Cole takes the plunge in dad's wake.

Byline: Adam Jude The Register-Guard

As his son prepared to dive into the pool, South Eugene coach Dan Cole paced along the edge, a stopwatch in his hand and an anxious gaze on his face.

The coach, dressed in shorts and flip-flops, glanced at his watch regularly, carefully monitoring split times. Taylor Cole, pacing the lead leg of South Eugene's 400-yard freestyle relay, touched the wall first, then stood and cheered on his teammates.

To no one's surprise, the Axemen boys cruised to victory in the relay to win the three-way dual against Roseburg and South Medford in a Southwest Conference swim meet on Saturday.

The Coles, as usual, played integral roles.

Dan Cole, the coach, orchestrated the production, his gentle encouragement providing a cool confidence.

Taylor Cole, the senior captain, recorded the fast times, his genuine excitement hardly unnoticed.

It's a connect-the-dots tale that's easy to configure: A legendary swim coach breeding a standout swimmer.

Believe it or not, it wasn't destined to be this way.

The kid didn't even know how to swim.

"I'm still not too keen about swimming; it's fun, but it's so much work," Taylor Cole said, four years after his delayed introduction to the sport. "My success is because of him. If he wasn't my dad, I'd probably be lazy and not come to practice. Every morning it's, 'Get up, gotta go, can't miss it.' It's like, 'Oh, psssht.' But you gotta do it; it makes you go fast."

As a freshman, Taylor joined his dad's team having never taken a formal swim lesson. He soon blossomed into a contributor, joining South relay teams at the state meet in each of the past two years. This season, he has the second-fastest time in the league in the 200 freestyle (1 minute, 53.49 seconds), trailing only teammate James Gilmore (1:49.90).

"Taylor just kind of learned by watching," Dan Cole said. "He was a pretty nervous freshman; he was very unsure about the whole thing. Now he's a pretty good competitor."

Taylor is even better in water polo, earning second-team all-state honors in the fall. He plans to attend Oregon and join the club team there next year.

"I'm very proud of him," Dan Cole said.

Like any parent, the coach can't help but tense up as his son prepares for a race.

"I get nervous when anybody jumps in the pool," Dan said, "but especially him."

Dan Cole said he sees some of his same competitiveness in his son. Others notice the similar leadership qualities.

"Taylor is the motivator of the team," junior Emma Jones said. "He makes goals for people and tells you, 'I believe in you,' and those sorts of things. He's someone I look up to for support if I'm nervous for a race. After I talk to him, I feel a lot better."

In his 14th season at South, Dan Cole initially planned to retire after Taylor graduated. Instead, the coach has been rejuvenated by a talented young group that should help the Axemen capture the first SWC boys district title.

"It's tough to stack up against South," Sheldon coach Scott Kerr said. "They're the perennial powers over there. We've all been playing second fiddle to them for a long time."

Gilmore, a junior transfer from North Medford, has been the biggest new addition, joining Cole and sophomore Sam Rowan on a formidable front line. The Axemen, with just two seniors, also got a boost from the addition of junior Aaron Bishow, brother of former South star Elliot Bishow.

"I'm pretty happy with them," Dan Cole said of his team. "They've been working hard and swimming well."

Sheldon returns a handful of seniors with big-meet experience, including Dusty Snell, Taggart Duncan, Jared Herr and Reed Rosenberg. Sophomore Derick Thomas was part of two state-qualifying relay teams that return in tact for the Irish.

After sweeping the Southern Oregon Conference titles last season, Roseburg should contend with Sheldon for second place. The Indians feature junior Eric Saylor, who has the league's best time in four events so far this season.

South Eugene, which swept the Midwestern League district titles last season, will find the waters much murkier in the Southwest girls races.

Sheldon and North Medford will challenge in a tightly contested race.

The Axemen narrowly topped rival Sheldon 86-83 in a dual meet last week at South. It's just another dramatic finish in a series of them over the past few years.

In 2005, the Irish won the final event to capture a one-point victory over South at the MWL district meet. Last year, Sheldon edged South by two points during the regular season before South eked out the victory at districts.

Add North Medford into the mix, and it adds up to a compelling first SWC district meet.

"I'm really interested to see how it all plays out," Kerr said.

Jones, a two-time state qualifier, has been the catalyst for the Axemen. She has the league's fastest time this season in seven of the eight individual events.

Without district champion Carly Rowan, a senior who opted to focus on club swimming, the Axemen didn't know what to expect entering this season.

"Everyone was kind of scared at first," Jones said. "But we beat Sheldon, and everyone's really encouraged by that. Everyone really wants to show that we can win in a new district."

Junior Calleagh Brown, senior Emily Skupsky and freshman Laura Ross round out the headlining rotation for South.

Sheldon isn't as top-heavy as it has been in recent years. The Irish don't have any returning state qualifiers, but Kerr said their strength is their balance.

"Our girls are pretty excited and pretty motivated," he said. "I like how we are this year. We are stronger with our depth, which allows us to play around with the lineup a bit more."

Tied entering the final event, North Medford topped Sheldon 148-140 in a three-team dual Saturday at Grants Pass.