Coach Roger Nekton: Making a Splash — By Bob Reinert During his nearly four decades as coach of the boys' swimming, diving and water polo programs, Roger Nekton has compiled an enviable record (more than 30 New England championships) and glowing reviews from his athletes. Later this year he will be inducted into the Water Polo Hall of Fame.

Sports Illustrated may have only just recognized him as one of its many "Faces in the Crowd"-the magazine's weekly roundup of sports newsmakers-but Roger Nekton '69 (Hon.) has always stood out during his nearly four decades as a coach and physical education instructor at Phillips Exeter.

Not only has Nekton been successful, he has remained unfailingly positive in his approach. "He has got unbelievable enthusiasm for what he does," says Exeter Athletic Director Dave Hudson. "I have never seen him really down. I think that's infectious with his athletes."

Nekton's upbeat style has produced large dividends for the Exeter boys' swimming and diving and water polo programs. Last fall, the water polo team won its 20th New England championship since Nekton established the team in 1971. Swimming and diving has won 11 of the last 12 New England titles. The two programs have produced numerous All-New England and All-America athletes from among boys who sometimes had little or no experience with the sports before coming to Exeter. Many have gone on to compete and thrive in the college ranks.

Mike McLean '02, cocaptain of Exeter's water polo and swimming and diving teams, will move on to Stanford next year. Like many other swimmers before him, he has been shaped by Nekton's coaching. "He's not a coach who's going to sit there and yell at you," McLean says. "It just makes the whole atmosphere in the pool better. He's unlike any coach I've ever had."

Nekton, on the other hand, doesn't consider himself anything special. "I just happen to have found a school that's willing to pay me to do my hobby, my passion," he says. "I don't know that it gets much better than that."

Yet teaching and coaching at a private school were the furthest things from his mind when he came out of Springfield College with bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education. Instead, Nekton had his eye on coaching at a small college. "Colleges are looking for experienced people," Nekton says. "I had no experience." His mentor, Springfield swim coach Charlie Silvia, pointed Nekton toward Exeter, where there was a full-time opening in the physical education department. "I didn't know anything about private schools," says Nekton, who applied, was hired and started working here in fall 1963.

It was the second time Nekton had started down one path only to wind up on another. Growing up in Valley Stream, NY, he began as a wrestler, switching to competitive swimming at Springfield when he tired of struggling to make weight in wrestling. He went on to captain the New England championship team in 1960 as a senior. "The influence of my dad was fairly significant," says Nekton of the late Armas Nekton. "He loved swimming, but strictly as a recreational-type thing. He was a lifeguard."

Nekton took to Exeter almost immediately. "It was a match," he says. Yet Nekton inherited a once-strong swimming and diving program that had faltered before he arrived. "We were down in the middle of the pack," he says. Not until 1969, '70 and '71 could he feel momentum building, around the same time he introduced water polo to Exeter.

Nekton launched the sport as a way to more fully utilize Exeter's sparkling new aquatic facility. "We got into the pool, and all we had was swimming," says Nekton. Though he had no academic background or practical experience with it, Nekton decided to look into water polo. To test the waters, he took some Exeter athletes to Brown University to try the sport. "There were around a dozen guys, and probably three or four of them were swimmers," Nekton says. "I think we had a couple of basketball players and a couple of hockey players. They all got excited about it. The next season, we had 20 or so kids."

He may have been unfamiliar with water polo, but in ways it reminded him of a sport he knew better. "I had a smattering of basketball coaching and skills classes at Springfield," Nekton says. "It was obvious that there's a lot of carryover between the two sports."

Eventually, one of his players became good enough to try out for the U.S. junior national team. Nekton drove Charlie Bitzer '81 to Fordham University to give it a shot. While he was observing, Nekton learned that the junior national team was looking for student coaches. He applied and was chosen. Thus began a nine-year stint for Nekton with USA Water Polo that saw him travel around the world and work with the best athletes the sport had to offer. In 1984, he was assistant director of facilities and supplies for water polo at the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Nekton points out that Exeter granted him leave whenever he asked for it to work with USA Water Polo. "It's pretty nifty to have a school that's so supportive of growth and the process of learning more," he says.

In return, Exeter got an outstanding coach. "He's one of the most respected coaches in New England in both of those sports," Hudson says. "I have never heard an athlete who's competed for him say a bad word about him. He has fostered a great tradition in terms of team pride and spirit with those kids."

To hear Nekton tell it, his Exeter student-athletes have simply brought him along for the ride all these years. "It's been humbling," Nekton says. "I've been very, very fortunate that way. I'm a lucky guy."

In more ways than one. Kathy Nutt arrived on campus in 1973 to teach physical education and coach the girls' swimming and diving program that Nekton had established after Exeter went coed in 1971. In 1977 she and Nekton were married.

"He definitely was a mentor," says Kathy Nekton, who now coaches boys JV swimming. "When I first arrived, I really didn't know a whole lot about swimming. We really do enjoy coaching together. We think a lot alike."

James Nekton, Nekton's son from a previous marriage, graduated from Exeter in 1985 as an All-America water polo player. Roger and Kathy's son, Tyler, now a junior at Old Dominion University, spent a postgraduate year here. Their daughter, Maikki, is a sophomore at Salisbury University in Maryland.

Nekton, an ageless 63-year-old grandfather, would count his water polo players and swimmers as part of his extended family. "I'm blessed with good kids," he says. Swimming, he adds, is a "real hard-nosed sport," and one that faces increasing competition for top athletes, many of whom opt for other sports.

Not that Roger Nekton would let something like that get him down. "That's why swimming is my favorite sport to coach. It's the biggest challenge."

Scouting Report At the end of this season, Rich Aaronian (left) hung up his skates after 26 years as the coach of the boys junior varsity ice hockey team, the last 12 of them assisted by Lawrence Smith (right). He went out with a bang, too: his skaters compiled a 15-4 record, including a nine-game winning streak that culminated in a 3-1 victory over Andover. BASEBALL: If the experts are right, this will be quite an interesting spring for Sam Fuld '00 and the Stanford University baseball team. Fuld, a sophomore center fielder, was chosen as a third-team preseason All-America by Baseball America magazine. That same publication selected Stanford as the nation's No. 1 team. This was no surprise. After all, Fuld had an exceptional freshman year for Stanford, which reached the College World Series (CWS) championship game. He was a third team All-America and second team Freshman All-America. Fuld led Stanford in walks with 32 while hitting .357. He batted .396 in the postseason and earned All-CWS honors. Last summer Fuld played with Team USA and hit .310. During his career at Phillips Exeter, Fuld had clearly demonstrated his potential. As a senior, the four-time team MVP and three-year captain hit .550 with six home runs, 12 RBI and 13 stolen bases, and was named Gatorade New Hampshire player of the year. LACROSSE: Julia Bergofsky '98 wasted no time beginning her collection of national titles at Middlebury College. As a freshman, she played on NCAA Division 3 championship teams in field hockey and lacrosse. A year ago, she added more lacrosse hardware. A fourth championship may soon follow. Lacrosse Magazine has picked Middlebury as the preseason No. 1 team in Division 3 and has projected Bergofsky as its national player of the year. In last year's title run, Bergofsky was the team's second-leading scorer with 42 goals, 22 assists and 64 points. She was named a first team All-America and national midfielder of the year. Bergofsky, now a senior, has also earned All-America honors in field hockey. At PEA, she was captain and most valuable player of the field hockey, lacrosse and indoor track and field teams.

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