A Historic Season, and What Comes Next: Inside AGUA's Record-Breaking Year
Some seasons are measured in personal bests. This one will be measured in program history.
The Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics (AGUA) Swim Team just completed one of the strongest competitive seasons in its history. Coach Hailey Hewitt was named one of the nation’s Top 25 Coaches of the Year by the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA), while AGUA was ranked third nationally among ASCA’s Top 50 Age Group Teams for ages 10-14. The team also posted its highest-ever USA Swimming Virtual Club Championship ranking, finishing 12th nationally, and qualified four swimmers for USA Swimming Summer Nationals, the program’s most in seven years.
Along the way, AGUA athletes broke 46 team records, earned the program’s highest gold medal total at the Senior Metropolitan Championships in five years, and captured a record 39 gold medals at the Junior Metropolitan Championships.
Behind those numbers is a program built on a simple idea: get a little better every day. We sat down with AGUA Swim Coach David Rodriguez to talk about what drove this season, what it takes to develop the next wave of national-level swimmers, and what AGUA is chasing next.
Head Coach David Rodriguez on AGUA’s 2026-2027 Season
Coming off a season with 46 broken team records and your best-ever national rankings, what are the top priorities for AGUA heading into the new season?
The biggest priority is continuing to strengthen our culture of trying to get a little better every day. One of the things we continually emphasize with our athletes and parents is that none of these accomplishments happened because of one really good week or even one really good month. They are the result of years of steady, deliberate progress and a willingness to stay committed to that process.
Coming off a season like this, the challenge is making sure success doesn’t lead to complacency. As coaches, we have to continue challenging our own thinking, evaluating the way we do things, and finding ways to put our athletes in the best possible positions to be successful.
Ultimately, we aren’t interested in having one great season or one great group of athletes. We want to build something that is sustainable. The records and national rankings are exciting and something we’re incredibly proud of, but the real measure of our program is whether we can continue to develop athletes, raise our standards, and get better year after year.
With four swimmers qualifying for Summer Nationals this year, the most in seven years, what does it take to develop the next wave of athletes to reach that level?
Qualifying for Summer Nationals out of the club ranks is incredibly challenging. Our athletes are competing against some of the best swimmers in the world, the same athletes you see competing on NBC every four years. So first, I think it’s important to recognize what an accomplishment it is for these four athletes to reach that level.
What is particularly exciting for us is that all four of our National qualifiers are underclassmen who will be back with the program for multiple years. Their success helps set the standard and provides a real example for the next group of AGUA athletes coming behind them.
Our younger swimmers can watch an AGUA athlete compete at Nationals against some of the best swimmers in the world and then come back to practice and see that same athlete training right next to them. That matters. It makes something that can seem very far away suddenly feel possible and gives our younger athletes a tangible example of what years of consistent work can lead to.
That belief, combined with a developmental model focused on building technical skills, training habits, and competitive skills progressively over time, is how we continue to build the pipeline. With all four National qualifiers returning and a strong group developing behind them, I’m excited about where that can take us over the next several years.
Are there specific meets, rankings, or records the team is targeting this season?
Similar to what we tell our athletes, I think setting a specific result or ranking as the goal can sometimes be short-sighted and even limiting. We want to focus on ourselves and on making the small improvements in our everyday work that, over time, produce great results.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t meets where we want and expect to perform well as a team. Our Junior and Senior Metropolitan Championships are important to us, as are each group’s respective end-of-season championship meets, whether that’s Nationals or the appropriate championship level for that athlete.
This year also presents a unique opportunity with the U.S. selecting both its senior and junior international teams in June. We expect to have a group of athletes in a position to compete at that level, and we’re excited to see what they can do.
Ultimately, though, we want to compare ourselves to ourselves. Are we better than we were a year ago? Are we continuing to improve the way we coach and develop athletes? Are we strengthening a culture that produces young people we’re proud of, both in and out of the pool? If we continue to make progress in those areas, I believe the records, rankings, and results will take care of themselves.
What stands out to you that helped drive this historic season: culture, training methods, talent?
What stands out most to me is the alignment that exists around our athletes. I’m incredibly fortunate to work with a coaching staff that is deeply invested in their development and in the long-term vision of our program. Our 14-and-under coaches in particular have done an outstanding job building the technical foundation, work ethic, and resilience our athletes need to eventually succeed at the national level.
Our parents deserve a lot of credit as well. They have bought into what we’re trying to build and understand that development takes time. We also benefit from tremendous support from Asphalt Green’s staff and leadership, who believe in the program and continue to provide us with the resources and support necessary to pursue our goals.
When athletes, coaches, parents, and the organization are all aligned around the same long-term vision, it creates an environment where athletes have the best opportunity to succeed. I think the historic results we saw this year were a reflection of years of that collective effort coming together.
What are you most proud of about AGUA athletes from last season, and what excites you most about this season’s team?
When you’re working with athletes 18 and under, they’re all a work in progress. There are always things they can do better and certainly moments that can leave you scratching your head. But what I’m most proud of is the sense of pride our athletes have in being part of AGUA and the effort they consistently bring to practice.
We understand that every day isn’t going to be an athlete’s best performance. What they can control every day is their attitude and their effort, and you don’t achieve the results this group did without being remarkably consistent in those areas.
What excites me about this season is that we’re still a relatively young team. We have a lot of athletes returning who experienced this success and understand what went into achieving it, along with a talented group coming behind them. I’m excited to see how they continue to grow and where they can take the program next.
Ready to Dive In?
AGUA is Asphalt Green’s competitive swim program, offering a developmental pathway for swimmers of all levels, from first-time competitors to national qualifiers. Athletes train under a coaching staff dedicated to building technical skill, discipline, and confidence in and out of the water, all while becoming part of a team culture built on steady, everyday progress. Learn more about the AGUA Swim Team and find the right path for your swimmer.
