The Moorestown High School boys swim team came out on top (106.5-63.5) against West Windsor-Plainsboro North in the NJSIAA (New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association) Tournament’s Central, Group B final round last month, after winning sectional finals last year.
“It’s really hard to do (winning back-to-back sectionals) in high school swim, because obviously every year you graduate kids, so you have to fill lanes and fill spots with students who are new to high school swim and they rotate through,” said head coach Jeff DeNick.
“It shows that the team was not only good last year, but (with) the guys we had replaced, new kids came in who were just as skilled and were able to take their spot,” he added. “It’s really a credit to them to be able to step up the way they did, so I was super, super happy.”
The team won the state semifinals against Mainland (101-69) on Feb. 20 and advanced to the state finals for Group B against Chatham. Although that round was a loss for Moorestown, DeNick shared how it was an honor just to be there.
“We were the underdog in yesterday’s meet (Feb. 25), but it was a great season and great for the seniors,” he explained. “We have 11 seniors on our team, so it’s a big percentage of our students.”
DeNick has been coaching at Moorestown for 15 years and sees a lot of the highs that come with the job, including team camaraderie and each member making improvements.
“ … Even the team that we swam yesterday (Feb. 25), we were giving them high fives, we were cheering for the other team, which was pretty cool, and the audience and the crowd was too, so it’s just a welcoming tradition of high school swim … ” he noted.
“I enjoy the improvements that I see as the kids are gaining a little confidence,” DeNick added, “something that they thought they couldn’t do – a time or an event – they can do it, and then we cross that off and we go to the next one.”
DeNick makes sure to emphasize how practice can make perfect.
“We just try to watch them accomplish things and just drill in them that hard work pays off,” he said of team members. “It does pay off and you (have) to be after it every day. You (have) to practice; you can’t practice one day and then take three days off and then practice again.
“You (have) to be after it every day.”
This year’s co-captains – seniors Luke Mumma, Alex Yukewicz, Chase Mancine and Eamon Coffey – support the team any way they can, and it’s something DeNick sees as an advantage for the other swimmers.
“They’ve been on the team for all four years, and so they’ve been through it,” he pointed out. “ … They’ve had some opportunities to lead on the pool deck, both just by example and also just by verbally encouraging people. So I look for those leadership opportunities for the kids, so that way they gain not only the swimming experience from it, but also learn some leadership skills on their own.”
Wins aside, DeNick wants people to know it’s also the memories the team makes that count.
“It’s all about them having fun in the end,” he related. “That’s really why we do it. Winning is good, winning comes and goes and obviously we take it seriously, but at the same time the memories, you’re going to remember …
“It’s always good that way. It’s a wonderful thing.”
