The Greatest Show on Surf

By Phil Murphy
DigitalSports.com

Rich Gordon is far from an ordinary high school sports coach.

Gordon, in his third season at the helm of Robinson's swim and dive team and his eighth year in the program overall, arrives at practice with a five-o'clock shadow and a kettle black, vintage motorcycle helmet nestled in his arm. Along with a visibly heavy leather jacket, the helmet serves as protection for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle that Gordon rides to the Rams' practices and meets.

"It's therapeutic," he said.

To be fair, Gordon's eccentric habit isn't the only thing extra-ordinary about Robinson's boys' swim team. The Rams are the five-time defending Virginia High School League Class AAA state champions.

To put that in perspective: The last time the Rams did not win the state championship, the current Robinson seniors were in the sixth grade.

"This is a great opportunity to carry on the legacy the previous swimmers have set for us," said senior Kyle Browne, who will attend the US Naval Academy to be a part of their rowing team. "It is a great way for us to represent the school doing what we to do. And that's swimming, working hard day-in and day-out."

In the history of the VHSL only six other Class AAA athletic teams have won five or more consecutive state titles: Lake Braddock gymnastics (1995-99), Harrisonburg boys' tennis (1971-76), Mills Godwin boys' tennis (1982-86), Washington-Lee indoor track (1953-57), Frank W. Cox field hockey (1989-95, a national record in the sport) and Great Bridge wrestling, which won 16 titles in 17 seasons (1991-96, 98-2006).

"When I got on this team as a freshman, it was the most memorable experience of my life," said Tim Wingert, a Penn State-bound senior who was one-quarter of Robinson's 400-meter relay team last season that set the national high school record in the event at 3 minutes, :32.98  seconds on February 10, 2007. "Being on this team is a big part of my life, a huge part of my life ... I'll always remember them."

The dominance with which the Rams have won the championships, though, is most noteworthy. In the 11-year history of the Class AAA swim and dive classification, Robinson boasts five of the six largest margins of victory, including last season when the Rams blew away the competition with 274 points. Oakton finished second with 158 points, resulting in the largest disparity ever in the event.

"When they are freshmen when they come in, they see what kind of special people we have – our senior class this year, especially," Gordon said. "If they see what we can achieve, they kind of want a piece of that, too.

"It gets addicting. It perpetuates itself."

With the understandable pressure to excel at every meet, it has been a long-standing tradition at Robinson to alleviate the stress with "shower parties" -- post-meet, locker room sessions that permit his team an opportunity to wind down.

"The shower parties are great," said junior Geoff Bobsin, one leg of the state record-holding 200-meter medley relay team. "We celebrate, have good sportsmanship, blast music and just have fun,"

Added senior Colin Weaver: "We just go all crazy, blasting music in the locker room, having a great time. It's definitely a great way to socialize. We include other teams on it, too. It's always so fun."

Despite the relatively low-key atmosphere, in reality, the universal desire to keep the streak in tact is inescapable.

"We stay competitive because we know what our goals are," said senior Derek Bui, a William & Mary signee. "The years ahead of us have set pretty high goals and we don't want to be the class that loses it. We want to match their standards or try to go higher, but at least match the standard of becoming state champions."

Bui is the state record holder in the 100-yard breaststroke (0:57.60), 100-meter breaststroke (1:04.03) and, along with Bobsin, a member of the record-holding medley relay team.

"We're a really competitive team and we just like winning," he said.

For a program that boasts six state records and one national record -- a seldom approached level of success at the major high school level --  the Harley-riding coach's outlook, like his demeanor, is humble and relaxed, but confident.

"Cautious optimism is all I'm going to say," Gordon said of the Rams' chances to claim a sixth consecutive state championship. "I'm very optimistic about what this team can achieve, and we'll just have to see how it plays out.

"These guys have the ability to step up. When push comes to shove, I'm looking forward to see what happens."

** Photos courtesy of ramsd.net.