High Schools Offer Their Own Advantages : Many swimmers enjoy the camaraderie of training with their prep teammates. Some coaches make it mandatory.

Sheri Ross, El Toro girls’ swimming coach, remembers the days when club swimmers were known as the “Wednesday-Thursday girls.”

“That’s what my swimmers would call them,” Ross said. “They would show up for our meets, swim, and then be gone. Most of the regular high school swimmers didn’t even know who they were.”

So Ross, not unlike other high school swim coaches, decided she needed a policy to deal with that situation. That policy, which has been in effect 16 years, says club swimmers must train with the high school team as soon as they are finished with their top club meets.

“It’s usually Junior (Nationals) or Senior (Nationals) that’s the last big meet for clubs during the high school season,” Ross said. “After that, they must train with me if they want to swim for El Toro. I do give them the option of working out with their club in the morning and then with us in the afternoon.”

Ross admitted there have been some problems with some club swimmers regarding the policy, but for the most part the majority have welcomed the time they train with their classmates.

“It’s generally the club coaches and maybe some parents who have the problem with this policy,” Ross said. “And I’m not saying that we offer better coaching then (club coaches) who coach full time, but they (club swimmers) seem to enjoy working out for that brief time with us.”

Some of Ross’ top swimmers are members of the Irvine Novaquatics or Mission Viejo Nadadores. Although Novaquatics Coach Dave Salo and Nadadores Coach Bill Rose probably would prefer that swimmers stay with their clubs for training, Ross says many of these athletes swim some of their best times when they compete in league or Southern Section finals.

“I’m not saying that we (high school coaches) work miracles with these kids,” Ross said. “I wear numerous hats in my job and swimming is just a part of my life. But I think our role as high school coaches is to motivate. And I think we do a very good job.”

Ross, who said some swimmers have chosen to stay with their club workouts over the years, has no regrets about the policy. Her record in 20 years at El Toro speaks for itself.

The Chargers have won nine league championships, including the Sea View League title last Friday. They have won a section championship, finished runners-up twice, and have taken four Southern Section Relays titles.

A list of her former swimmers reads like an honor roll.

“There was Barbara Hudson and Tara Kriedman, who went on to Columbia, and of course there was Michelle Perry, who is still at UCLA,” Ross said. “Then there was LeAnn McGraw, who won (the Southern Section) in the 50-yard freestyle. Then there are the two Katies (Lowes and Simmons), who are maybe the best I’ve ever had. In all, there was probably 25 to 30 of these girls who received swimming scholarships.”

Though there might appear to be conflicts between the club and non-club swimmers, Ross said that’s not the case.

“Katie Lowes and Katie Simmons, who both train with the Novas, are two of our top swimmers. But they are also team players. They want to do well, but they also want the whole team to do well,” Ross said.

“I believe there are some major things that sports can do for kids. Sports, for most of these kids, are just a small part of the cosmos of their universe. But I think high school sports are very good at instilling good thoughts.”