WHEELING – When you think of Bill Brubaker, your thoughts immediately turn to swimming.

It’s unavoidable.

Brubaker is the winningest coach in OVAC history, regardless of sport. His Linsly swim teams have brought home more than 30 conference championship pennants. That number may grow this week.

The annual OVAC swimming championships will be staged Saturday at Steubenville High. Brubaker is such an imposing figure in the sport that the championships are named in his honor.

Brubaker has been directing the OVAC swim championships for some four decades. His dedicated and passionate work has earned him a spot in the OVAC Hall of Fame in the “Family” category.

“Serving as meet director could be real tough if not for a great corps of people who help with the championships. Since we moved the meet to Steubenville some 15 years ago, the meet has went smoothly,” Brubaker said. “The Steubenville administration has been great. My job as director is made much easier from a group dedicated and passionate about swimming.

“Our biggest concern is weather. Bad weather really can make things difficult. If we can’t get the meet in on Saturday, major problems would surface,” he added. “West Virginia schools cannot compete on Sundays, Steubenville has other events scheduled at the pool and other tournaments are scheduled. We have come close to having to postpone the meet, but we have always been able to get it in.”

Brubaker’s passion for the pool was ingrained during his youth in Pennsylvania. He was a four-year letterman in swimming at Mechanicsburg High (1974 grad) before enjoying a banner career at West Virginia University. He was a four-year letterman with the Mountaineers, served as team captain and won the John Law Award as the outstanding senior swimmer.

After obtaining his bachelor of science degree in education from WVU, he spent a year as an assistant coach with the Mountaineers’ swim team and served one year as meet director of the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming Championships.

“Having my name attached to the OVAC championships is a great honor and came as a big surprise,” Brubaker offered. “I hope it means I am doing a good job.”

It certainly means he is doing a good job.

“I can think of no sport in the OVAC that has been impacted by one person more than Bill Brubaker and swimming. Almost every swimmer who has ever competed in the OVAC has been taught, observed, encouraged and promoted by Bru. Through his connections with AAU and swim meets throughout the U.S., he has taken the sport to an entirely different level,” OVAC Executive Secretary Tom Rataiczak said. “For 37 years, Bill has been running the OVAC championship, a tenure only exceeded by Ron Mauck in wrestling. That’s the reason we named the meet after him. You will never find a person to replace him who will devote that many years and the time and energy that it takes to put together a quality meet of that caliber.

“What few realize or observe is that while Bill is running the meet, he is also coaching two of his own teams, both of which are usually in the hunt for the championship. Yet an outsider would never be able to see that, as he is totally focused on seeing the meet is run properly,” he added. “Bill paces the poolside solving problems and concerns the same way the water rolls off the swimmers’ backs. Never rattled, always observing, noticing what needs to be done to improve the meet, he makes so many decisions on the fly that the average fan can’t see problem that he just solved.”

Brubaker looks back on his career with a sense of pride. and rightly so.

“It has been a great ride. I appreciate getting into a situation that works – that being recognizing what you can do and making most of the situation best for the kids,” Brubaker said. “It’s been a good time for a long time. Coaches at other schools have been very helpful. We have tried to help kids throughout the valley.”

“Bill carries tremendous respect with coaches in the conference, in West Virginia and Ohio, and the Eastern seaboard. I would love to know how many coaches he coached and developed over his tenure. That respect was well-earned through his efforts,” Rataiczak said. “I said when we named the event after him that if every swimmer and coach that Bill impacted through his career was a drop of water, we could fill and drain the pool several times.

“Bill is truly a giant in this sport. While he will eventually be replaced, as we all will, he will never be matched for his service, dedication, and enthusiasm for swimming,” he continued. “He is truly a first-class director who I was blessed to work with.”

BUBBA’S BITS

KUDOS to former Wheeling Park basketball standout Ryan Reinbeau for his humanitarian efforts. The WVU frosh is heading to Nicaragua in March, taking part in a “Medical Brigade Program.” Wheeling Intelligencer staffer Dorsey Kindler superbly highlighted his mission last week. Reinbeau will be working alongside physicians and help the less fortunate. Anyone willing to help his financial cause can do so by contributing to fund at all WesBanco locations and make a donation to the “Ryan Reinbeau Medical Brigade.” Or they can send a check to WesBanco Elm Grove at 2207 National Road. in Wheeling. I know Ryan quite well. He is a class act from a class family. We wish him the best in his endeavor.

THURSDAY’S COLUMN featured the great work that Weirton Madonna product Joanna Bernabei is doing as head women’s basketball coach at the University of Pikeville in Kentucky. Pikeville is also the same school that Shadyside native and former St. John Central gridder Matt Nardo served as an assistant football coach before moving on to his current post as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Emporia State.

BASKETBALL SEASON is winding down quickly. A week from today, the OHSAA will conduct its sectional girls’ basketball drawing meetings. The boys’ drawings will be held Sunday, Jan. 31.

Kapral may be reached at bkapral@timesleaderonline.com.