Swim Devils ‘loaded and very blessed’

Published 11:00 am Tuesday, November 15, 2022

TIFTON — Winter and swimming are not commonly associated around the globe, but in Tift County, they have become close partners. The 2022-23 season is underway at the middle and high school levels.

Head coach Ivey Vickers has Tift’s swimmers ready for another campaign. Vickers is not alone, crediting coaches Teresa Walker, Caleb Dawson and Kristin McElroy for their work, both with the swimmers and for their organizational skills.

Tift joins a new conference this year, Region 1-6A. They have already given indications that they plan on dominating these new rivals, too. Four of the five other teams in 1-6A came to Tift’s home meet Oct. 29. The Swim Devils finished ahead of all of them. The locals have swept their last eight region titles and the Lady Devils have earned nine consecutive championships. Even bigger, the Lady Devils finished 14th in Class 7A in 2022.

Vickers sees the move to a new region as being a bit scary after so many years of being with the same teams, especially since they might still be adding to their rosters from fall sports.

Home is again the Baldwin Drive Aquatic Center, which is getting more and more cozy each year. For 2022-23, the starting blocks now have Tift colors and logos. Tift has helped out by installing a new timing system, Vickers said.

“It’s been a great investment for the board of ed,” she said. “We’re having a blast.”

Though the Swim Devils have one of the few outdoor facilities in the state, Vickers is watching it get more and more respect. Richmond Hill made the trip over from near Savannah. The Wildcats have some of the state’s better squads and this was the first time they traveled to Tifton.

Competing against teams of their quality is “good for everybody involved,” she said.

The home meet may not be the only one of the season. Sickness kept the squads home from a meet in Columbus the first week of November. Vickers said there is a possibility they can have a make-up date at home.

Swimming is possibly the most popular sport in Blue Devils country these days, between high school and middle school numbers.

To give an example, a recent middle school meet saw them enter six girls relay teams into event, 24 swimmers in that one race alone.

“We are loaded and very blessed,” said Vickers.

Tift has hosted a pair of middle school meets in addition to the high school event. They are a source of great joy, with Vickers describing the many ways they have been valuable.

The Swim Devils compete in front of a friendly crowd, they get valuable pool time and, especially for the youngest swimmers, it’s experience where they need it.

The size of the programs means that in some cases, the Swim Devils are sharing athletes with other sports. Football came to its conclusion as swim season began. Cross country finished up the date of Tift’s opening meet. Vickers said a couple are involved in winter sports, such as basketball and at least one wrestles.

Even before knowing the final roster numbers, Vickers said there should be at least 50 involved at high school and 50 at middle school. The number of male swimmers is up this year, which had been a goal.

There will also be some overlap with baseball when the new year rolls around. Baseball and swimming have not shared very many athletes in recent years, but Greg Williams’ off-season conditioning exercises have included dates at the pool. This work has led to some players joining the swim team for the first time.