Dawson County High School may not have a local arena for its new swim team to practice, but that won't stop a dozen committed swimmers from training for their first meet.

The team held its first practice at the Cumming Aquatic Center last week with plans for the swimmers to compete in their inaugural meet on Nov. 6 in Cherokee County.

Linda Sperin, a teacher at Black's Mill Elementary who previously helped coach the county's park and recreation swim team, has agreed to serve as the new team's head coach.

"It's a great opportunity for these kids," she said. "It's going to be fun, but it's going to be a lot of hard work. It's the best exercise you can get."

While the meet in November will be the first for several on the team to swim competitively, there are a number who have spent years on swim teams, either through park and recreation or at previous schools.

"We were on a team where we lived before in Peachtree City that had about 60 swimmers on the team," said Jack Zappendorf, a junior at Dawson County High School.

He's looking forward to getting back in the pool and proud to be among the school's first swimmers.
"I'm really excited," he said.

Sperin said she has high hopes for the team, which is currently focusing on fundamentals such as perfecting their strokes and working on starts, turns and finishes.

"And then next year, we'll build on what they know," she said. "Our goal is to get this up off the ground and make it bigger and better each year."