by Dan Whooley

The old saying is that Spring is the season of hope. This spring, it’s fair to say the Barrons are certainly in the spirit.

This past month, the Woodbridge Barrons swim team wrapped their 2014-2015 season with more wins than in the last two years. The team finished 5-11 with a record winning streak of 4 meets and a collective reform in technique. No one valued these gains more than Coach Uckar.

Improvement was Uckar’s goal as early as the start of the season. “I wanted to have everyone on the team learn how to legally backstroke, then flip turns, and other moves would follow,” Uckar said.

The members of the team responded with improvement of their own, with just about every swimmer breaking their record times. One of this years stars was junior Kim White.

White has swam all three years that she has been at Woodbridge. Her highlights include splitting 28.01 seconds in a 200 meter relay and a record time of 1 minute 8.50  seconds in the 200 meter freestyle relay. She’s also improved on “not letting the frustration of the last race affect me in the next one.”

White believes that Coach Uckar’s approach to this season has helped the team in a big way, noting the team’s progress has shown in their record this year.

A swimmer who has also seen improvement is team captain Diane Balint, one of the swimmers on the team who greatly reformed her stroke, which has resulted in some of her best times in her high school career, including taking first in her heat in the GMC tournament.

Balint also said she believes that the swimmers have become a more cohesive unit. “Definitely supporting each other was a big thing. Especially with a new coach, we grew on cheering each other on.”

Improvement wasn’t the only radical factor this season. Competition from other schools ended up becoming a mixed bag despite earlier reports that expected heavy competition in Woodbridge’s division.

Teams like Edison were greatly underestimated. The Barrons expected to roll over them, but ended up losing a close meet. On the other hand, there were teams that were overestimated, such as Perth Amboy. The Barrons expected a slugfest, but Perth Amboy ended up going quietly in a blowout.

With these factors in mind, the Barrons have certainly set an optimistic tone for next year. Improvement on individual technique and a sense of support among the team are gains that will pay off for years to come.

Should the team recreate another productive season, they can expect more than a 5-11 record. As Balint put it, “Out of all the four years I’ve swam, this was the best year yet.”