Sophomore Charles Vaughan moved from West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School to CHS this year and joined the CHS swim team. According to Adrian Jarling, men’s swim team captain and senior , there were many new faces and people who joined the men’s swimming team this year. Some of these new swimmers include Vaughan, senior Gabriel “Gabe” Whitaker and senior Nathaniel Bledsoe. Moving from his old school to CHS wasn’t very difficult, Vaughan said.

“(When I joined), everyone was just so welcoming. We got right to work, and it went pretty well. I found my place on the team. I enjoy that everyone’s usually in a good mood ,and everyday everyone is in the same mood. We always just get up and race at one point, which is a lot of fun,” Vaughan said.

Bledsoe said he agrees. Coming from Westfield High School, Bledsoe said he sees the differences between CHS and Westfield. According to Bledsoe, Westfield’s team cohesiveness was very different.

“There are a lot of differences (between Westfield and Carmel); one of the key differences was the team orientation of how much more group focus, team focus there is. At Westfield, it seemed more individual-based, and I remember that there was just me and another person, and that was our group among other ‘groups’ on the (Westfield) swim team, but at Carmel, it is one whole team,” Bledsoe said.

According to Chris Plumb, Head Coach of the men’s swimming and diving team, the growth in the team also gave many members the opportunity to grow as individuals while still helping the team grow.

“I think it’s important to look at the quality of the individual, rather than the quantity, and we’ve certainly picked up some quality individuals and young men who have enhanced our culture and our team, and that is exciting. It’s not about doing different stuff; it’s about making sure that each athlete’s individual needs are met and that they are going to be the best they can be in the design of helping the team,” Plumb said.

Although Plumb argued that the quality of the individual makes a team better, Jarding said he did not fully agree.

“Having more swimmers is great when it comes to the load of swimming. I can swim and focus on my main events because there are guys coming in with specialties in other events,” Jarding said. “For example, last year I swam the 50-freestyle at Sectionals, and I’m not a 50-freestyler. I can’t sprint. I’m more of a mid-distance guy, like a 200 or a 500, but since Gabe (Whitaker) came in, he sprints the 50, that’s his main focus, I’m now able to focus on my main event more.”

Like Jarding, Bledsoe also said that having more swimmers allows him to focus on his main event. However, he still said that in the end, it’s about the team effort.

“Even though there are individual events, it’s about the team effort, because even though there is someone in a individual event, I’m still cheering for them, hoping that they do well,” Bledsoe said. “Even when I do my individual event, I try to score as highly as I can for the team. One of the big phrases that we use is FTT, or ‘For the Team.’”

In swimming, points from each individual’s performances are added together to get the team score. This team score ultimately decides the result of a meet. This allows room for individual growth, but still makes the team “part of the design,” Plumb said.

With all the new changes this year, Jarding said, “Last year we had a lot of guys who were a lot more vocal in terms of getting guys ready for meets and stuff. Now there is a lot less tension in the air; (the seniors) would build a lot of tension coming in to some of our meets, but this year it’s a lot more relaxed.”

Expanding on the new members, Jarding said, “I think that has a lot to do with the fact that a lot of our seniors have different backgrounds, and we blend well together, and I really like it. In the last past few years, what I’ve heard is tradition, but this year the tradition is changing, and I think it has.”

According to Plumb, taking the athletes he is given and molding them into a team is the best part about being a coach.

Plumb said, “We’re given a team and we do the best we can with it. The thing that I most enjoy is to shape, direct young people’s future and using swimming as a vehicle for that, teaching them what it is to be a team, to have high goals, to have standards. These are powerful tools that they can take into their future.”