The opportunity was there and the time was right, so Paul Hamnett took it.
Hamnett is the new head coach of the Council Rock South boys and girls swim teams.
He is a 1992 graduate of Council Rock, where he was a member of the swim team. He went on to swim at Shippensburg, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1997.
The post is a return to high school varsity swimming for Hamnett, who had a successful career as the head coach at West Windsor-Plainsboro South, leading the Pirates’ girls team to back-to-back Public A state titles in New Jersey before stepping down in 2011 to focus on his family.
“I was ready,” said Hamnett, who is currently the vice principal at Community Middle School in the West Windsor-Plainsboro district. “It’s a little easier now that my kids are older.
“I gave up coaching in New Jersey because they were little, but now that they’re older I feel that I’m able to coach at the high school level.”
In 2011, he was named New Jersey Swim Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High Schools Association. His record for the girls program was 173-16-1 in 11 seasons.
His oldest child, Owen, is a freshman on the CR South boys team.
“My goal is to give my son and his teammates the same life-changing experience that I had 30-some years ago as a member of the Council Rock swim team with (coach) Will Reeser,” Hamnett said. “The confidence that it brought me, the camaraderie that it brought me, those things helped me in different avenues in my life. I wanted to give that to them.
“I knew they had a good freshman class coming in so it’s exciting. I saw the opportunity there and once I saw that I could make it work with my job and my family, I went for it.
“I think it’s important for the team to build a culture and come out of the tough year and a half with COVID and establish something for the future.
“We’ve swam some tough competition already but I like what I’ve seen so far. We still have to find out what our best lineup is, learn how to swim tired, things along those lines, but we’re headed in a good direction.”
Hamnett is getting rave reviews from the swimmers.
“He’s incredible,” said CR South senior captain William Slaman. “I am forever thankful to him for stepping up and taking on the role of coach. It’s a big commitment. My mom’s been the communications director for this team for years, so I know how much work goes into everything and how much effort this takes from him.
“He knows what he’s doing. I can tell from practice seeing my teammates and my own times getting better. His practice rhetoric, his strictness but fairness is all going a long way in our overall performance.”
Council Rock aquatics director Brian Johnson is a former high school teammate of Hamnett’s.
It’s fun having him back,” said Johnson, who is also the boys coach for Council Rock North. “We keep reminiscing about times during our high school years. It’s great that after all these years he’s able to come full circle and become a part of the Council Rock swimming family again.”
CR South junior Elana Rhoge agreed.
“I had coach Paul as a kid at my club (Tri-Hampton YMCA) and it’s nice to have him here,” she said. “I’m very confident in him.”
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