POULSBO — There’s an underlying current of excitement brewing in the water this year for the combined varsity boys swim team of North Kitsap and Kingston high schools. With both a strong slate of returning swimmers and those learning the fundamentals of the sport, this year promises to be something special.
For head coach Greg Braun, the challenge lies in nurturing his strong swimmers while cultivating the beginners to have successful swimming careers.
For the beginners, the learning curve is steep. They must master the basics while figuring out the nuances that provide a competitive advantage, like flip-turns and diving off starting blocks.
“We have lot of new, inexperienced swimmers. Our goal is to bring them up to speed as quickly as we can,” Braun said. “We’ve got a young team with a lot of potential. A lot of the guys learn very quickly.”
Once they learn, their knowledge leads to a passion for the sport.
“I love the water. I love competition. Competition in the water is like double fun,” said Ryan Eggers, a returning senior from Kingston. Eggers excels in both backstroke and freestyle. He is optimistic about the season ahead. “I think we’re going to do fantastic.”
His teammates share his outlook.
“I’m really excited about how many people came out. Last year we had four. This year we have double that. Next year, if we have our own team, we’ll be ready to take on teams in the Olympic League,” said Alex Bean, who swims freestyle and breaststroke. Bean also carries the title of “all-around, go-to guy.”
The team, which competes in the 4A Narrows League, has a both a mental and competitive advantage in being able to draw from both North Kitsap and Kingston high schools.
The core of strong returning swimmers include Eggers, Bean, NKHS sophomore Josh Despard, freestyle; NKHS senior Justin Roulanaitis, freestyle; NKHS sophomore Josh Thornell, butterfly; Kingston junior Mike Colasurdo, butterfly; and Kingston senior Aaron Bilbao, breaststroke.
Roulanaitis said the swimmers attending two different schools will not have a negative bearing on the season.
“We’re going to fight and not give up. Just because we got split up doesn’t mean it’s going to tear us apart,” he said.
