WILBRAHAM – If swim coaches kept a tally of the number of laps in the pool racked up by their teams, the frequent swimming points would offer the option of some first class, top-notch destinations.

For one local swimming tactician, the gate time – 20 years in the making – for one prestigious arrival locale has come for Minnechaug head swimming coach Erik Mandell, who was inducted into the Massachusetts High School Swimming Hall of Fame.

He was honored on April 27 along with Andover coach Mark Taffe at the EMISCA awards banquet at the Natick Elks Club.

Upon learning of his nomination, Mandell, 47, reflected on his achievement.

“There are ups and downs in this business, and I think if your goal as a coach is to end up with this type of recognition, you are probably in the wrong profession in the first place. I have been surrounded by a lot of wonderful people through the years who really made the program what it is today – they are the true Hall of Famers. I hope that our alums can all take personal pride and satisfaction in the award,” Mandell said.

During Mandell’s 20 year high school coaching career, starting with three years at Longmeadow High School, and 17 and counting currently at Minnechaug, Mandell has posted a most impressive resume of accomplishments.

Regarding the Falcon boys’ swim team under Mandell, the dual meet record stands at 164-37-1 including five undefeated dual meet seasons. From the second meet of 2009 through the second to last meet of 2013, Minnechaug won 51 consecutive dual meets. The boys’ team in fact has won 90 out of the last 93 dual meets. Also, along the journey to the hall, Mandell has guided the Falcons to seven sectional championships (2008-2014), and has seen 10 individual state champions crowned as well since 2000.

Not stopping there, for the girls’ program, Mandell has orchestrated a dual meet mark of 140-61-1 including an undefeated 2017 campaign leading to a league title. Throughout the Mandell guidance, the girls’ teams have won four sectional championships – Mandell notes that Minnechaug was the underdog going into all four meets – and five top five team finishes at the state meet.

“I love the competitive aspect of high school sports. I still get chills thinking about some of the great moments our swimmers and teams have had over the years. We have had some huge dual meets in front of packed houses with standing room only crowds, Mandell said. “That is something you only get in high school swimming.”

Not giving away all the tricks of the trail to success, Mandell offered some analysis of what has made him a successful swim coach.

 “I pride myself on my organization and attention to detail. We have had a large roster with a wide range of abilities and I have tried to coach people up to their ability and potential with a workout which is appropriately challenging,” Mandell said. “Making our meet lineups is a challenge in that there are always multiple goals involved, including winning the meet, qualifying swimmers for Western Mass., and maximizing their potential for the future. It can be a tricky balancing act, but I put my time in on the analysis and planning end to try and make sure the team and individuals have the best possible outcome.”

Looking back at some of the highlights of the many championships won, Mandell pointed out a few standout moments.

“I will always remember Mike Berthaume winning the butterfly at states in 2006 and the announcer shouting after the race; ‘Mike Berthaume, you are an All-American!’ Mike then went running around on the pool deck al la Jim Valvano looking for people to hug … that was a special moment,” Mandell said.

“To win seven straight Western Mass boys’ titles is an achievement of which we are quite proud. Those boys’ team probably won championships in every possible way with a changing cast, and it was satisfying to show that it wasn’t just a brief window of opportunity carried by a few great athletes,”  he added.

In addition to molding champions in the water, Mandell’s influence extends outside of the chlorinated waves, molding his athletes with skills for the real world as well.

“Coach Mandell has impacted me as both an athlete and a person. He gave me the opportunity to not only swim on several championship teams but also provided an example and a code of values for being a better human being. He takes a personal interest in all of his athletes regarding their futures [college plans] and activities outside of the pool,” Minnechaug class of 2013 swimmer Hannah Tarpey said. “He always managed to make it to a couple of my field hockey games every year and was always one of the first to reach out and congratulate me on any awards or honors that I received. As a coach he has very high expectations, but he makes sure to provide the tools and training so that you can reach them and probably surprise yourself.”

“He was truly the best coach and mentor any of us could have asked for.  I have a movement disorder called Paroxysmal Kinesogenic Dystonia (or Dyskenisia) which is extremely rare, only a few thousand people in North America have it, and went undiagnosed from when I was 12 to 16. It was diagnosed a month before turning 17.  As it tended to come out during performances, and my father is a psychologist, everyone thought it was performance/anxiety related, so my Dad and coach designed a program for me, which used to be conducted after swim practice every day to help me improve,” Berthaume said.

“I’ve had many coaches for a variety of sports throughout my life, but when I think ‘Coach,’ I only think ‘Mandell.’ Coach Mandell’s commitment to his athletes’ success in and out of the pool is unique. He has high expectations for his athletes – expectations that sometimes seemed impossible to meet – but these expectations reveal his high regard for us. In setting lofty goals for his athletes – whether a personal best time or getting accepted to a ‘reach’college – Coach Mandell makes you want to earn his confidence and prove his high expectations valid,” . These few sentences do no justice to the impact that Coach Mandell has made on my life and those of many of my teammates’, but I am so thrilled that his dedication to his athletes and the sport of swimming is being honored through his Hall of Fame induction,” class of 2011 Christine Murphy said.

“Coach Mandell is unique in the fact that he takes on all the burden and responsibility of ensuring the team is successful. I never worried about performing well in the sectional meet because I knew that he had prepared me for my best performance and he had thought about the meet in every decision he made throughout the season,” class of 2012 alum Kristen Webber said. “Coach continued to invest in my swimming career even after graduating from Minnechaug. He attended my college meets, offered advice, and continued to push me. He always invested in my success, regardless of who I was swimming for.”

With this summit reached on his resume, Mandell shows no signs of let-up on his meticulous ways of preparation.

 “It is a little bit amazing to me to think that I have been the head coach at Minnechaug for 18 years, which is really an entire generation. The goals for the program always stay the same. We may not always have a championship team, but with our program I feel that we should always be consistently towards the top.” Mandell said. “The bar has been set very high by past teams and we will continue to challenge the current and future swimmers to reach that bar.

“I am still a work in progress and know enough at this point to know that I don’t know it all. It is a good and necessary challenge as a coach to continue to incorporate new techniques, strategies and methodologies.”