This year, the swim teams of the Mehlville School District have no home pool due to extensive renovations.
“There were problems with the structure of the pump room,” OHS girls swim team coach Liska Hromnak said. “Then the ceiling was cracking, so much of that had to be replaced.”
In addition to ceiling issues, the floor had issues as well. Fortunately, the team is able to practice at the Lindbergh pool, but that has come with many changes. Practices are now from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., instead of being shortly after school. Swimmers who can drive have to travel more distance to reach Lindbergh, and underclassmen have to sometimes rely on the former for a ride.
“My parents just drive me, but other times, I rely on upperclassmen to give me a ride,” Isabella Poertner (10) said.
In addition to practices running from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., other organizations use the pool at the same time.
“We are sharing lanes with Mehlville,” Katie Laur (12) said. “Sometimes the club team FAST is practicing at the same time as us.”
The team has also lost swimmers due to them deciding to swim for clubs outside of school, but it has not dampened the team’s determination.
“It will be more of a struggle to get to state, but I feel like we could do it,” Poertner said.
Despite Lindbergh having a nicer and much bigger facility, some swimmers miss practicing at Mehlville.
“I miss having the whole pool because practice was just our team,” Poertner said. “We could work together just as our team, and it was just a lot more flexible and easier to get to.”
Mehlville pool, for some swimmers, feels like a second home.
“It isn’t the nicest pool, but it’s our home pool,” Laur said. “It feels a lot different being away from home.”
No home pool also means that celebrating the seniors will be much different than years past.
“The biggest thing is no Senior Night at their home pool,” Hromnak said.
However, Hromnak believes that despite all the challenges and changes, the team will have a good season.
“I think the girls will do really well,” Hromnak said. “We have some new swimmers coming in who are good and who want to attend practice, who want to get better. We have some people…[that] still swim hard, so I think we should be fine.”
