By Andy Loigu

The new year of 2021 has arrived with a backdrop of uncertainty, but also with an element of hope springing eternal, as winter sports beckon. 

The events may run into April, making it hard for some dedicated athletes to compete during both the winter and spring seasons, but regardless, the resumption of sports is much anticipated at Hackettstown High School.

While the defending section champion boys basketball team has a slate of games set to start in February, with the athletic office able to schedule the use of the high school’s gym, the prospects for the boys swim team getting into the action is much more unsettled.

“As of now, our meet facility (not on school grounds) is not open,” said coach Ashlee Weingarten. “Things have been very iffy with COVID and are always changing. The season has been delayed until at least Feb. 1, as per the current NJSIAA guidelines.”

But, have no fear, because where there is a Will, there is a way. The Tigers’ most experienced swimmer is junior Will Tagliareni, who Weingarten credits with being a positive, spirited young man who keeps hope alive.

“Will has been able to maintain some sort of normalcy by practicing with his year-round club team,” Weingarten said. “In the fall he was a member of the cross country team and has reached out to our team on multiple occasions to say hi and keep in touch.”

He sets a positive example for his younger teammates, she added, with his hard work and dedication. 

“We have no seniors, so if we have a season, we will need his experience, encouragement, and support.”

With only six swimmers, Hackettstown struggled through an 0-7 season last year. “If someone is sick or can’t make a meet, we lose on the relays and miss out on scoring points,” Tagliareni said, “but there is more to a season than the win/loss record.”

He said swimming is about achieving personal best times and growth, also helping teammates improve and feeling good about their progress, too.

Last year, Tagliareni finished sixth in the 500 meter freestyle event at the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex championships. “The 500 was scary to me in my freshman year,” he recalled. “However, it became enjoyable and it became a strong suit for me in my sophomore year.”

Like a baseball relief pitcher, he added, “a swimmer needs to get over a poor performance and come back focused on doing better in his next race,” he said.

“As a swimmer myself,” Weingarten observed, “I know what it is like to feel overshadowed by the ‘big’ sports. Will shows his teammates, by his happy enjoyment of the sport, that swimming’s benefits come from within, with the reward of working toward a goal and gaining self confidence, from improved fitness, being a benefit toward future success and satisfaction.”

Here’s hoping the Tigers make a big splash this season.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.