contact us
Main Line:
(985) 446-7606
Fax Line:
(985) 493-8756
Postal Address:
P.0. Box 5418310 W. 2nd St
Thibodaux LA, 70301
Press Releases and Newsletters
Tigersharks Crowned Champions at Cut Off Swim Meet
| Post Date | Updated At |
|---|---|
| Monday, Jun. 28th at 9:14 AM | Monday, Jun. 28th at 10:04 AM |
Phone: 446-7235
Email: prdir@ci.thibodaux.la.us
In 2013 the City of Thibodaux’s Recreation Department wanted to afford the opportunity for young swimmers in our community to be able to compete at a reasonable price. We devised a plan to create our own Swim Team and have our municipal pool as its home. There was a significant investment in time and talent for this to even be remotely possible. Our plan was thorough, detailed, and it was ground roots. We were starting from scratch. We had one part-time coach (Andrea Lotz), one full-time director (Kevin Clement), no swimmers, no lane ropes, no starting blocks … we didn’t even have a stopwatch or a team name. But slowly we started, swimmer by swimmer, parent by parent, race by race we competed. We struggled mightily, but we competed.
And each year we showed progress, our number of swimmers increased, our times improved. We came up with a team name, a logo, added volunteer coaches and parent groups.
In 2013 we had maybe 72 swimmers; now in 2021, we have over 250 participants. For seven years we put our noses to the grindstone and went to work. Sometimes as early as 6:30 am, sometimes as late as 8:00 pm, whenever there was free pool time, you could find a coach and a TigerShark splashing around in the pool. We laid a solid foundation and continued to build, brick by brick. There have been many swimmers and parents who have been a part of this since 2014, and they all have been instrumental in our success.
This past Saturday at the Championship meet in Cut Off, the Thibodaux TigerSharks were crowned Champions. While we are excited about this victory, we are even more proud and impressed with the culture we have created and the friendship we have fostered. For 7 years we have continued to create a bond between the City of Thibodaux Recreation Department and the participants of this group. Many feel like they were part of a special summer experience and as a result will never forget the lessons learned or the relationships developed. You will always accomplish more in victory as a team than you would as individuals.