The Ohio State Swim Club is only in its third week of practice, but expectations for the program have already been surpassed.
The club is an age-based, competitive swim team that serves the youth of Central Ohio and holds practice on the OSU campus.
Coach Kyle Goodrich, a Columbus native, never thought the club would grow so quickly.
Tryouts were held in early September, and Goodrich expected there would be enough interest to put together a group of 30 to 40 swimmers. Those numbers were soon shot out of the water.
“We already have more than 100 swimmers, and we’re still receiving applications,” Goodrich said. “The word of mouth has been amazing.”
Talk of an Ohio State Swim Club had been around for years, and Goodrich was always interested in pursuing the idea. He contacted OSU men’s swimming and diving coach Bill Wadley and asked if the discussions had made progress.
Their conversations grew, and later the OSU Department of Recreation renewed its interest in the team by offering him the coaching position, Goodrich said.
Goodrich was an All-American swimmer at St. Charles Preparatory School in Columbus, an All-Big Ten swimmer at Indiana University and is a certified ASCA Level 3 Age Group and High School coach. He coached for the Greater Columbus Swim Team, the Greater Columbus Masters Swim Team and for eight years at his high school alma mater. Goodrich said he was drawn to Ohio State Swim Club because of the opportunity to come into the program in its founding stages.
“To be able to build [the club] from the ground up was very appealing,” Goodrich said. “There was a lot of initial support from the men’s and women’s varsity coaches. We all have the same goal, and that’s to promote the sport of competitive swimming in Columbus and help our swimmers become the best they can be.”
The team practices at the Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, a state-of-the-art facility that Goodrich said helped draw kids and their parents to the new program.
“The facility is second to none. It’s exciting for the kids to be able to swim in a place like that,” Goodrich said.
The team is comprised of elementary through high school-age swimmers based in the greater Columbus area. It will compete in the USA Swimming system in local, national and international events. Swimmers are placed into the following levels based on both age and ability: novice, bronze, silver, gold, senior or the part-time preseason high school group.
Because Goodrich is the only full-time coach, he said he relies on a staff of part-time coaches and assistants to help him run the program smoothly.
“We’re using some OSU swimmers as coaches, too,” Goodrich said. “We want to incorporate more of them in the future.”
Goodrich said he hopes the club will reward OSU by streamlining club swimmers into future swimmers for the university.
“We want to adhere to the university as much as possible. Ohio State has provided us with a wonderful opportunity and a wonderful group of people to work with,” said Goodrich, who retired from a career as a lawyer so he could coach full time.
The club’s season is expected to begin in late October and runs through March.