Local Teams Jump into the Pool

The Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow area has two teams that are competing in the Northern Westchester Swim Conference this summer in Tarry Crest and Pocantico Hills.

Tarry Crest got its season off on the right foot with a 228-217 victory against visiting Twin Oaks July 6.

"It was a close race but the kids definitely deserved to win," Tarry Crest co-coach Colleen McGlynn said. "They have been working very hard at morning practices starting at 8 a.m. every day, Monday through Friday. Both our veteran swimmers and our younger swimmers have really stepped up."

Pocantico Hills will go against the same Twin Oaks squad when it opens its season on the road at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 10.

"The kids were really excited at the "B" meet last night (July 7)," Pocantico Hills co-coach Ginna Sabens said. "They are really looking forward to swimming against Twin Oaks on Saturday."

What's nice about both teams is that on each of them there is a genuine sense of community involvement.

"It really brings the community together," McGlynn said. "I grew up swimming for Tarry Crest so it's nice to see now all the younger kids grow up in the same kind of atmosphere. It's good to see all the hard work that they put into this."

Sabens is also proud of the work that goes into the program that she runs, with co-coach Carmen Groenewoud. Like McGlynn, who co-coaches Tarry Crest with Brian Tompkins, Sabens and Groenewoud also once swam for the team they now coach.

In addition, they each bring with them their experience of swimming for Division I college programs. Sabens is entering her senior year at Loyola University and Groenewoud is a recent Clemson University graduate.

"It's really a community effort," Sabens said. "We have the parents help out. The whole Pocantico school district is really involved. It's more of a fun thing where the kids just go out and enjoy swimming."

Making sure the kids enjoy swimming when they start out is vital for the long-term stability of the program.

"In the early ages, it's about creating good memories," Groenewoud said. "That's because if you start coming out early and enjoying it, the more likely that you are going to want to come back each summer and continue swimming."

Tarry Crest kids sure like coming back each summer as its number of participants, 150, attests too.

"We have a lot of kids whose entire families our on the team," McGlynn said. "They may have started off as 6-year-olds and now they stuck with it going on to their teenage years and now their siblings have joined."

Pocantico Hills has 70 kids who are on this year's team. Sabens said that maybe smaller than a lot of teams but having that number of participants does have its advantages.

"It could be tough to fill the lanes but the good thing about it is that each kid could have the chance to swim between three and four events and get into a relay," Sabens said. "That's the positive about having a small team."

For those looking for a nice local meet to attend, Tarry Crest will visit Pocantico Hills 9 a.m. July 17.