Historically, the swim programs at both North and South have demanded respect — dominating their conferences and ranking among the best in the state. So it is only appropriate that North’s new coach has a record of success and a few record-breaking performances of his own.
For the past five years, North’s swimmers have been led by Theresa Bonanno, who has stepped down from her position because she and her new husband are expecting a baby and will be focusing on raising a family. But the WW-P district looked to her former assistant, Todd Robinson, to fill her shoes.
While they may be some tough shoes to fill — Bonanno led the boys to a 10-2 record and the girls to a 11-1 finish last season — Robinson, who has worked under her for the past two years, has no shortage of experience.
Robinson grew up in Robbinsville. His mother was a secretary at St. Gregory the Great elementary school in Hamilton, and his father works for the state Office of Telecommunication and Information Systems as a computer analyst.
His love of the sport began when he was a little boy on vacation at his grandparents’ in southern New Jersey, where he spent his time on the lake. His mother wanted Robinson and his two brothers to know how to swim, so he began taking swimming lessons at the Peddie School when he was about 5 or 6 years old.
He began competitive swimming when he was 7 years old, swimming for the Cranbury Swim Club. He was also involved with Peddie Aquatics, the U.S. Swimming Team based at the Peddie School. In high school, he swam for the Peddie School varsity team. “I swam for Chris Martin, who was a former assistant Olympic swimming coach,” Robinson said. “I learned a great deal from him, not only about swimming, but also about coaching. I was an All-American in both high school and college.”
He moved from Peddie to Ursinus College, where he set school records in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. He was also the Mid-Atlantic Conference champion in both events. Robinson coached for the Ravine Swim Club for two years while he was a student at Ursinus.
After graduation, he began his career as a teacher at the Titusville Academy, a private school. There, he served as a language arts teacher for eight years before moving onto High School North.
Unfortunately for Robinson, who is now a resident of Hamilton, the Titusville Academy did not have a swimming team, so he was unable to coach until he was hired at North. For the past two years, he has worked under Bonanno before being hired as the head coach this year.
“I learned a lot about the program at High School North by working under Theresa,” he said. “I had the opportunity to really work with the swimmers in terms of helping them refine their stroke technique. I was certainly happy to have the opportunity to step into the position of head coach. High School North certainly has a strong tradition in swimming, and one of my goals is to continue with the tradition.”
North graduated seven swimmers last season, but Robinson said he is not worried. “We have some extremely strong returning swimmers, and I’m very pleased with the freshmen we have.”
Among the key returning swimmers are seniors Katrina Chen and Kelly Covey, captains of the girls’ team, and Robb Dunne and Brian Chan, captains for the boys. Covey has been exceptional for the Knights, taking home the county title in the 50-meter freestyle last year. She also placed 11th in the individual state championships.
“One thing that we’re doing differently this year is that we have instituted morning practices,” said Robinson. “Our swimmers train six days a week. We are having morning practices Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 7:15 a.m. We also train Monday through Friday in the afternoon from 3 to 5:15 p.m.”
Among Robinson’s goals for the season is to have a strong showing in the county championships and to have as many swimmers as possible qualify for states. The team got off to a good start, with the girls posting a 101-69 win over Lawrence and the boys winning, 97-73, on December 1.
“One area in coaching I feel I’m particularly strong at is helping swimmers find their stroke technique and improve on a technical level,” said Robinson. “I certainly hope to have my swimmers reach their full potential in the pool, and I also hope to inspire them to succeed in whatever they may endeavor to do.”
South Swimmers Looking to Repeat. Last year, the South girls’ swim team took home its first NJSIAA Public Group A state title after first claiming the title at the Mercer County Tournament and repeating as eight-time CVC champions.
This year, the chances the team can repeat last year’s stellar season seem very good, as the team will return many of its key talents, including seniors Rebecca Lewinson, who is a three-time breaststroke state champion, and Meredith Ketchmark, who took home the title in the 100-meeter freestyle last year at the MCT.
Also returning to the team are Jocelyn Yuen, Cori Michibata, Brynja Winnan, and Amanda Grant, all of whom have consistently proven to be strong performers for the Pirates.
The boys will also return important swimmers, includings Dan Druckman and Alex Huang, despite losing Joey Grant last year to graduation.
The teams were off to a good start, with the boys’ win, 90-80 win over Hopewell Valley on December 1, and the girls’ 117-53 win, also over Hopewell Valley.
