Team Info

Coach: Bill Wallace

The swimming tradition at St. Andrew’s School began in the fall of 1992. Although our facility was not yet complete, our first team was comprised of 38 enthusiastic swimmers and divers. Two days a week, they were able to practice at the Wilmington Aquatic Club. On the other days, they did dryland training in the Cameron Room. (This workout came to be lovingly referred to as the “hour of power.”) With one year behind us and with the completion of the pool and its dedication in 1993, St. Andrew’s School began making its mark on swimming in Delaware.

Through the years, our teams have been one of the largest winter offerings, with an average of 40 athletes each season – usually fairly close to an even split of boys and girls. Our teams are made up of swimmers of all abilities, some for whom this is their first swim team experience. In addition, for most members of our team, swimming is only one of three sports in which they compete for St. Andrew’'s School each year.

In 1995, we joined the Delaware Independent School Conference (DISC) and, since that time, have consistently been one of the top DISC teams. Over the past 14 years, the boys have won 13 DISC titles; the girls have won 8 Conference titles. Currently, St. Andrew’s swimmers hold DISC records in five events for the boys and four events for the girls.

At the State level, our teams have also been competitive, with several of our swimmers earning All State honors through the years. In 1999, the girls finished at the State Meet in 3rd place and in 2nd place in 2000.

In 1999, Lindsay Payne became our first high school All-American in the 100 breaststroke. For four consecutive seasons – 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 –nine different swimmers have combined to win the boys 200 freestyle relay at States. In February 2007, Tyler Gehrs became our first individual State champion, winning the 50 freestyle at the State Meet, something he was able to repeat in 2008. These are major accomplishments in which we take great pride. While not everyone can achieve such notable recognition, we stress that everyone can set goals -- short term and long term -- and achieve them.

Our weekly training plan consists of individual medley (IM) training on Mondays, dual meet competition on Tuesdays, 50/50s on Wednesdays, max VO2 training on Thursdays, and power and sprint training on Fridays. Saturdays complete the week with another dual meet.

The transformative power of interscholastic swimming cannot be understated. Training is intense and, while teammates and coaches are there to help and encourage, a high degree of self-motivation is one of the greatest assets a swimmer can have and one of the greatest rewards they leave our program with.