LJ swim: 'Just getting some muscle tone'

LJ swimmers line up on both sides of Coggan Pool

just before they initiate their Wed., Feb. 17 workout.

The two lines are necessitated by COVID regulations

to decrease packing, according to Coach Tom Atwell.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

"You see a lot of guys just trying to get some muscle tone," said Coach Tom Atwell, standing poolside at Coggan on the LJHS campus, overseeing a workout of the Viking girls and boys swim teams Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 17. Amy Jennings, able fellow coach of the Vikings, was pacing the pool deck nearby.

From March 13 a year ago, until the turn of the year 2020-2021, Atwell observed, some--many?--of their swimmers had not done much in the way of activity to keep their fitness, much less improve on it during the course of the COVID virus.

"But everybody else is in the same boat," he realized. University City, La Jolla's opening opponent in the two teams' initial meet Sat., March 13, 2021, has to deal with the same obstacles. St. Augustine and OLP, the Vikings' opposition the following week in meet number two March 20, will have to overcome similar. And so forth.

La Jolla will face six opponents on six successive Saturdays--the day of the week when Coggan Pool has fewer obstacles toward inhibiting the threat of COVID, with less "community" swimmers, and so forth--followed by City Conference Prelims and Finals April 16-17, then CIF Finals April 21-24.

At least, that's the way CIF has mapped  out the meets at this point, looking ahead one and two months with COVID numbers dropping at present and students still at home dealing with distance learning in their classes.

Atwell, the long-time coach, wanted to spotlight five individuals to keep an eye on during the truncated 2021 season:

--Josh Lolly, senior, 100-meter butterfly and freestyle.

--Rhys Bugelli, senior. "The third of four Bugellis," commented Atwell. One sibling is a goalie in water polo at UCSD. Another swims at UC Irvine. "The fourth kid, Finn, is a sophomore (at LJHS)."

--Natalie Dimeo, junior, butterfly.

--Jade Espinosa, junior. "Espinosa with an 's'," the head coach specified. 200-meter intermediate medley.

--Gavin Olson. "Paige's little brother. She's a freshman at Stanford, not playing, 'just' a student." 500-meter; maybe 200-meter.

Viking swimmers go through their paces in "building some muscle tone",

in Atwell's words, during the mid-week workout. LJHS enters

its first competition in the COVID era Sat., March 13, at home

against intercity rival University City.