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The Canton ladies swimming and diving crew has been making noise this season, constructing off the success of current years underneath head coach Ed Weber.
With a 4-3 dual-meet file, Canton finds itself at No. 7 within the Division 1 rankings. Despite the slight decline in wins from the earlier years, the crew has nonetheless put up 512 factors in a tricky Kensington Lakes Activities Association West. Each of the three losses have come to top-10 groups this season.
Weber famous a powerful sophomore group and improvement of previous swimmers as key causes for the success of this yr.
“We have a group of girls that are starting to get some of the tradition of the hard swimming,” Weber mentioned. “We have a sophomore class this year that is stepping up and being a big part of our success during our dual meets.”
Two sophomores have actually stood out for Canton this yr in Abi McAskin and Amelia Pan, who’ve certified for the upcoming state meet. Weber acknowledged the event every has had within the freshman-to-sophomore transition.
With a large number of younger gamers within the midst of successful, Weber mentioned the problem is available in balancing each points of the game.
“I often question, ‘Am I a trainer, or am I a coach?’,” Weber mentioned. “I really work hard at being a coach and trying to find out what parts the kids need to work on, what parts aren’t what I would imagine the correct swimming technique to be that we want to get in.”
What helps is when the crew is on the identical web page, which Weber mentioned actually got here into fruition halfway by the season.
One swimmer has made a particularly giant mark on the crew’s success this yr.
Senior Hannah Gurgel is acknowledged as a top-15 swimmer within the state, coming off of a junior season the place she completed second in each the 200-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke, setting KLAA West file occasions in each.
Gurgel’s distinctive trait is her aggressive nature and poise, which reminded Weber of previous profitable Canton swimmers.
“We have had an Olympian in the past that would have this same characteristic: Hannah loves to race,” Weber mentioned. “She hates to lose. She will do everything to win. Where some athletes will get nervous and get over their head in all of the hype, she is never getting over her head. She wants to take on the challenge.”
Gurgel is dedicated to Boston University to proceed swimming, which Weber believes takes off a whole lot of the stress in meets.
“Since she’s committed to swimming at Boston, there’s no pressure,” Weber mentioned. “You don’t have to show off what you can do, you’ve already committed to it. You already know where you’re going; now it’s just, get out there and perform. Have fun with it.”
The mixture of enjoyment of the second and technique-focused coaching is likely one of the issues that has set Canton aside up to now, and continues to be true right now.
Bar remains to be excessive at West Bloomfield
The bar of success has been fairly excessive in terms of West Bloomfield ladies swimming in current seasons.
Broken data, state titles and top-10 Division 1 rankings have been the highlights of the previous few years underneath head coach Ronson Webster, and all of it comes from numerous elements, and clearly, having the primary highschool swimmer within the nation helps out a ton.
West Bloomfield is 5-2 in twin meets this yr, notching a spot at No. 10 within the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association late-October rankings for Division 1. The crew has tallied greater than 520 factors within the season, and has had a number of swimmers qualify for the state meet.
The aim is at all times to return away with a championship, however Webster famous the satisfaction he’s had with the crew this yr to date, with the popularity going deeper than simply wins and losses.
“I don’t think anything could have gone better,” Webster mentioned. “I’m very happy with where we’re at as a team this year. The girls have really honed in this year on working hard in practice.”
Webster mentioned that past only a championship mindset, having a concentrate on reaching every swimmer’s potential is one thing that the crew goals for yearly.
“We write seasonal targets that every particular person is making an attempt to work for all through the season,” Webster said. “We just really want to try to make sure that they reach their full potential each season depending on where they’re at each year. We try not to focus so much on the results, but more on the process.”
Webster noted how the process is different for each swimmer. Experienced swimmers who have seen higher levels of competition get different focuses in practices compared to the newer, less experienced swimmer. Tailored practices and training is something that he sees as critical to team success and development.
Having a dynamic training focus is especially crucial when having a premiere swimming prospect on your team.
Senior Elizabeth Eichbrecht is ranked as the No. 1 high school swimmer in the country along with finding herself in the top-100 amongst all swimmers nationally.
Eichbrecht has the ability to go for a record this year as the second girl ever in state history to win individual events in all four seasons. The 200- and 500-yard freestyle are specifically her area of expertise, winning both events every year of her high school career.
What separates Eichbrecht from the rest?
“Her consistency and determination over the years,” Webster said. “Over the years she has developed the technique that works best for her. She’s not the tallest swimmer, she’s not like the perfect swim body, but we find what works best from there.”
Eichbrecht holds a top-five record in the 500 freestyle in the state with a time of 4:47:66, set in 2023 along with first-place finishes in every meet this season. She plans on continuing her career in the water at Indiana University next fall.
Eichbrecht will be defending her titles this year in the state meet meet alongside teammates Piper Smith and Bryn Cusack with hopes to tack on a few more in the upcoming league meet.
Doug Doty is a contract author.
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