Bradshaw Farm Barracudas celebrate successful summer swim season
CANTON, Ga. — The 2023 Bradshaw Farm Barracudas completed another successful summer swim season led by Head Coach Cora Hodgins along with Assistant Coaches Brett Lowry, Alessandra “Ally” Williams, Audrey Crose, Hunter Sample, Ian Sweazey, and Clara Williams, as well as team coordinators Carla Stephens and Kari Mulligan. Their team mascot is “Barry” the Barracuda, who is brought to each swim meet for the team cheer of “Icky La Boomba.”
The Bradshaw Farm Barracudas swim program was established in 1997, just two years after the Bradshaw Farm subdivision began construction; and was one of the first neighborhood swim teams in the area. The team has been developed through the years by families who want to provide an opportunity for kids to be introduced to the sport of swimming, to create friendships, and build confidence in our youth. “It is about giving back to the community for our youth,” shares team Coordinator Carla Stephens. “Hopefully swimmers will develop friendships with their peers, come to love the sport, possibly swim for high school and the collegiate level. Our team has had swimmers that swim for their high school, colleges and qualify for the Olympic trials.” The team has grown to over 150+ swimmers with many swimmers having been members of the team for 10+ years and ultimately stepping up to lead the team as coaches.
For the 2023 summer season, the Bradshaw Barracudas were the runner up division champion for the season with 4 wins and 1 loss, out of their 5 total meets.
Team Records set during this season included:
Sophie Stephens (9-10 Girls) in the 25-yard Butterfly with a time of 14:62
Henry Cutts (9/10 Boys) in the 25-yard Freestyle with a time of 13:50 and the 100-yard Individual Medley (IM) with a time of 1:17.84
Grant Stephens (11-12 Boys) in the 50-yard Breaststroke with a time of 38:53 and the 50-yard Butterfly with a time of 30:98
Meets are held on Thursday evenings in June and are followed by “Fun Fridays” the following morning to highlight swimmers of the week, distribute ribbons for swimmers who placed during the meet, and celebrate together as they swim with coaches and have donuts. The season wraps up at the end of June with a banquet, where swimmers receive awards, their end of the year gift, enjoy dinner, and more fun swimming with coaches.
The Bradshaw Farm Barracudas program is open to Bradshaw Farm residents and some non-residents as well. The team is led by parent volunteers serving in roles such as coordinator, concessions and grill, sponsors, shephards, volunteer role, MC, end of season banquet, photographer and many other roles. Ahead of each summer season in March, the team holds an open house for all swimmers, both returning and new, so they can meet the coaches and coordinators and size for their team swimsuit. The team promotes sportsmanship and encourages all swimmers between the ages of 5-18 to participate regardless of whether it is their very first season swimming or if they are a year-round swimmer or a multi-sport athlete. The goal is for Barracudas to be a fun, social event for swimmers and their families.
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