Science Hill swim team navigating closure of home pool

For the past 25 years, Chris Coraggio has simultaneously built a top-notch high school swim team at Science Hill while also serving as the driving force behind the Barracuda Swim Club. The Barracuda Swim Club (BSC) has served as a feeder program for Johnson City's middle school and high school programs, and the success achieved by both programs is evidence of a symbiotic relationship. "One of the reasons Science Hill and the middle school programs in Johnson City have done so well is that we're able to create a pipeline," said Corragio, head coach of the Science Hill swim team and BSC. "It goes hand-in-hand." The closure of the swimming pool inside Freedom Hall has put Coraggio in a bind as he tries to protect the health of both the Barracuda program and the middle school and high school swim programs in Johnson City. In short, there currently aren't enough swim lanes to accommodate all of the competitive swimmers in the city. Right now, Coraggio has been able to make do, largely because middle school and high school swimming and diving athletes are out of season and outdoor swimming is an option. A great deal of cooperation between the Johnson City School Board and the city's parks and recreation department has helped facilitate valuable training time for competitive swimmers from both programs. Coraggio's more experienced swimmers are getting their work in at Legion Street pool from 7-9:30 in the morning and 6-7:30 in the evening while the younger swimmers are able to use three lanes for an hour a day in the pool inside Memorial Park Community Center. But once the fall comes, there isn't enough water to go around. "In the fall, there is an agreement between the parks department and the school system for some time for the high school and middle school programs to utilize lanes at Memorial Park," he said. "There's an offer for a very limited amount of club time at Memorial Park. "There are some issues with that," Coraggio continued. "Obviously the amount of time and the amount of lanes available to try to get all that kind of programing in is one issue. I'm still trying to work on alternatives to Memorial Park for high school, middle school and/or club." As it stands, Science Hill is not in a position to host any swim meets this winter, and the same goes for the middle school program. Memorial Park is not equipped to host swim meets for a variety of reasons. The good news is that a long-term solution appears to be on the way. Coraggio said he is pleased that funding is included in the proposed city budget for next fiscal year to construct a state-of-the-art swimming and diving facility. "That's great, but with all my enthusiasm there comes a caveat, and that caveat is that between when that is approved and when it is opened up for utilization, it's going to take about two or three years," he said. Coraggio is hopeful that repairs can be made to the pool at Freedom Hall in order to meet the short-term need for practice and competition space, but there are plenty of unknowns. Repairs could extend the life of the pool at Freedom Hall, but city leaders expressed reluctance this spring about the prospect of making a sizable investment in extending the life of the pool for a short period of time. It also remains to be seen how quickly repairs could be made. "The city's in the process of requesting bids for companies to come in and repair Freedom Hall pool," Coraggio said. "If those repairs are done, it will alleviate the program pressures that are now being put at Memorial Park Community Center. It will allow for the full reinstatement of the high school, club and middle school programming back at Freedom Hall."