The Southwest High School swim and dive team provides a superior athletic, team, and community experience for swimmers and divers of all levels.  Swimming and diving are Minnesota State High School League sanctioned fall (girls) and winter (boys) sports open to students in grades 7 - 12.  The Southwest Swim and Dive team has long been a dominant force in the Minneapolis City Conference, consistently capturing city titles and setting the standard for excellence. We welcome everyone who wants to be a part of this fantastic sport, improve technique, and work towards their personal best. 

The team is lead by head coach Chris Aarseth who has coached for more than 20 years and is highly regarded in the Minnesota High School swimming community.  Chris was honored as the MSHSL Class AA Girls "Coach of the Year" in 2016. 


Coach Chris's Commitment to Excellence

The true objective of our program is to extract, promote, and support excellence. We believe that the foundation to how we coach, is why we coach. We coach for our belief in team. We coach to challenge. We coach to have fun. We coach to rally success from each individual’s unique gifts. These four pillars of team, fun, challenge, and success inspire us to create meaningful and rich experiences. The interaction of these four pillars will guide our decisions. As coaches, we believe that our role is to promote excellence from within the team and help create an experience that will serve the athletes throughout their lives. 


2026-2027 Season

Swimming head coach: Chris Aarseth

Diving head coach: Cathy Taylor

Girls assistant swim coach: Petyon D'Emannuale 

Girls season runs August 17th - November 21st 2026

Boys season runs November 30th - March 7th 2027


Communication

Coaches and athletes use the TeamApp for communication.  It can be used on mobile devices and desktops.  Guardians/parents of an athlete may be added to the TeamApp to receive team communications.

Booster club information, fundraising events, and other news will be sent through both email and TeamApp.


Transportation

SWHS does not offer busing to meets for the swim and dive team. We strongly encourage parents and athletes to coordinate and carpool as much as possible. 


Practice Schedule

The swim team practices every weekday after school from 3:30pm - 5:30pm at the Southwest High School pool.  There are sometimes Saturday morning practices throughout the season.  Athletes are expected to attend every practice and meet.  

New in the 2025-2026 season, we added dryland strength training twice per week.  Dryland training takes place onsite at the high school weight room.  This was a popular addition that both swimmers and coaches appreciated.


Meets

Girls season meets are typically on Thursday evenings and Boys season meets are typically on Tuesday evenings.  Meets start at 5:30pm and last approximately 2 hours.  There are a few meets for the girls and boys seasons that fall on Saturdays - Maroon and Gold Invite, the Laker Invite, True Team Sections, JV Champ Finals, and the Section Finals meet. 


How to Join

Athletes must register via the Southwest High School Athletics website.  Southwest High School Athletic Director Jared Mountain hosts both a fall and a winter sports information night prior to registration closing. The fall sports information session is typically held the first week in August and the winter sports information session is typically held in October. Check the Southwest High School Athletics website for dates. 


Parent Volunteers Needed

Parent volunteers are critical to making the Lakers swim team a success.   Below are examples of volunteer opportunities.