By Victoria Arquitt

Photograph from Yearbook

This year the Sedro-Woolley High School Swim Team not only introduced new swimmers, but new coach, Nikki Dey, to a group of girls with a tight family bond that has helped the team click. “I love my team. They’re honestly my family,” said Senior Kelsey Johnson, captain of the team. “I can’t ask for a better team.” Practice is four days a week and swimmers “all are there and hard working,” said Johnson. Johnson has been swimming for a long time. “This will be my 11th year.” Dey is also an experienced swimmer. “I have been swimming since I was six years old,” said Dey. Dey came from Eastern Oregon to Skagit Valley for the job of the Sedro-Woolley and Burlington-Edison High School Coach. Dey is here to help Just Keep Swimming the swimmers grow with their strokes. She values “watching them struggle” and, “that clicking moment when they get it.” Dey says she is here to stay with the program, even after the SedroWoolley Swim Team coach Brunson leaves after a couple of years. Dey says it’s good to have two coaches. “I think it is good for the team.” Dey said she thinks, “swimmers are a fantastic group of people and I love working with them so I am looking forward to the future.” Johnson says she loves her team. She says swimmers are not freaks. “We’re a little odd, but we are not afraid to be ourselves and we work really hard to get where we are. It doesn’t matter if you are the quirkiest… you’ll find the place on the swim team because no one judges anyone because we are all the same.”