Friendly Frogs Head Coach Erin Harris Shares Insights Ahead of 2023 Greensboro City Swim Meet
courtesy of Mike Fanning, covering local sports for GreensboroSports.com
With the highly anticipated 2023 Greensboro City Swim meet just around the corner, excitement is building at Friendly Pool. I had the privilege of speaking with the dedicated Head Swim Coach of the Friendly Frogs, Erin Harris, who has been associated with the pool since 1981.
Looking ahead to this year’s competition, Coach Harris acknowledged “Anything can happen obviously, but I do think I think Hamilton Lakes has a strong team. Bur Mill has a very strong team this year and Sherwood comes in as defending champions, so I think they’re there also a contender. It’s going to be a close call between Hamilton Lakes and Bur Mill for the top spot.” As for her own team, Coach Harris expressed optimism, stating, “I’m hoping that we finish fourth and maintain our position within the top five.”
Reflecting on her 42-year journey with the city meet, Coach Harris recalled the transformation the event has undergone. The meet was formerly held at Lindley Pool, an outdoor facility where the kids swam in a long course of 50 meters. Now, the meet has found its home at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, where a short course of 25 meters is utilized. The number of swimmers participating has significantly increased to nearly 2,000 swimmers, with the top 24 now advancing to the finals compared to just the top 10 in the past. The meet has also evolved from just being a Championship event to an Open Championship, with tweaks made along the way to enhance the experience for all participants. Furthermore, the competition has grown from two days to three, reflecting the expanding interest in swimming and the addition of more teams in Greensboro.
“I like the climate control, I’m not in 90° weather with high humidity for three days.” However, she did express some nostalgia for the excitement of the outdoor setting, where teams would create a vibrant atmosphere with tents, fostering a sense of camaraderie and community. She acknowledged the pluses and minuses of the new venue. “The teams all had tents and it was like a mini reunion,” she told me. “If you lived in Greensboro, had kids, you went to the city meet. You would see friends of yours with their kids. You would have teams and kids lined up on the fence watching the race. Now the kids are kinda away from the pool with how they do the seating at the Aquatic Center.” But she acknowledged that the kids like the Aquatic Center and it is nice knowing you are not going to get rained out.”
When asked about the significance of the Community Swim Association (CSA), Coach Harris spoke passionately about its positive impact on the Greensboro community. The CSA provides a gateway for children to discover the joys of swimming, and it often leads them to pursue year-round programs. The program not only fosters a love for the sport but also imparts essential life skills such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and determination. “I think the CSA program is a great,” she explained. “The CSA Organization is great for Greensboro and the surrounding areas and it’s a great way to introduce kids to swimming.”
For Coach Harris, Friendly Pool stands out as a place where kids grow up together, form friendships, and return year after year to continue competing alongside familiar faces. These connections often blossom into lifelong friendships. She emphasized that swimming, in general, plays a crucial role in promoting water safety and providing an opportunity for kids to engage in physical activity during the summer. She said “I think it’s teams like Friendly, where kids grow up here, they make friends in the summertime here, then they leave go to school and they come back in the summer and they are friends again. And I have seen summer swimmers become lifelong friends. Swim team allows for that same, constant, neighborhood group of people you know to compete together year after year.”
Finally, the lasting impact the of the City Swim meet is what keeps coaches like Harris going year after year. “For many kids, this is the only sport they do. So much about swimming is about learning teamwork, sportsmanship, losing with grace, winning with dignity and the lifelong lessons of hard work that kids take along with them the rest of their lives. We as coaches love to see them grow and help them compete.”
The Greensboro City Swim Meets starts Thursday July, 6th and runs thru July, 8th. You can find more information at CSA Website: https://www.greensborocsa.org/page/city-meet
Great article! I could not agree more.Kudos to Erin and all the coaches out there for what they are doing for the children, the community, and the sport. I swam with Erin more than 40 years ago. So great to see her passion for swimming continue on!??
What a wonderful article! Well done Erin! I whole heartedly agree that summer swim is a great way to get a feel for the sport as well as a great cross training opportunity for other sports. Thanks for all you do Coach Erin!!