The original Sycamore High School is now the Sycamore Jr. High. So when the swim team first started in 1971, there was no facility for them to practice in. With the opening of the 'new' Sycamore High school in 1974, swimmers had their own facility to practice in and a new coach and Aquatics Director, Larry Zoller, who came from Indiana. An interesting fact about the pool is that the opening of the pool was delayed in 1974 because of being struck by a tornado that spring. In 2000 another tornado struck the pool again. Both times the pool was the only area in the school that suffered any damage.
Coach Zoller started the boys and girls swim teams, boys' water polo team, and the Sycamore Flying Fish. The first State Meet the team participated in under the Sycamore Aves banner was 1975.
Coach Zoller left the program in the spring of 1976 and Larry Lyons, who was the coach at Mariemont, took over the program for the next 12 years. Some of the changes that occurred during that time were the boys and girls swim teams having concurrent seasons and the growth of the Sycamore Flying Fish swim team to take its place as one of the premier swimming sites in Cincinnati. In 1985, a girls water polo team was formed, with their own State Championship. Coach Lyons retired from Sycamore in 1988 and Mark Sullivan, who was coaching at St. Xavier High School, stepped in as coach and Aquatics Director until 2002. Coach Sullivan continued the high performance excellence of the team, capturing a Girls State Swimming and Diving Championship in 1992. He also had 5 girls water polo state championships. Currently Dan Carl, former coach of Valparaiso University, is the Head Swim Coach for the Sycamore Aves. He took over the swim teams in 2002.
Sycamore swimmers, divers, water polo players and academic candidates have produced a long list of All-Americans, going back to 1975. Over the years Sycamore has sent many talented water polo players, swimmers and divers on to the ranks of college swimming. Several of those swimmers have participated in their respective Conference and NCAA Championships and have won championship titles. A select few have been invited to swim or dive in the Olympic Trials, and Sycamore is very proud to have had a swimmer participate in the 2004 Summer Olympics as a member of the 800 Free Relay and the owner of a Gold Medal as a result of the American team conquering First Place.
