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01/29/2020 11:00 PMA swimmer since he was nine years old, Connor Coyne felt disappointed that he wouldn’t get to compete for a full high school swim team when he started at North Branford High School. Instead, Connor competed individually with the Branford-Guilford co-op swim squad in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
“For past two years, I’ve swam as a team-of-one, which was somewhat challenging, because I wasn’t able to score points for the team,” says Connor, now a junior. “Going into high school, I talked with many of my coaches who have known swimmers who have been teams-of-one, and they just kept telling me there was a way to swim, and I’d have the opportunity.”
That opportunity came when athletes from North Branford, North Haven, East Haven, and Guilford joined forces to form the Greater New Haven Warriors’ boys’ swimming and diving team this season. The Warriors have 26 people on their roster in their first campaign as a co-op.
“We’re swimmers four separate towns who are forming one big bond and one strong team,” Connor says. “I’m happy to be swimming with old friends and many new friends coming on from North Haven. We all came together with one common interest.”
Connor joined the Soundview YMCA Stingrays as a youngster and has been swimming with the club for the past seven years. While Connor focused on the breaststroke when he started swimming, he has added a few more events to his repertoire over the years.
“I’ve done the breaststroke since day one, but I really disliked the [butterfly] for a long time,” says Connor. “I’ve been working on it for the past two or three years and started to love it and started to get really good at it.”
Connor’s main events now include the 100 breaststroke (in which he has a personal-best time of 1:03.58), the 100 butterfly (personal best of 55.57), and the 200 individual medley (2:04.64). The 200 IM features 50 yards each of the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle strokes.
“[The 200 IM] puts together my better strokes and one of my worst, but I still love the event,” Connor says.
Warriors’ Head Coach Martha Phelan is seeing Connor make an impact in his favorite events, but also notes that Connor’s versatility makes him “irreplaceable” in the 200 medley relay. With the work ethic that Phelan has seen from Connor thus far, she has high hopes about what he can achieve during the postseason.
“Connor is the first one in the water and trains with purpose. He never has an off day,” Phelan says. “Connor is not intimidated in those close matchups and is a fierce competitor. He is unassuming, respectful, and the one to make sure everyone is on task and attentive. Connor is receptive to feedback and seeks any advice to better his performance. I am excited to see what he will do in the postseason.”
Connor qualified for states in both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM in his freshman and sophomore years. His goals for this season include breaking the one-minute mark in the breaststroke, while qualifying for the top heat in both events at states. Connor also wants to qualify for the State Open before he graduates.
“One goal for every meet is to beat your best time, then you also have bigger goals you want to pursue, too,” says Connor, an honors student. “As a team-of-one, I was only setting personal goals, but now, we’re setting team goals and team postseason goals. Some of our goals are going into SCCs and trying to get in the top places. Winning would be nice, too.”
Connor, who works as a lifeguard at the Soundview YMCA, swims for 11 months of the year and has learned a lot from several influential coaches throughout his career. Connor credits his club coaches, Jen Amasino and Cliff Johnson, for their support and being “an inspiration to me and one of the big reasons I’ve stayed with swimming all these years.” He also feels grateful to his parents for their encouragement.
With swimming being such a big part of Connor’s life, he hopes to continue competing at the collegiate level one day. For now, though, Connor is concentrating making the most on his first experience as a member of a high school swim team.
“I love the sport. I love how the only way to get better is working hard,” Connor says. “You have to put in the work to get what you want. It started out challenging, but working with different people, teams, coaches, I started to develop a love for the sport.”