Opinion: Random Musings
The size of a school, in most cases, determines the number of sports that are offered. This has to do with the size of the pool to pick from. To have programs in the small schools the same nucleus of athletes have to carry all the programs. Therefore schools generally have one major sport per season, so the athletes can play each without conflict of seasons. When I was going to school it was football, basketball, track and baseball for boys while the girls could play basketball and some spring sports.
The good thing is the students were able to play all the sports if they wanted instead of having to choose at a very early age and hope. Today in the larger schools there are two-sport athletes but even then their seasons overlap and sometimes decisions have to be made. It is a shame that students have to decide on a sport at a very early age to have a chance to make a team down the line. They do not get to play for the love of the game. They are in it for business. The odds are so great of making the next level and all one has to do is look at the number of players on a team and the numbers wanting those positions to realize that it is a lottery pick percentage. If you are not playing for the love of the game, a long stay is unlikely. I can remember being mortified in the 80's when I was teaching sixth grade classes and we got a new girls basketball coach. He had his MS coaches go around to the sixth grade PE classes and tell them if they wanted to play in MS they would have to play in a league. They were not giving the students any options. Today coaches do not get to do the things that gave me the greatest joy as a coach. Getting to teach the fundamentals to a youngster and watch them make progress in ability, regardless of whether they became good enough to make the team or not and learn to really enjoy the game as a sport and possibly make it a lifetime experience. Instead today, the students are farmed out to someone making money off them, collect the cream and form the team they are managing.
As Dripping Springs' enrollment continued to climb in the 90's, more sports were added to the number. As we have mentioned before, some were planned and others just seemed to happen. Swimming was one of those sports. One of the amenities to Founders Park was the addition of a swimming pool. Of course, with this came swimming lessons and clubs to compete around the area. This, of course, set into motion, parents and others wanting to add swimming to the school activities. It was resisted by the school due to scarcity of schools participating, perceived interest and the biggiebudgetary concerns.
Quite by accident, the program got an unintended start in 2000. A sophomore, Rachel Parmer had recently moved to DS and was an accomplished diver. She went to Athletic Director Poe Shelton with the simple request for a school personnel to go with her to the meets so she was eligible to compete. Coach Shelton approached football coach Howard Ballard, who was a high school swimmer himself, about being that person and he agreed. A few weeks later another student, Nikki Richburg, asked to compete as a swimmer. Just as simple as that, the swimming program took off. Parmer still holds the school record in diving.
Eric Capalupo coached the swim team for a few years before Andrea McCarthy was asked to take over. She was not only a teacher at DSHS but she had headed up the swim program at the Founders Park pool for a few years. She was able to capitalize on its popularity and was able to get quality and quantity of numbers up. Beginning in 2009, the boys have won 7 district titles and the girls first of nine in 2011. From time to time Coach McCarthy has sought retirement, but each time the program came back to her lap and she continued. She was responsible for all but three of the titles, including 2018 when the girls took the state title. She is hoping the next appointed coach for the coming year will stick.
DSHS has had at least four state champions so far. Timothy Wylie (2010) and Jessica Shepard (2012) in the 100 backstroke, Micah Slaton (2016) 100 butterfly and the 2018 400 Free Relay team of London Farris, Lydia Evans, Katie Tuohy and Keeley Vardeman.
Swimming is one of those sports where those that go beyond their high school careers are seldom recognized. One of those is Slaton who went on to swim for the University of Missouri. He has twice qualified for the Olympic trials with his times in the 100 Fly. First, out of high school in 2016 and just this past June where he advanced past the first level of competition.
In addition to the swimmers named above, the other Tiger school record holders include Aidan Fumagalli, Danny Henry, Quinn Mauck, Josh Dowdy, Benjamin Adams, Jeremiah Bartlett, Blake West, Colin O'Connor, Brendan Burt and Nolan Granger. For the Lady Tigers were Madie Locus, Athena Turner, Riley Dalton, Savannah Karas and Julie Carter.