With the school year quickly coming to a close, the Troy Tiger Sharks are diving into the pool in preparation for the 2016 swim season.

The Tiger Sharks spend four nights a week practicing and building their endurance under new head swim coach Torrey Teal.

Teal, who has been working with the swim team since 2012, is eager to build a strong program at Troy that brings a lot of fun and excitement to the pool.

“I am really excited,” Teal said. “I started in the summer of 2012 and was an assistant coach under Shane Tatum. It was really fun. I always enjoy it because I was a swimmer when I was younger.”

Joining Teal will be four assistant coaches.

Addyson Bryan will coach the 8 and under group. Elizabeth McKenzie and Cassidy Gill will coach the 9 through 14 age group, while Nicklaus Chrysson will oversee the 15 and older group.

“They help me out everyday,” Teal said. “They are great. They each take a different age group and work with them four days a week.”

With their first meet not until June 4, the team is busy working on form and conditioning.

“We are working on conditioning right now and working on getting everybody ready,” Teal said.

Teal will use what she learned from Tatum while implementing new practices. .

“He was great with all of the administrative stuff,” Teal said. “That is some of the stuff that I want to learn. He is still a great resource to turn to. I worked with him for so long that he still lets me come to him for help.

“We are going to try to keep things the same since he had a great program and he is such a good coach. The main thing is to keep the kids having fun.”

Having fun is the number one objective for the coaching staff. “When I think of a summer I think it’s fun and everybody is out of school. We try to incorporate fun things as well as getting in a good work out.”

The Tiger Sharks have a wide variety of skill levels on the 2016 team. Practice will consist of plenty of conditioning work during practice. The younger swimmers will focus on the freestyle and backstroke, while the veterans will work on all four styles.

“The older kids have to train harder,” Teal said. “It will be more intense, while the younger kids will work more on technique. We don’t want to push anyone away we want them to have fun while swimming.”

The Tiger Sharks are scheduled to compete in three regular swim meets, two of which are in Troy.

Teal believes she has the talent on her team to succeed.

“We have some talent,” Teal said. “We are really excited about getting the first meet in and seeing what everyone brings to the table.”