A Case Study from 2018

In the middle of Iowa (aka…nowhere) the small college town of Ames is home to Iowa State University, 30,000 permanent residents and one of the most dominant age group and high school swimming programs for almost two decades. On the girl’s high school side they have won seven out of the last eight state championships and back to back NISCA national championships. The boys have been touched out of state titles too many times to count, but this year they finally got out of the drought and took home the title despite having won only one event and possibly having the shortest average height of any team at the meet. On the club side, Ames Cyclone Aquatics Club (ACAC) is a Silver level club ranked 211^th (2018) nationally and has consistently achieved in the top two of Iowa’s virtual championship in the last five years while competing with cities that have 2, 5 and 10 times the population!

The question is how? Here are some thoughts from a local observer who has been around this team for 15 years. For this case study, we will talk about the high school and club teams as if they are one.