After starting the Pascack Swim and Dive Team in 2003, Coach Shawn Buchanan is back and excited for the new season, with a promising group of returning swimmers and young talent. 

With lots of coaching experience, Buchanan has coached in various places in the United States. He taught and coached in Chicago for five years and had the opportunity to work with some “remarkable” coaches. Buchanan is proud to use his knowledge to shape the 20th year with the Pascack Swim team. 

“I’m very proud and honored that [the swim team is] kind of part of the history here now, and how the program has grown tremendously considering where we kind of came from, to build it from nothing, and then to make it into really a dominant program in our conference in our county,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan is looking forward to this upcoming season with returning swimmers as well as new freshmen and sophomores. His goal is to get the team into a routine with their training and focus on long-term goals for conference, county, and state competitions. 

“I think our future is really promising as well. Our first couple of meetings are right at the beginning of December, so I’m excited just to see what the team can put together,” Buchanan said.

The swim team is dedicated and ready to have a great season, waking up early every morning for a 5 a.m. practice before school. Buchanan is eager to coach this young talent and hopes that the team will come together socially and speed-wise to advance to the state championships. 

“I have not gotten a chance to coach for a couple of years, just because I was Athletic Director, and then I stepped down a couple of years prior to that just to spend more time with my family,” Buchanan said. “Personally, I’m most excited just to be back coaching a sport I love, doing coaching a program that I started 20 years ago, but the immediate part of the season, I’m looking forward to working with our swimmers.”