This weekend the Toppenish Tarpons swim team will be hosting their annual AAU regional swim meet.
 According to first year coach Anthony Galaviz, there will be approximately 900 swimmers participating from this area and surrounding swim teams in eastern Washington.
After years of success in swimming with the Tarpon team, Galaviz begins his tenure as their first-year coach. 
He just completed a year at Concordia University in Irving, Calif. on a swimming scholarship where he is majoring in biology. 
Concordia competes in the NAIA division.  With a year of intensive preparation and swimming at Concordia, he hopes to implement the training skills and exercises he has learned over the years and in college with about 125 swimmers on this year’s Toppenish team.  About 20 swimmers from Wapato swim with the Tarpons since Wapato does not have a swimming pool in operation.
“I’m real excited and looking forward to coaching this team.  My sister Selina who was the coach is busy with grad school and that gave me an opportunity to take over,” Galaviz said.  “Being in charge gives me an opportunity to work with these young people.  They seem to like what I’m doing.”
When asked if he planned anything different, he replied, “I’m trying some dryland workouts with my swimmers.  It’s something I’ve learned from people at the local high schools.  The swimmers like it.  I’m also implementing some new drills.”
Galaviz expects the Tarpons to finish in the upper echelon within the Mid-Valley swim league that includes Naches, Selah, Sunnyside, Grandview and Prosser. 
“Right now, it seems like Selah and Sunnyside are the teams to beat,” Galaviz said.  This year’s Mid-Valley league championships are in Sunnyside July 30, 31 and Aug. 1.
Galaviz has several outstanding swimmersincluding Natalie Badgley, Jonathan Imperial, Alex Davalos, Alexis Medelez, Jeremy Klarich, Bethany Imperial, Sabrina Galaviz, Eric Wilson and Katrina Johnson.  These swimmers have all been early first place finishers in their age divisions.
Several swimmers also could develop and improve by the time championships begin.
League meets are on Tuesdays and Thursdays with home and away schedules at each of the Mid-Valley city pools.
“As I’ve already said, I’m real excited about coaching this team.  It gives me a chance to try things my way and then see the results at seasons end,” Galaviz said.