With de Bear leading, UA is top public school team
Mike de Bear’s 14 seasons as Upper Arlington boys swimming coach have included seven Division I district championships and six state runner-up finishes, four of which have come since 2020.
The credit for becoming the state’s top public school program, he says, belongs elsewhere.
“There’s a place for people in our program who are willing to do the work,” de Bear said. “But I don’t know how to get kids to swim fast without putting in a whole lot of work.”
One of the Golden Bears’ top performers this season, junior Caden Blamer, said a conversation with de Bear, The Dispatch’s All-metro Boys Swimming Coach of the Year, changed the trajectory of his career.
“My freshman year, I was an allsprint guy and Mike and I sat down and talked about trying the (individual medley) group,” Blamer said. “It helped me grow a lot. I got into a lot better shape and had a great year this year.”
Having finished 24th and 20th in the 50-yard freestyle at state his first two seasons, Blamer was seventh in the 50 free and eighth in the 100 backstroke this year. He also led off the third-place 200 medley relay and swam on the third-place 200 free relay. All of that came after he won district in the 100 back.
That kind of performance helped UA win district by 155.5 points and amass 229 points at state, the most for the program in 19 years. The Bears finished second to Cincinnati St. Xavier, which won its 44th championship.
“I don’t think I’ve had as much fun coaching a group, and that’s especially important 14 years in at UA and 20 overall as a head coach,” de Bear said. “It makes those long days a lot easier.”
A 1997 graduate of Thomas Worthington, de Bear swam and played water polo in high school and played the latter at Syracuse. Upon graduating from college in 2001, he returned to his high school alma mater as an assistant for three years before leading the Dublin Scioto program from 2004-10.
UA won district each of his first three seasons, and after finishing 34th in 2018, was a state runner-up again within two years.
Seven individuals and a relay have won state titles in de Bear’s tenure.
Senior Gabe Miller said a small piece of advice from de Bear played a key role in his growth. Miller did not make state as a freshman but qualified in the 50 and 100 free each of the past two seasons, finishing eighth in the latter this year.
“He told me not to think as much and that’s really helped me,” Miller said. “Just relax and not try to overthink everything.”
De Bear admitted he tries, sometimes unsuccessfully, to follow his own advice. He’s already mulling potential lineups for next season, which for UA typically begins the week after Thanksgiving.
“We’re meeting the incoming eighth graders soon,” de Bear said. “You can’t help but think about what they’ll become in three or four years.” dpurpura@dispatch.com @dp_dispatch