Coach fondly recalled by her Kids
Former swimmers want Northampton’s pool named after longtime coach Gwen Whildin, who recently died
Northampton High swim coach Cullen Mentzell recalls having a “healthy respect for” and a “little fear of” his own former high school coach, Gwen Whildin.
Many years later when Mentzell became an assistant under Whildin, who spent 32 seasons as a coach at Northampton, he noticed how much she “hated” Senior Night each year. He assumed it was because the festivities interrupted Whildin’s meticulous warm-up/warmdown routines.
“Before the meet one season,” Mentzell said, “I noticed she was upset so I asked her about it. She said the reason it was so difficult for her is because it was tough for her to see the kids move on from Northampton. She poured everything she had into the program at Northampton.”
Known to her swimmers simply as Coach Whildin, the retired educator passed away recently at age 69. She is remembered fondly by many of her former athletes and colleagues – as a strict, old-school coach who mentored and nurtured her pupils long after they graduated from the school and their swim lanes.
Whildin, who retired in 2016, died at her home in Pompano Beach, Fla., of complications from diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), according to her obituary. She had been awaiting a kidney transplant.
A petition is already started – the brainchild of one of her former swimmers at Northampton – with more than 2,000 signatures gathered to name the middle school’s new pool the “Gwen L. Whildin Natatorium” in her honor.
Scott Miller, who along with his sister created the Change.org petition, said his plan is to pass along the petition, with signatures, to Northampton superintendent Joseph Kovalchik, as well as to members of the school board.
Kovalchik said he credited Whildin for making a major impact at the school in her three-plus decades.
“Gwen coached and taught at Northampton for 32 years,” said Kovalchik, who spent several seasons as the Konkrete Kids boys basketball coach. “As a former head coach, principal, and now as superintendent, I’ve always admired her commitment to detail and her dedication to her swimmers and the sport of swimming.
“Gwen’s record speaks volumes to that commitment and dedication. She always wanted her swimmers to be their best in the pool and in life.”
Whildin’s record, as Kovalchik noted, is indeed impressive.
After she coached swimming and taught physical education at Panther Valley for four seasons, Whildin signed on to do the same at Northampton. She coached 72 state finalists, 18 state champions, a boys state championship team in 1993 and eight Mountain Valley Conference championship teams. Her overall record, boys and girls combined, was 379-228-5. Whildin was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2010.
She also spent one extremely successful season as the girls swim coach at Emmaus. Her 2006-07 team enjoyed a perfect season, claiming District 11 and PIAA championships, while winning six state individual and relay titles.
A graduate of Parkland, she also founded and coached the KIDS US swim club.
Another legendary former Lehigh Valley swim coach who started his career with Whildin in 1980 remembered her as a stern disciplinarian who also had the ability to connect with her athletes.
Mike Seip was the boys coach at Northampton for two seasons alongside Whildin, who started as the school’s girls coach. When Seip left for Emmaus, where he enjoyed a successful 18-year stint, Whildin took over both Konkrete Kids teams.
“She was very demanding, very tough and very disciplined with the kids,” Seip said, “but she did it in a way that they respected her. They knew she genuinely cared for them. She was probably initially scary to a lot of her athletes but she had a heart of gold.
“We kept in touch after she stopped coaching. I know I’ll miss seeing her and talking with her. It’s a major loss to the entire swimming community.”
One of Whildin’s most decorated swimmers was Tiffany Houser, an 11-time PIAA state champion at Parkland. Houser was introduced to the sport by Whildin in 1985 and coached by Whildin until 1999.
Houser was a two-year captain and collegiate All-American at Arizona State.
“Parkland did not have a [swim] program at that time,” she said, “so I started with Coach Whildin at KIDS. I trained with her throughout my high school career during the summer, spring and fall.”
Houser said she received word of Whildin’s worsening health about two weeks before her coach passed away on Jan. 21.
“I booked a flight for the next morning after having convinced Gwen I wasn’t going to get all sappy but to share stories for an hour,” Houser said. “She finally relented and said, ‘I would love that.’
“While on the flight there, with the help of many friends, I started compiling a list of stories on a yellow legal pad of paper. I covered five sides, both front and back. Fast forward to my arrival, she was holding a teddy bear – many people don’t know that she had a massive collection, ironically, because she was the toughest woman on the planet but had the heart of a teddy bear – and had on her Northampton T-shirt.
“We swapped stories for an hour.” Houser recalled the intensity that Whildin demanded from all of her athletes and the fun activities she liked to incorporate.
“She was the type of coach who didn’t offer compliments often,” Houser said, “but when she did you knew you did something awesome.”
Numerous swimmers coached by Whildin shared similar stories of her toughness and kindness. She leaves behind a tremendous legacy, said Miller, a member of her 1997-98 team that finished undefeated (boys and girls) and captured a league title.
“Coach Whildin was my greatest mentor and life coach,” he said. “Two weeks before she passed away I was able to call her and say goodbye.
“It was a short but meaningful conversation. The last thing I said to her was, ‘The life lessons and teachings you gave to me growing up doesn’t stop with me. I am carrying them onto my son. I love you, Coach.’ ”