The swim team is wide awake before the sun rises; they’re in the pool before most are out of bed They finish their rigorous workouts by 8 a.m. School has just begun and the Bowie swim team is gearing up for the season with their new head coach, Peyton Bobo. The Texas native has returned to his hometown Austin from Plano to coach the Bulldogs this year.

Growing up in the Austin area, Bobo attended Kealing Middle School and Pflugerville High School. Bobo was apart of many clubs like Latin club and math club. While swimming for his high school’s team, he was also swimming for the club team that first introduced him to coaching.

“I was a super dork in high school, I was in many clubs and I swam,” Bobo said. “In order to swim on my club team, I had to coach the little kids every day before practice.”

After graduating high school, he continued his swimming career throughout college at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

“When I finished high school I coached summer league teams, I’ve coached ever since I can remember,” Bobo said. “I swam all the way through college and now I just like coaching it.”

Getting to know an entire team personally, while attempting to accurately understand their skill level is a challenge for a new coach, but Bobo is taking on this task with a smile. Bobo has coached many teams.

“There are 61 one of them,” Bobo said. “That’s a lot of names, but the kids are good, once I see them  compete I’ll have a better idea of their strengths and weaknesses.”

Although practices just started, the swim team has had plenty of time to get to know Bobo. Junior Ella Devany has high hopes for her third season with the Bowie swim team alongside her team and their new coach.

“Coach Bobo is a great coach and we are happy to have him as apart of the team,” Devany said. “He is stricter when it comes to practices but he is teaching us the meaning of teamwork so that we can be the best swimmers if we put our mind to it.”

Bobo’s experience with swimming is obvious to the swimmers. His experience translates into workouts that are meant to make swimmers faster through improving technique, building more strength and building more endurance.

“I am very glad he took the job,” junior James Hayek said. “He is super knowledgeable when it comes to swim.”

Although his coaching techniques differ from what coaches have done in the past, Hayek has come to appreciate and respect Bobo’s coaching style.

“Something he does that other coaches haven’t done in the past is before we do something he actually explains why we are doing what we are,” Hayek said. “He explains how it benefits us as swimmers overall so I know that everything I’m doing has a purpose which is very motivating.”

Similar to Devany, Hayek and other swimmers look towards to a positive season where they get faster and grow together. They look towards to becoming more competitive and having a great time.

“I think he’ll make an overall positive impact on the team through his coaching style,” Hayek said. “He’s all for having a good time and putting in work at the same time, as well as having a competitive spirit.”

Bobo is passionate about the swim team and hopes that this year he can encourage other members of the Bowie community to recognize and support the team.

“We are trying to increase spirit and school awareness that Bowie has a swim team,” Bobo said. “We’re trying to get our name out there so it’s not this back-end sport that swims at Circle C.”  

As well as promoting school spirit Bobo hopes to improve the experience of being on a swim team by emphasizing the importance of team bonding. He believes a team bond strengthens its members.

“I want them to be a team,” Bobo said. “A bonded group that works together and cheers for each other is stronger and at the end of the day; they spend time together because they want to, not because they have to.”