During the week of Nov. 1 RBHS swimmers were not allowed to participate in either CSC or RBHS coached practices, meaning pools like Hickman’s stayed empty.
[heading size=”18″]Swim team is forced to silence all contact with coaches[/heading] Year after year, RBHS teams find ways to bring home hardware and hang banners after hoisting state trophies on the court or the field.
In 2015, however, the Bruins delivered a state trophy from the water, as the girls swimming team collected the second state title in school history.
But in sports, one win, one trophy and one victory is never enough; consistency is key. The Bruins wish to repeat the success in the 2015-16 season, which begins Dec. 12 at the Marquette Relays, and hope to finish well at the state meet.
A reason for the Bruins’ success is that many members of the team also participate in a highly competitive club team called Columbia Swim Club (CSC).
The swimmers are allowed to swim for CSC because of an exception given to swimming by the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA).
“Swimming is … the only sport allowed to participate with their club team at the same time as their high school team,” Associate Executive Director Harvey Richards said in an email interview.
Although the exception seemed to benefit the RBHS swimmers, a different rule implemented by MSHSAA called the non-contact period, commonly known as “dead week,” served as a large dilemma for the team.
“The non-contact period is a seven day period right before each season begins,” Richards said. “During that time the students can still lift weights and [condition]. However, the coach cannot coach them in the instruction or skills of that sport because the season has not started yet.”
The issue was that the club swimmers could not participate in club practices during the period of time, which was, unfortunately, placed right before the Jim Devine Invitational, a meet that CSC annually participates in.

“During dead week, club practices aren’t even allowed or group sessions with a trainer,” senior Kelley Tackett said, describing the frustrating requirements of dead week.
As a result, swimmers made several adjustments to prepare for both seasons, whether for the club or RBHS season.
“We all got together and trained without the coaches present,” senior Anna Willcoxon said about the team during dead week. “We kept everyone accountable for what [training] needed to be done in order to be ready for the season.”
However, training without coaches was not the only issue the team faced.
“We had to work around the Mizzou pool schedules since we couldn’t use any high school facilities, [and we had to work around] the schedules of the girls participating,” Tackett, who recently committed to Brown University, said. “Finding a free [swimming] lane to run a workout without a coach is a lot more difficult than finding a place to run or a field to practice on.”
Overcoming the adversities were especially important because, Tackett said, one week without training can have detrimental impacts and perhaps hurt an entire season.
However, adjusting to practicing without coach supervision and making accommodations to new facilities may have inadvertently strengthened the team.
“I’m really proud of the way we made [dead week] work,” Tackett said. “Many girls pushed themselves to faster intervals than usual and showed up to swim at times that normally we have off. Despite the struggle to make things work and the negativity towards the rule, dead week ended up bringing us closer together as a team.”
Hopefully, the improved camaraderie will translate to success similar to the previous year’s season and fulfill this year’s goals of victory and success.
“Most teams have high expectations as do we this season, especially after being state champions last year,” Willcoxon said. “I believe we will finish top four if not first again.”
Despite the issues the Dead Week caused, do you think RBHS’s girls swim team will be able to repeat as state champions? Leave your comments below.[vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=”Check out more coverage on the bruin swim and diving teams:” google_fonts=”font_family:Cabin%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C500%2C500italic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ gap=”35″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1451545588796-89211243-5084-6″ taxonomies=”119″]