty of students who may not have considered themselves great athletes have found their niche in the pool.
"We have had kids begin competitive swimming in our high school program, as late as ninth or tenth grade and starting out as [junior varsity] swimmers just learning the strokes and the sport, who move forward based on their talent and hard work, to become all-district, all-state, state qualifiers and even All-American swimmers," Murphy said. "Lots of budding athletes get left behind when cuts are made in some of our more popular sports at Southlake Carroll. There are no cuts in our Southlake Carroll swim and dive program."
The boys team has dominated in the past decade and a half, winning state in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022. The girls team has seen similar success, winning state in 2012, 2013, 2019, 2020 and 2022.