Though the Lawrence Aquahawks have established themselves as an elite swimming club, head coach Mike Soderling insists that they have done so by starting swimmers at a relatively young age.

“The 14-and-under is a huge part of it,” Soderling said. “Once in a while, we have an Alex Brunfeldt that started at 13 or 14 and shot up. Rarely do we have that, though. The foundation of everything starts when they’re young and comes out of our age-group program.”

The Aquahawks have 160 members, ages 6 to 22. Soderling said he’d like around 200.

The Aquahawks are divided into two groups: the competitive training group, where Brunfeldt, Tyler Schmidt and the rest of the big-name Aquahawks belong; and the recreational training group, where introductory training takes place, as well as where seasonal high school athletes train.

From there, the groups are divided into training programs. The recreational group, for example, has Discovery (6-9 years old), Express (9-14 years old) and Varsity (seasonal high school swimmers) programs.

“We have high expectations,” he said. “I think the key to a lot of it is the goal-setting we do. We start when they’re young and try to have success early and continue all the way through.”

For information on the Aquahawks, call 841-8891.