MSA welcomes new coaches

By By Ryan Satcher / staff writer
June 12, 2002
The Meridian Swim Association has kicked off the summer and head coach Chris Engledow is excited about "The Swim Team."
Engledow will be joined by two new assistant coaches this season. Catherine Vogt will be coaching the silver group while Wade Heggie will be teaching the bronze group.
Vogt has a long history of swimming and coaching. She was a head coach in Fairfax Station, Va., and at the University of North Carolina Faculty Club. She also assisted the North Carolina Aquatic Club and was a swim coach and counselor at the UNC Summer Swimming Camp.
Vogt also swam in college at UNC and competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships for four years. She will be working with the swimmers that are in the ability group called silver group.
Heggie also will be working with the kids this summer. He will be working with the kids who may tire out easily when swimming but are working on reaching the higher swimming groups. Heggie swam for MSA for nine years while growing up. He also helped coach MSA from 1995-2000. He is currently the Fitness Center Coordinator at Meridian Community College.
Heggie will be working with a large group of kids but works well with the younger children.
Engledow is excited about the benefits of having a good coaching staff. He says the new coaches and the kids are getting along well.
The MSA has about 70 members, not including the over 18-year-old Masters Team. The group practices Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 a.m. and have a 4 p.m. practice in the evening.
The group participated recently in a meet in Vicksburg and swam well. The group will have a meet in Tupelo June 21-23. There will also be a meet in Laurel June 28-29 and then MSA will host an invitational at Highland Park July 5-7.
The team will compete in these meets and try to qualify for the state meet to be held at Delta State July 21. The kids will qualify according to their times.
Jacob Gray, the returning state champion is one returning member of the team. He won a memorial scholarship to a swim camp in the Cayman Islands and will be traveling to the camp in a few weeks. Holly Corbitt is another swimmer that swam well in the meet at Vicksburg.
It's not too late to join MSA. Coach Engledow said anyone wanting to join could contact him or meet at one of the practices at Highland Park.