"This is a very small and relatively young team," Vikings Swim Coach Diane Swigart notes. "They all work very hard to overcome some unforeseen obstacles." Some of those obstacles have included some difficulties with something very integral to the program, but the coach has likes how the swimmers risen to the challenge.

"We have had problems with our pool, but this team has found ways to adjust and pull together," she says. And that is the kind of thing one might not expect necessarily from a team this diverse in experience.

"This year's team is comprised of a lot of veterans but also many new swimmers," Swigart states. "Leaders are beginning to emerge and the team is working together well. The new swimmers are learning what it means to be mentally as well as physically tough." They are pushing hard to do it.

"Watching swimmers drop time is always great, but," Diane points out, "watching them dig inside themselves and push beyond their limits is great also." This team has made it a pleasant season for the coach. "The student athletes are great kids and very enjoyable to work with," she says. "They don't get the glory they truly deserve." Coach Diane Swigart explains some of the challenges the Vikings swimmers have faced in the video interview at www.alle-kiskitoday.com.