OCBP Swimmer Comes Home to Take Over the C-Cerpants

Graham Parker may be a Cherry Hill native, but he calls Ocean City home.

The 25-year-old returns to Ocean City to become the new coach for the Ocean City C-Cerpants, the club swim team that practices and competes at the Ocean City Aquatics and Fitness Center. Parker was an assistant for the club team two years ago.

The eight-year veteran of the Ocean City Beach Patrol was a standout swimmer at Cherry Hill East High School and at Notre Dame and Wright University (Ohio). He earned conference honors at both universities.

Parker was also an assistant coach at St. Leo University in Florida, where he is completing his graduate work in special education.

“This was a chance to come back home to New Jersey and back to the beach,” Parker said. “I actually coached in 2008-09 as an assistant coach for the C-Cerpants. To be a head coach for the first time was a major draw for me.

“I think coaching and teaching are definitely related fields. I enjoy teaching, whether it’s academics or a sport I grew up doing. This is a chance to further my career and make a positive impact on the community.”

The C-Cerpants include swimmers as young as 6 years old and up to high school seniors. Club swimming is a year-round activity for many swimmers, and is as competitive as it gets for the older athletes.

Parker's goal is to grow the team while teaching the younger members how to master different strokes and getting the older athletes trained to get the best out of them.

“I think we are on the upswing," Parker said. "I’m going to bring a new approach and a positive attitude to the team. There is a renewed interest.

“We definitely have some talent," he said. "Amanda Nunan is one of the top distance freestyle swimmers in the country for her age group. We also have a couple swimmers from the Ocean City High School swim team on the female side like Rachel Chain and Noel Styler. We are a young team, but I think in a couple of years we can definitely make a comeback.”

The club currently has about 60 athletes, but Parker hopes to add to that number in the immediate future. Spring registrations begin next month.

“I would like to bring it up to 80 or 90 if not more,” Parker said. “If we can back close to 100 swimmers that would be awesome.”

Brittany Sedberry, a former C-Cerpant swimmer and standout runner for Ocean City High School, will be assisting Parker. Sedberry ran at Duke University and swam for La Salle University after transferring. Jeff Reilly, a standout masters swimmer, will also be assisting Parker.

For information, go to occcswimteam.com.