Sometimes change can be unexpected. But sometimes it’s just part of a full-circle plan.

Changes have given the Tamaqua swimming and diving team a new look this season.

For starters, the Raiders have a new head coach in Jennifer Paisley—a former successful Tamaqua swimmer.

“I have a lot of confidence in the roster that we’ll have every single week,” said Paisley. “We’re going to have a strong group of kids and maybe start to turn that record around. I’m definitely excited to see how the season progresses.”

The Raiders’ numbers are way up — with a total of 32 swimmers on the squad. That change isn’t a surprise to Paisley.

“I’ve been coaching for the last eight years at the youth level with the Tamaqua Blue Waves,” Paisley said. “I think we focused a lot on that program as being a feeder program for the high school. As you can see, this is really the first year that we saw that program do what it was meant to do when we first started it.”

It seems that the surplus of swimmers was a long time coming and all part of a bigger-picture plan that goes hand-in-hand with getting the local Tamaqua youth into swimming at an early age.

“I do have a few freshmen coming into the team that have probably swam with me since they’ve been ‘eight-and-unders,’” Paisley said. “I know they’re going to make a big splash. They might not have the experience, but they’re used to bigger meets and they’re ready to swim.”

But all the first-year swimmers on the team aren’t freshman. A number are upperclassmen who were recruited by their classmates on the swim team.

“The kids did a lot of recruiting in the school,” Paisley said. “We kind of talked to other sports to see if any of them t were kind of taking off seasons in the winter, and would be willing to use the swimming season as a boost to their spring sport. We have a lot of runners and soccer players out.

“We talked to everyone we could and invited everyone we could that had any interest in swimming to come out and see what the program is all about.”

Because of that, the Raiders’ lineup holes have been virtually eliminated.

“Just being able to fill the lanes is going to be big for us, especially on the boys side,” Paisley said. “In the past few years, we were starting to see the numbers decline on the boys team. Turning that around and fielding a full lineup will translate to points and wins.”

Paisley’s squad will have to find a way to replace some talented graduates, such as Rebecca Kanaskie. But the team has a handful of talented seniors returning, including senior Lexi Kersteter, who owns the Tamaqua record in the 100-backsroke.

“Last year, we had about eight or nine girls,” Kersteter said. “We couldn’t win many meets, but this year, we have 19 to 20 swimmers, and we’re getting stronger and stronger each practice I’m hoping to go into districts or maybe states this year.”

On the boys’ side, Jeff Letterhoue returns for his fourth-year of action. The team has grown quite a bit since his freshman year.

‘My freshman year, we only had about four boys on the team,” Letterhouse said. “Last year, I think we had about eight. This year, we have about 13, which I think is really good. I’m hoping we do really well at leagues. I’m hoping to take down a backstroke record or maybe a fly record. Overall, I think the team is going to do really well.”

The numbers are up and everyone around the program has a positive attitude.

“Every single point in the pool matters,” Paisley said. “I’ve been stressing that since the beginning, which is why I think everyone feels like they have a sense of belonging on this team. I think that keeps them motivated every day.”