Having your athletes move on to compete at a Division I level would seem to be very important to most coaches.

Seneca Valley swimming coach Tom Donati sees things from a bigger perspective.

"I think it adds to the philosophy of my program: to realize not just the importance of swimming, but the opportunities," said Donati, now in his ninth year with the Raiders.

In the past five years, Donati has had five swimmers move on to Division I schools: Tom Fletcher (West Virginia University), Amanda Smith (University of North Carolina), Kristen Bezier (Miami of Ohio), Stacie Safritt (University of Pittsburgh) and Kylie Gamelier (University of Toledo).

Fletcher graduated from Seneca Valley in 2001 and from West Virginia last year. He left the Mountaineers ranked in the top 10 all-time in four events.

Fletcher has since come back to help coach the Raiders.

"He tells the kids to go to another level and get your education," said Donati. "Young kids see the record board and they see Amanda Smith and Stacie Safritt's records.

"We had some great teams. They were special. Now, they realize not a lot of people go to Pitt, North Carolina, Miami, Toledo, West Virginia to get your education paid for," Donati added.

Last year's Seneca Valley girls team earned five gold medals out of 11 swimming events at the WPIAL championships, where it finished second as a team.

Safritt won four WPIAL titles and one PIAA medal and two third-place finishes while Gamelier won three WPIAL titles and one state title.

In her rookie campaign at Pitt, Safritt was seventh in the 100 freestyle at the Big East Championships and set a school record in the 1,000 free and was named All-Big East in the 400 freestyle relay and the 800 freestyle relay, the latter setting a record.

"Tom has always been one to encourage you," said Safritt. "The way he's designed the program is amazing. He teaches you a lot of other events. He's not always worried about swimming, per se, there are other things that come in handy."

"Tom knows when to push you and when to stop," said Smith. "He just has this attitude that you are at practice to get better, and if you don't want to be there, then leave.

"Tom has an amazing connection with his swimmers and he's our friend and our coach at the same time and knows exactly how to motivate swimmers to want to get better," Smith added.

Safritt was thinking of going to a smaller school and maybe to swim on the side, but Donati talked it over with her.

"He related to me on a personal level," said Safritt. "The success goes to the coaching staff, especially Tom."

Bezier, now a sophomore at Miami, also credits the Raiders' coaching staff as being a key element in her advance to Division I.

"Tom is a great coach. I've been swimming for him since I was 10 years old when he was at Pitt and then when he moved over to Seneca," said Bezier. "His training helped get me here.

"He was good at helping you match your academic and swimming needs," Bezier added.

Bezier, who was an All-Mid-American Conference second-team selection as a freshman last year, had eight schools to chose from as a senior and Miami wasn't exactly at the top of the list.

"Tom said, 'Kristen, this would be good for you.' So, he got me the coach's e-mail and I went out there and I loved it.

"It was between (Miami of Ohio) and Brown, and I'm glad I came here," Bezier added.

Bezier was a teammate of Smith's for two years before Smith moved on to North Carolina. She remembers the atmosphere from her years at Seneca Valley.

"I definitely lucked out with Amanda," said Bezier. "There were a lot of other girls like Stacie and Kylie. I really lucked out. I think they go through phases of talent. I was happy to go through one."

Donati has also had a bevy of swimmers and divers move on to lower-tier schools, but either way, he knows they still have to put in the work.

I tell kids going to Division II or Division III that you won't work this hard in college," said Donati. "I don't make it a job. I like to make it enjoyable and make them want to improve.

Smith has been the most heralded Seneca Valley has produced. Smith won six WPIAL titles, three state titles and was the first female at the school to win a state title.

"Amanda was the first real blue-chipper," said Donati. "She was talented, but she was also a hard worker. As a senior, she was ranked No. 2 in the country.

"She had goals, one was swimming in college and the other was qualifying for the Olympic Trials and she did both of those," he added.

"I think my competitive drive had something to do with it," said Smith. "I am probably one of the most competitive people when it comes to training and racing and in order to survive at a D-I school, you have to have that or you will get eaten alive.

"Competing at this level, you have to be emotionally strong as well as physically strong, and I think swimming for the coaching staff I did in high school prepared me well for that change," Smith added.

Donati admits the recent group that moved through was his first really big class of swimmers. He can only hope more will be on the horizon.

"It's becoming a habit in the program," said Donati. "These kids are coming to expect it. It's good for the kids, the school, the community."

Smith agrees.

"The support from the school as well as the staff, administrators, pretty much everyone involved in the school district shows so much support for the sport of swimming," said Smith.