On the wall in the pool at Two Harbors High School hang two signs that belong to the girls’ swim and dive team. One says “Dreams.” The other says “Goals.”
Head Coach Heather Mayfield paints them before each season, and the girls begin filling them in as soon as the first week of practice arrives. They write down times they want to break. They write down places they want to finish, and they write down the hopes they are willing to claim.
“When the fresh season starts and they start putting those goals up on those pieces of paper, the coaches and I are always looking and watching and trying to help them reach those goals,” said Mayfield. “It is really awesome to be a coach and help them reach those goals.”
One of the most familiar goals belongs to junior Brynn von Goertz, who is one of the team’s captains this year.
“Her mom was a swimmer,” Mayfield said. “There is one old record still on our record board. I think it is from 1999. Brynn’s goal is to beat that record before she graduates. I am pretty sure she puts that up on the board every single time.”
The team is larger this year, as it has continued to grow exponentially over the past few years, with twenty-three on the roster and two managers helping the team out.
“It is a great size for us,” Mayfield said. “We were down to twelve at one point. Then fourteen. And here we are, twenty-three.”
She likes the feel of this season’s group and what she’s already noticing about the team, which is consistent with previous years.
“They are always a really great crew. Hardworking,” she said. “I think in and out of the pool you almost have to be. Swimming is a really hard sport. Every sport is hard in its own right, but swimming is really hard.”
Four seniors anchor the roster this season. Last year there were only two.
“They are huge in stepping up,” she said. “Amazing leaders. Amazing role models. I am just so fortunate to have this group of seniors.”
Senior Lucy Lane of Marshall School joined Goertz as captain this year. If those names are familiar, both were part of the 400 free relay that went to state last season.
“They have been great leaders,” Mayfield said. “Everybody has their own leadership style. I love watching what they do. And I also love that there are seniors who are not captains who are still incredible leaders. They all complement each other.”
The team lost seniors Bella Imholte and MJ Wharton last year. Both were described by Mayfield as “large presences,” and she wondered how the culture might shift.
“You never know what happens after somebody like that leaves the team,” she said. “But it has been super cool to watch the next generation step up.”
She sees it in the way the older girls push the younger swimmers.
“Bella pushed Lucy incredibly in the beginning,” Mayfield said. “Now it is fun to watch Lucy pushing Riley Schmitz, who is a freshman. She has taken her under her wing. Brynn too. They are pushing them to get to the next level.”
The transition is already underway, with the coach always looking ahead.
“I told the girls the other day that Lucy is going to be gone next year,” she said. “You are going to have to be the ones pushing and motivating the rest of the team. And they said, ‘Yep, we are on it. We got this.’”
Two meets into the season, the Agates are already showing what that leadership looks like in motion, though last Thursday night’s meet in Chisholm came with quirks. The pool is twenty yards instead of the standard twenty-five.
“A normal hundred is four lengths in our pool,” explained the coach. “It is five there. It is very confusing.”
Yet the girls handled it just fine with a little preparation and a reminder on the bus.
“Nobody made any mistakes,” Mayfield reported. “We sat on the bus and went through everybody’s events and exactly what they needed to do. They swam great. They won the meet.”
Growth is already visible in the Agates’ times, which is a testament to the commitment they demonstrated this summer.
“So many of them have come back starting faster than where they ended last year,” she said. “It shows how hard they worked in the off-season.”
Many attended optional summer practices, which proved to be even more popular than the previous year. Mayfield reported the highest participation they’ve had. She also credits the girls’ dedication to multiple sports as a key to their success.
“We have a large amount of three sport athletes,” she said. “It goes to show how hard they worked in their other sports in the off season and then that time they committed in the summer. It filters in academically too, which is always really cool.”
The dedication continues now. With last Friday’s football game moved earlier to avoid the worst of the storm, and many swimmers needed for pep band, the girls suggested morning practice.
“They were all in the water at five thirty this morning,” Mayfield said when I spoke to her later that afternoon. “We got home from a meet at nine last night and every one of them showed up. Smiling. When you love what you do, it makes everything a little easier.”
The work ahead is familiar, and the team is focusing on growing stronger and more technical in their sport. “We have spent a lot of time in the weight room,” she said.
“We are building that endurance piece. Technique is always such an important thing in swimming.”
The season is moving quickly, already one quarter complete.
“We just completed week four,” Mayfield pointed out. “Week thirteen is sections. We still have so much work to do, which is okay. We are going to get there.”
Yet the coach did not sound worried. Only energized.
“They have big goals,” she said. “I am just here to try to help them get there. They have just as big goals this year as they did last year.”
Saturday, September 12 brought Spartan Relays in Superior, where the girls earned a runner-up trophy.
“It is just relay events the whole time,” Mayfield said. “The girls love it. It is a highlight of the year.”
Through all of it, Mayfield keeps circling back to the same thing: “They just work so hard. But they always find a way to have fun.”
It shows in the way they push each other, and it shows in the way they show up at five thirty in the morning after getting home from an away meet late the night before. It shows in their academics, their leadership, and the way they keep finding ways to do better.
And this year, you can see it right there where the writing is on the wall. Two signs covered in handwriting spelling out hopes and dreams for another incredible season.
