Club Spotlight: NOVA Swim Team

By: Lindsay Hock

RICHMOND, Virginia. October 9. THE swim team T-shirt. It's not just a great way to show team pride but also another way to show the superiority of your team. Some teams like to keep it simple with just a mascot and team logo; others like to get creative with bright colors and clever sayings. NOVA Aquatics of Richmond, Va., is one of those creative teams. A witty NOVA shirt is expected each season; the shirts are a staple at swim meets and always draw attention from onlookers.

"We take great pride in our T-shirts," head coach Geoff Brown says. "There is a certain amount of pressure when it comes to creating each one."

While Brown has a hand in the creation of each, he says NOVA's T-shirts are definitely a team effort between swimmers and the coaching staff.

The creative coaches at NOVA aren't merely known for producing amusing team apparel. They are also known for producing some of the most successful and versatile swimmers in the country. NOVA was recently ranked as the number six team in the country in The Toyota Virtual Club Championship and is currently one of USA Swimming's Gold Medal Clubs.

"Each of our coaches could be a head coach at any other club," says Brown. "They are all extremely different and bring their own experience and leadership to the team."

Brown tries to allow coaches to bring their own flavor to their designated training groups and really encourages communication between coaches to promote overall team improvement.

"We have a bi-weekly staff meeting where we discuss anything new or different someone may be trying," says Brown. "We are always experimenting."

The NOVA coaches and swimmers also capitalize on the team's close relationships with the University of Richmond and the University of Virginia.

"Training with both schools lets our older swimmers see what is in store for them if they are able to swim at a collegiate level," says Brown. "It's all part of giving our swimmers every amount of experience we can."

While the Senior swimmers at NOVA get the chance to train with college athletes, NOVA's age groups swimmers are led by coaches who always have the end result in mind.

"In order to promote continual improvement, our coaches try not to make their age-groupers swim any more than they have to," says Brown. "[We try to make sure] they are always having fun."

Creative coaching, both on and off the deck, help NOVA become known for far more than just great T-shirts; fast swimming, spirited swimmers and a long list of record-breakers are NOVA's most important legacies.

NOVA Quick Facts:
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Head Coach: Geoff Brown
Assistant Coaches: Brent St. Pierre, Leigh Robbins, David Schreck, Diane Cayce, Mark Kutz, Drew Hirth, Kelly Brinson, Rob Burgholzer
Number of Swimmers: 600
Number of Training Groups: 12
Training Facility: NOVA Aquatic Center
Team Web site: Novaswim.org

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