Newton County’s McKinley Gregory swims in the girls 200-meter medley relay at North State.

Early during the 2019-20 school year, Anthia Olmstead asked Newton County athletic director Justin Chaney about the possibility of starting a swim team at the school.

Her daughter Maya, then a freshman, came to Newton County with a swimming background and wanted to swim for the school, but by the time Anthia Olmstead approached Chaney it was too late to start an official school team. They would have to wait until the current school year.

From March-July, Anthia Olmstead was in Taiwan with her oldest daughter, Marina, who was competing for the Taiwanese National Team at the time. Following that, the two returned home to complete Marina Olmstead’s transfer from the University of Alabama to the University of New Mexico. Anthia Olmstead then turned her attention to swim tryouts at Newton County for the 2020-21 school year.

“After I got back from Taiwan, (Chaney) told me no one here knows anything about swim, so after taking paraprofessional classes over the summer in Taiwan I was approved to coach,” Anthia Olmstead said. “We waited until school started to do tryouts, and 18 kids signed up.”

That exceeded her expectations.

“I was expecting maybe five, and we ended up with 15 kids making the team,” Anthia Olmstead said. “A few of them had previous experience, but for the most part it was just kids who learned how to swim in the backyard pool.”

And they did well for a fledgling team. Eight swimmers made North State in MHSAA Class 4A, while two of them — Maya Olmstead and sophomore Braden Johnson — made it to state. The team was able to compete in two meets prior to North State on Oct. 16.

“It’s been amazing,” Anthia Olmstead said. “They’ve all worked hard and are like sponges with our coaching.”

She and her husband, Bryan, coach the team in a 10-foot-wide, 75-foot-long pool in their backyard they had built when Marina Olmstead was in high school so she could practice there daily. Since they can only practice one at a time, the members of the team filtered in and out throughout the day.

“My schedule was crazy fitting all these kids in our little pool,” Anthia Olmstead said. “I was out there four to six hours every day, seven days a week.”

It sounds hectic, but Johnson said practices ran smoothly throughout the season.

“It’s been fine,” Johnson said. “We’d just have to take turns doing stuff, but it worked out.”

While his swim experience was limited before this year, Johnson said the Olmsteads’ coaching helped him progress significantly between the start of the season and the state meet, which took place Oct. 23.

“They’re great coaches, and they watch little things like how you hold your arm out when you stretch,” Johnson said. “Little things like that go a long way.”

Johnson, who competes in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle swims and finished 15th in the 100 free at state, said he’s glad he took up the sport.

“I always loved swimming and used to do it when I was little before getting away from it for a little while,” Johnson said. “When we got a school team, I thought it would be fun to try.”

Maya Olmstead, who placed second in the 100 free and fifth in the 50 free at state, said in addition to her regular practices she also served as a demonstrator for the other swimmers when they didn’t quite understand the coaching points at first.

“I can be a good example once but after a while it just feels like I’ve done it 20 times,” Maya Olmstead joked.

Her mother, though, said her assistance was very helpful.

“Sometimes it’s hard for new people to visualize what we’re telling them to do, so to see Maya do it is invaluable,” Anthia Olmstead said.

With the swim team’s first season over, Maya Olmstead said she’s already looking forward to next fall when she’ll be gunning for a state title.

“I’m training hard to win next season because I’m going to win next season — or at least, I’d better,” Maya Olmstead said.