Bott's Wildcats still unbeaten in PAC-10 water

 

By DENNY DYROFF

When you get out in the western region of Chester County, you’ll find “Bott Boi” and “Bott’s Boys.” One is good on the dinner table and the other is good in the water.
The Amish have a noodle dish called “Bott Boi” which is made with square noodles, chicken and a variety of vegetables. At Owen J. Roberts High School in Bucktown, Kevin Bott coaches the boys’ swimming and diving team. For the past six years, Owen J. Roberts’ swim team has competed in the Pioneer Athletic Conference and “Bott’s Boys” have been unbeatable.
The OJR boys won all six league titles and have compiled a perfect 35-0 record during that span. This year’s team logged a 7-0 league record which lifted Bott’s eight-year career overall won-lost record to 82-15.
As a result, Bott has been named the 2008 Daily Local News Boys Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year.
“At the beginning of each season, we talk to the kids about what their individual goals are and what the team goals are,” said Bott, who also is head coach of the OJR girls squad. “Everyone said they wanted to repeat as PAC-10 champions.
“We knew Boyertown had a very good team. We knew that the meet against them would be the key meet in determining if we’d be successful at being champions again. It was an emotional meet – for both the boys team and the girls team.”
Both Owen J. teams came through with victories over Boyertown – and both finished as 2008 PAC-10 champions.
The OJR boys finished the regular season with a 12-1 overall record. The Wildcats also compete in the Central Penn Interscholastic Swim League where they finished runnerup to 2008 PIAA Class AAA state champion Wilson High. Owen J. went on to finish fifth at the District 1 Class AAA Championships and 14th at the PIAA Class AAA meet.
“The boys on this year’s team kept themselves focused,” said Bott. “They stayed with their practice plan and motivated themselves. They really did support each other and that’s the reason they gelled together.
“We had captains-by-committee with five senior swimmers – Mitch Scherer, Cory Schutz, Ryan Budinger, Alex Diehl and Alex Maugle – each of whom made it to districts and states. They had a rotation plan with each meet with some talking to team members before the meet and others on the deck with the officials for the pre-meet talk.”
Bott also gave props to his assistant coaches – all of whom seem to fit right in with the Pennsylvania German link. They were Krista Troutman, Bob Schweitzer, Leighanne Hertzog and Rob Kratz.
“A lot of credit goes to our coaching staff,” said Bott. “The whole program benefits from having such dedicated coaches. Our coaches really understand the sport and what needs to be done.”
Bott was a multi-sport varsity athlete at West Chester Henderson who went on to play water polo at West Chester University. He graduated from WCU with a bachelor’s degree in education and this year received a masters in education degree from the same school. His brother Jeff Bott has been the head coach at West Chester Henderson for the last 15 years.
“Having a brother involved in coaching helps a lot,” said Bott. “We almost feel like we’re a part of each other’s staff. Jeff has always been a great help to me.”