On Saturday, the Hempfield Aqua Club held their meet at the Spartan Swimming Pool on Hempfield Area High School campus. It was a bittersweet day for the aqua club. That’s because the meet was the last one to be held at the pool.
The high school is set to undergo major renovations after the school year has wrapped up at the end of the year. The pool itself is beyond cooked, as are parts of the High School. The renovations have been needed and were long awaited. The end result will hopefully be a state of the art facility.
The team and the aqua club will travel to different sites for their home meets in 2026-27. A lot of swimmers whom I went to school with, as well as the next generation, are excited for the changes coming. It’s a range of emotions though as we are sad to see the old pool fall on hard times. Building up the aqua club has lead to Coach Clougherty crafting a strong team over the years. It’s a team that has spent time competing at regional and state championship meets.
Many of Kevin’s former swimmers have gone on to lead successful lives. On Social Media this weekend, some of the original aqua club swimmers shared their memories of the pool. There’s been talk about being able to take some of the old deck tile from the pool to keep in remembrance. I’m looking forward to seeing the new design, and being there when it opens.
I was proud to part of the team during Kevin’s early coaching days.
The pool’s closing is emotional for me as well. It was during my sophomore year of high school that the new coach of the swim team took me under his wing. He was looking for a manager to help him out at practice and at the meets. I was hesitant at first but I agreed to become part of the team.
In my three years with the team, I never knew what kind of legacy I’d leave. I graduated in 2000 and went on to college, but never forgot about the team or Mr. Clougherty. In 2007, I was home from college as I’d graduated from Slippery Rock. I’d come up and visit during practice and even attended a few meets in those early post-academic days.
From what Kevin has told his swimmers, it seems that I’ve left quite a legacy indeed.
Thanks to social media (which is not really the coach’s strong suit), I get to keep up with how good the team is. Over the nearly 30 years he’s coached the team, he’s developed a lot of good athletes. I know he’s having a good time at the championships right now and we will get together soon to have dinner.
Stylish 🍒 