“Go! Go! Faster!” coach Eric Vogan screams as the smell of chlorine surrounds him. With a clipboard in one hand and a stopwatch in the other, he yells at the swimmers, “Push it!” wanting nothing more than to see the kids win.

After former swim coach Carl Auel announced his resignation Aug. 21 to take a coaching position in Little Rock, the Tigersharks have returned to the pool this season under Vogan’s guidance as the new interim head coach.

“I’m really excited to be coach this year,” Vogan said. “It will allow me more time to spend with the kids.”

Vogan began coaching in Canada when he was 18 years old.

“I was the assistant manager of a pool, and I was also the lead instructor for all the advanced swimming groups,” Vogan said. “I started coaching club and found out that I was really good at it.”

In addition to the new position, Vogan also coaches the Texas High dive team and the ATAC club swim team. Throughout his years coaching in Texarkana, Vogan has spent countless hours alongside Auel.

“I’m thrilled to have the position,” Vogan said. “But I have really enjoyed working with coach Auel.”

Vogan is planning to continue the legacy of the program, while adding a few twists of his own.

“We will be doing a lot of sprint work this year,” Vogan said. “I think the kids are going to swim really fast, and we will definitely still win Regionals. I’m hoping to get a lot of more kids to State this year.”

Many swimmers are ecstatic to have Vogan as coach this year. They feel he pushes to maximize their performance and their self-confidence.

“I think Vogan is a really great coach,” sophomore Lois LeFors said. “He gives tips to everyone and helps us all improve. He pushes everyone to do their best and makes us all feel important to the team.”

Although it takes a lot, Vogan is confident in the students’ abilities this year.

“It take lots of long hours to do it all,” Vogan said. “But it’s worth it.”