REDLANDS - Glaring down at the water with his hands firmly clasped on his hips, Citrus Valley coach Jesse O'Donnell's watchful eyes scan the surface of the second-year school's pool, watching his swimmers live out the motto emblazoned in gold on his black Citrus Valley T-shirt.
"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better," the quote from former NBA championship-winning coach Pat Riley reads on his back.
It's a creed O'Donnell has strived to instill in the program, simply by preaching and teaching a few key concepts.
"Hard work, hours, sacrifice, time," O'Donnell said of the factors that he feels will make or break his team's chances of success. "These kids have to give up a lot to compete, but that's what will help them in the long run."
Three days a week, the Blackhawks intense training regimen starts at 5:45 a.m., as Citrus Valley practices until 7 a.m., before school starts. And that's just the first of the squad's sessions, as O'Donnell's team also hits the pool five days a week after school, for three hours a day, where it will normally swim 7,500 yards, or around 350 laps per practice.
Thursday the kids hit the water for a charity swim-a-thon, where they each were committed to swim for two straight hours or 200 laps, which ever came first.
O'Donnell said while it might have sounded like a grueling prospect, in reality, it was more like a vacation.
"It's kind of a nice break for them," O'Donnell said. "This is easier than what we usually do."
Apparently the old adage is true and hard work really does pay off, as the Blackhawk boys are 6-2 overall, and a perfect 5-0 in the Mountain Valley league, while the girls are 7-1 overall, 5-0 in league.
If Citrus Valley takes care of business against Rubidoux Wednesday, both the boys and girls will wrap up Mountain Valley titles in their first year in the league.
Success is quickly becoming same old, same old.
In 2010, Citrus Valley's girls compiled a 9-1 record and the boys finished a perfect 10-0 in their freelance schedule, despite having fielded only freshmen and sophomores last year.
If O'Donnell had his way, after another year, the Blackhawks would move into the San Andreas League, a place were he believes Citrus Valley would fit in well.
But competing in an area where Redlands and Redlands East Valley both boast established programs with winning pedigrees in the more prestigious Citrus Belt League, the Blackhawks still believe they can keep pace with just about anybody - especially on the girls' side.
It all comes back to encouragement and teamwork, according to sophomore Kailee Mora, who has posted CIF qualifying times in the 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke this season.
Mora said the swimmers all feed off one another to make each other better.
"Honestly we have that drive," Mora said. "We're all out here pushing each other, getting each other to get faster and faster."
That's a sentiment echoed by junior teammate Kahiwa Holland, who suits up in the 100 backstroke and the 100 freestyle and has qualified for CIF in both.
Like Mora, Holland attributes the stellar results to three factors: practice, practice, practice.
"We just work really hard, is all it is," Mora said. "Obviously we have some good athletes, but when it comes down to it, we get here in the mornings and put in long hours."
Admittedly, this year the girls have been a length ahead of the boys in the water, but that doesn't mean the boys are slouches themselves.
Led by junior captain Louie Cao and sophomore captain Chaz Martinez, along with junior standout Scott Dvorak and sophomore star Kyle Cauldren, the Blackhawks' male ranks are jam-packed with talent as well.
Competing in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM, Cao is the face and voice of the new Citrus Valley youth wave and he said he believes that the program is building toward something special.
According to him the Blackhawks will continue to get better and better as the team ages.
"We have some really fast freshmen and I feel like the longer we go, the more success we'll have," Cao said.
If that's to happen, the challenge for O'Donnell will be building a culture of pride in a system that doesn't have the history of RHS and REV and still needs to develop a club program.
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