Potential is the key word this year for the Oakville Senior High School boys’ swimming and diving team.

Oakville lost more than two-thirds of its team from last season, but they have some new swimmers with potential. Whether they live up to that potential by the end of the season remains to be seen.

Head coach Dan Schoendfeldt told the Call he likes what he sees so far in terms of work ethic and effort this preseason from his squad.

“We would like to see the kids grow individually and we can put things together as a team,” he said.

From last year’s squad, the Tigers only return three varsity swimmers, all of whom had good seasons in 2012.

Jake Landmann, Nick Zeltmann and Ryan Brady are all expected to be major contributors in the pool, and also will be asked to lead by example and help the new swimmers learn as much as possible.

Obviously, it’s going to be a training season for Oakville, but Schoendfeldt is confident that he can get the most out of his crew.

The coach hopes to help his swimmers get to a position where they can win some meets toward the end of the season.

The squad’s efforts are geared toward peaking at the end of the season, so the knowledge team members gain throughout the year will determine how they fare after the regular season.

“We will set high expectations for all our athletes to meet,” Schoendfeldt said. “With a strong group of seniors and a hard-working crew, I think we’re going to see some great improvements this season.”

One hurdle the Tigers face is the lack of any divers.

Without any divers, Oakville is poised to lose 6 points automatically in any swim meet, placing the Tigers at an immediate disadvantage.