Gator a hit at swim practice

The Daily Inter Lake

KATS swim coach Brandon Rannebarger is always looking for unique ways to motivate swimmers, and to make those 7:30 a.m. daily practices more exciting and exhilarating.

Like bringing a fake octopus to one morning session in a paper bag.

That went over OK.

His latest idea, however, was a splash hit with the team.

Rannebarger had a local zoologist bring an alligator to a recent practice.

The young reptile did not swim with the KATS - well it nearly did by accident - but it was the star of the workout session at the Woodland Park pool.

"The kids were all in the water when the alligator was brought out," Rannebarger said.

"'Oh my gosh! He brought an alligator,'" he said of how the kids responded.

"The kids couldn't believe it."

The alligator was set on the pool deck facing away from the water as its owner talked about the reptile.

"All of a sudden, it made a sharp turn and got in the water," Rannebarger said.

"She (owner) grabbed it by the tail. The kids got a sense that we gotta move (fast)."

The alligator was not aggressive, or threatening.

Rannebarger said he had warned his swim team all summer that "swim faster or you'll get an alligator on your tail."

The swimmers used that threat as their catch phrase, and have laughed about it often.

Rannebarger could not confirm if any of his swimmers posted faster times that day, but it made for an entertaining practice.

"I wanted them to know the feeling of swimming as fast as they can," he said.

"As if their life depended on it. It's really just a way to get the swimmers to swim with high energy."

The swim team has a intrasquad dual meet - Yellow vs. Black - tonight, starting at 6:30 at Woodland Park.

The KATS will have 13 swimmers competing at the state meet in Bozeman, July 25-27.

On the back of the state T-shirts for the KATS is a picture of - yes - an alligator.