Swim Team Debacle: At the beginning of the school year, the swim team faced many trials and tribulations through miscommunication and mistakes

*This editorial was originally published in the October Raider Echo. We are reposting it, because editor Ian Floyd won a first place award at the Dallas Morning News High School Journalism Day.* 

Thank you, Dr. Culwell for putting an end to the madness that was swim team tryouts. After two months of confusion, school board meetings and possible lawsuits, we are thankful for a conclusion.  

On the second A-day of the school year, NG swimmers were told of mandatory district-held tryouts for all GISD teams (North Garland, South Garland and Garland High School). Swimmers were given an eight to nine-day period to get a physical and become conditioned to make the tryout. Initially the swim team was told they would have to swim three events and write an essay. The coaches were not told the cut-off point for each event or what the swimmers were being judged on. Would Johnny Cupcake make it if he swam 50 meters of freestyle in 30 seconds but Susie Shortcake wouldn’t if she swam it in 35 seconds?  

The coaches were not told who would be judging the tryouts, and they were not included in the board of judges. Essentially they had lost control of who was on their team.  

On the day of the tryouts, swimmers were told they were unable to tryout because they did not have a physical and they would not be given another opportunity to re-tryout. Despite certain students’ inability to get a physical due to financial restraints or tryout at their top capabilities due to fasting for the religious period of Ramadan, their request for a re-tryout was shot down, and they were told to tryout again next year.  

The judges for the tryouts were the softball coach and the gymnastics coach for Garland High School. Later the swim coaches were told that each person was judged based on a points system, 0-3, something of which swimming is not judged by, and still the coaches were never told how many points in each category was needed to make the team.  

After the new teams were announced, NG swimming was hit the hardest, shrinking our team from over 40 swimmers down to 12, whereas the other teams only lost a few members. A majority of those 12 were seniors. After graduation that would leave the team with four to five members, and in a few years the team may not exist. A frenzy of parents and swimmers, both current and alumni, spoke at a school board meeting about the disorganization and confusion surrounding the tryout process.  

Eventually the Athletic office granted the swim team a re-tryout for those who missed the original tryout. That event brought the team from 12 members to 16. Still the team was threatened with extinction. A group of parents threatened lawsuits if their child was removed from the swim class. Then the Athletic office permitted a JV team, which would not swim during the period and would practice from 4-5 p.m. at Gold’s Gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  

Still parents were unhappy, and met with the principal and school board officials. After weeks of negotiations and threats, Superintendent Dr. Curtis Culwell reinstated everyone to the swim team, disbanded the JV team and moved every student back into the class.  

Tryouts, in theory, are not bad. However, they should be organized, transparent, and should consult the coaches. Tryouts are usually intended to help the team weed out the weak and give the experienced, polished players a chance to flourish. However, if the tryout process is shrouded in secrecy, it will only lead to disgruntled parents, teachers, and students, possibly result in lawsuits and worst of all the collapse of a program that has nurtured many swimmers into award-winning athletes.  

By having a member of the swim team on staff, the Raider Echo has had a front row seat to all the action. It has been a drawn out, painstaking event, and with every day that passed, it became more heated. It is our great pleasure to know that this event has ended in a swift, professional manner before drastic measures occurred.  

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