Former stud swimmer delights in coaching
BUTLER TWP — When it came to competitive swimming, Hans Bergh did it all, but he paid the price.
Bergh, 20, was a competitive swimmer for 10 years. He was a four-year letter winner at Butler High School, was a three-year WPIAL qualifier and team MVP his senior year.
His high school accomplishments occurred despite a painful shoulder injury.
"Through overuse, the muscles in the front of my shoulder became loose so the muscles behind my shoulder got too tight from trying to compensate for that," Bergh said. "Basically, it was a shoulder dislocation.
"I developed tendinitis and it worsened from there. It was painful. I've had issues with my shoulder since my freshman year."
But he kept on swimming, even against his doctor's advice.
"The doctor told me to quit, and I couldn't," Bergh said. "It was my routine. Swimming practice before school, go to school, swim practice after school, do my homework ... I couldn't break it. That's how I lived my life."
Wherever Butler needed a swimmer — freestyle, backstroke, butterfly — Bergh filled the void. He was accomplished in all strokes.
A few years ago, he took a job as a lifeguard at the Alameda Pool in Butler. While there, he swam for Alameda's summer swim team.
"Three years ago, I decided to apply for the assistant coaching job at Alameda," Bergh said. "I couldn't swim anymore, but if I couldn't be in the pool, I had to be near the pool.
"I was only 18. Walking into the office for my interview, I really wasn't expecting to get the job."
He didn't. He got the head coaching position and became the youngest head coach in the A-K Valley Swim League.
"(Previous coach) Cryastal Grigorovich was walking out of the office as I was walking in," Bergh said. "She was moving to Bethlehem and had to give up the position. (Aquatics director) Dave Hutner congratulated me while telling me I was the new head coach.
"I was shocked at first, then really excited. I came to realize this was a rare opportunity. I went home and immediately started planning practices and exercise programs."
Alameda's swim team has 63 members. It had 40 when Bergh was named head coach.Other teams in the league have more than 100 swimmers and are more competitive.The team swims throughout the summer."Our team record is four wins in a season," Bergh said. "We're trying to break that this year. If we do, the kids get to throw Dave in the pool."Hutner laughed at the notion. But he would also welcome it."There are always stumbling blocks with a new coach, and Hans has handled it well," Hutner said. "He believes in the concept of team, and that's what he's building here."He was young, and we rolled the dice in hiring him. We took a chance, but I was looking at the long-term future of the program. Now we're reaping the benefits of it."Bergh said he emphasizes team morale and unity, along with proper conduct in and out of the pool."I don't just want to teach kids swimming, I want to educate them," he said.Bergh can still get in a suit, jump in the pool and swim — just not competitively."Those days are gone," he said. "My passion for the sport is still here. I don't just tell the kids what I want them to do, I show them and explain why I want them to do it."I coach the way I liked to be coached ... not all that long ago."
