Below, College of Charleston head coach Bora Yatagan describes how his team started their Holiday training this week.
This week and next, all across the nation, swimmers are beginning their Holiday Break training. We, the College of Charleston Swimming and Diving team, are no exception. Our distance group stuck to their tradition and began their training with 100 x 100’s. For the Cougars, however, this December is not all about training. Rather than going to nap between practices, we stayed in the pool and enjoyed some time with local elementary school kids teaching the fundamentals of swimming.
LAPS is a program established in Charleston, South Carolina that helps underprivileged kids in the ‘low country’ learn to swim at the North Charleston Danny Jones Pool. Lowcountry Aquatic Project Swimming is a new swimming initiative targeted at drown-proofing all K-1st grade students in Charleston County by building a community of swimmers who can enjoy the water- in a city surrounded by it.
As many know, our team faces elimination at the conclusion of our season. The Danny Jones pool, the facility that we use for Christmas training, and share with the rest of the Charleston community, could be a potential alternative if approved by the Athletic Department at the College of Charleston.
Swimming is more than a sport in Charleston- a city on the water. For the safety of locals who frequent the local beaches and pools, knowing how to swim is a must. College of Charleston swim and dive team is proud to aid in these efforts. Please help us in saving our program and a team of great young adults who are passionate about the sport and teaching it to others. The LAPS program, and others like it, is a great opportunity for the community to improve the overall quality of life for it’s residents by establishing the importance of and the means to be proficient in the water. We, the CofC swim and dive program, hope to have a long lasting relationship with LAPS and an impact on the community, all we need is a chance to express our ideas and alternatives in hopes of saving our program so all the community can benefit.
Below, see photos of the teams work with the LAPS program.
