Farmington boys swim and dive head coach Drew Hansz stands with his team at the Division 2 state finals March 9 at Eastern Michigan University.
By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | Farmington Press | Published October 11, 2024
FARMINGTON — The year 2024 continues to be a road to achievements for Farmington High School boys swim and dive.
Following their electric Division 2 state finals showing March 9 at Eastern Michigan University, finishing state runner-up and earning the program its highest state finals placement in school history, head coach Drew Hansz was named the Michigan High School Coaches Association State Boys Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year.
“The MHSCA selection of Mr. Hansz from Farmington High School reflects positively on the school and community,” the MHSCA organization said in a press release. “MHSCA State Boys Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year selections have been based on the performance of their program over the years and/or their contribution to the sport, school, and community. These were some of the criteria to determine the selection.”
Hansz is slated to be honored at the MHSCA State Awards Luncheon Nov. 17 at the Great Hall Banquet and Convention Center in Midland.
Farmington finished one point shy of first-place Birmingham Groves at the state finals, tying with Birmingham Seaholm at 244 points. All three teams compete in the Oakland Activities Association Red league, which Farmington competed in for the first time in 2024.
Achieving history rarely is done with ease, and for the Falcons, it took everyone to make the dream become a reality.
“It’s about the kids,” Hansz said. “Really, the award is about those 25 kids that swam last year.”
Hansz said he’s honored to be recognized for the accomplishment, but he said there’s a multitude of factors that paved the way for his achievement.
Whether it’s his team or the coaches around him, such as Farmington girls head coach Kyle Kinyon and assistant coach Molly Tyler, who also coaches with him at Hansz’s dROP Aquatics, Hansz said he’s thankful to have a strong community around him.
Hansz remains humble if you ask him about his coaching achievement, immediately pointing to the team and his staff, but he said the memory of the state finals will always be something he looks back on.
“It was fun because somebody asked for a picture of me, and I was going back thinking, ‘I don’t think I have any pictures of me,’ and then I found one that was sent to me of us with the state team on the pedestal holding up the trophy,” Hansz said. “I was thinking, ‘Yeah, that was a good day.’”