Harding Notches 100th Boys Swimming Coaching Win

Despite being the MVP on his college swimming team, John Harding was never a part of a winning team in high school.

There is a good explanation why Harding never was part of a single swimming win before joining the team at Montclair State University: He was the one that started the team at his high school.

Harding started the swimming program at South Brunswick High School in 1997. Now, in 2011, Harding is not only the only swimming coach to ever guide the boys team to a win, he's now done it 100 times.

The 100th win in the program -- and in the career of Harding -- happened on Dec. 21 when South Brunswick defeated North Brunswick, 110-60.

"It was nice to start the program at my alma mater, but that's not the reason I went back to South Brunswick," Harding noted. "When I got a job at South Brunswick, they still didn't have a program. When they decided to start one, I jumped at the opportunity."

The South Brunswick team came a little late for Harding's own career, which had to wait until he joined the team at Montclair State University.

Harding was on the varsity squad for four seasons. He earned team MVP in one of those seasons and once held seven school records. Harding was also an All-Conference swimmer.

"That's pretty good for someone that was a walk-on," Harding noted.

Thanks to Harding, swimmers coming out of South Brunswick High School are much more known by colleges now.

When Harding started the program in 1997, he had 26 total members in the program. Since there weren't enough swimmers for two teams, South Brunswick was a co-ed squad for its first two years. Wins by co-ed teams are counted as victories for boys.

"The girls have about 78 or 80 wins," Harding noted. "We started the girls team once we got the numbers up a bit."

While starting from scratch, Harding's swimmers learned quickly. The boys team had a winning season in its second year of existence. It has become a steady winner over the years. The journey to a 100 wins is a long one, however, when there simply aren't a lot of opportunities.

"The first year, we had six meets," Harding noted. "The most we've ever had is 12 meets. Ten meets is about average for a year (Both South Brunswick teams are 4-1 this season. There are 11 meets on the schedule)."

Nevertheless, Harding still believed his team would excel.

"If you asked me that first couple of years if we'd reach 100 wins, I'd say someday," Harding said. "We put together a good six or seven years. We built this program as time went on."

Along the way, Harding was named the GMC Boys Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In 2010, Harding guided the South Brunswick girls to a GMC championship.

According to Harding, the growth in the program can be judged in more ways than wins.

"We've built up the interest in swimming at South Brunswick," Harding said. "We get a lot of support from the other students and the faculty. You can see that it has grown quite a bit.

"Winning is nice. It's also good to see how well the kids get along. They learn and they enjoy it. They go to movies and out to eat together. It's nice to see."

Harding didn't get a chance to do those things with his swimming teammates at South Brunswick High. Not one meal. Not one win. Thanks to him, however, there's a lot to celebrate with the program.