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After an unprecedented summer in 2020, the Troy Tiger Sharks swim team is back in the water at the Troy Recreation Center.

Despite getting back to work earlier this month, the Tiger Sharks jumped right into competition when they took on Eufaula at the Troy Recreation Pool on Thursday night.

“Carrie Smith, from Eufaula, texted me and said ‘what about a meet on Thursday,” Troy head coach Jennifer Jordan said. “We just started practice, but we made it happen.”

Despite the quick start, Jordan believes her swimmers looked good for their first time out.

“They had so much fun,” Jordan said. “We did exceptionally well last night (Thursday) after just starting last week.”

The Tiger Sharks began the summer with 47 swimmers on the roster. The ages of the kids range from as young as five to as old as 18.

“We have a lot of new people this year,” Jordan said. “We have a lot in the middle age group and we have an 18 year-old on our team this year.

“We have three different groups,” Jordan said. “We have our beginners. Our biggest group, is our middle age group. We have a lot of nine to 12 year-olds this year.”

Last summer, due to COVID-19, the Troy Tiger Sharks had a limited season that included mainly just practices and the team included 15 swimmers. This time around, the number has grown to nearly 50 and the swimmers are eager to get in the pool and compete.

“The kids are just eager and so excited to be able to compete against other teams and other teams are excited as well,” Jordan said. “Other teams didn’t get to have a swim team last year. There was no district or state last year. A lot of our returning swimmers are excited to get back in the water and compete against other teams.”

The Tiger Sharks practice every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Their next meet will be on June 12 when they travel to Andalusia. They will then travel to Dothan on June 26 and 27. The district meet will be held in Dothan on the second weekend in July. The Tiger Sharks will close out the season with state swim meet in Albertville in late July.

Although the Tiger Sharks are reintroducing themselves to competition this summer, the goal for the team is to get as many swimmers to state as possible.

“I would love to see all my kids go to state,” Jordan said. “Our goal is to of course have fun, but also to see how many members can get to that mark and go to state.”