ROGER LALONDE / Staff

Lely High swim coach Carl Kolling stands in front of the swim team's trophy case that shows some of the many awards his swimmers won over his 30 years. Kolling is retiring at the end of this school year and will not be coaching next swim season.

ROGER LALONDE / Staff

Carl Kolloing, Lely swim coach, is retiring.

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“Hi, this is Coach K. I can’t get to the phone right now. I’m probably on the deck or in the pool. Please leave me a message. Go Lely!”

After 30 years, Lely’s Carl Kolling will be changing his greeting on his home and cell phone.

The Lely swim coach is retiring.

He is among a number of teachers, staff and administrative people in the Collier County Public Schools system who did not receive a one-year extension in the state’s Drop Program. When a teacher reaches retirement age, or 30 years of service, they can enter the Drop Program that runs for five years, with a three-year extension.

However, the extension is done annually and is up to the district for renewal. Kolling, who would have been in his third year, and a number of teachers in the school district, were not extended.

“It’s been a great program for teachers who wanted to extend their retirement time,” Kolling said. “You received your teaching salary and additional monies as if retired, with the extra money going toward your retirement.”

Kolling was asked to coach swimming next year, but chose not to continue.

“It has been my philosophy for years that a coach should be a faculty member,” he said. “Communications are much better and you are there at the school with the kids. You have a better grasp of how your team is doing academically as well. I just don’t think I should be an off-campus coach.”

Kolling’s years with the school district go back to opening day of Lely High school and before.

A graduate of the University of Akron (Ohio) in 1967, he taught four years in Exceptional Student Education in the Tallmadge School District before joining the Naples High staff in the same position which he has always held. His wife Bonnie was a nurse and is now a teacher in the Gifted Student Science Program at Gulfview Middle School.

Both have won the prestigious Golden Apple Award, recognizing the top teachers in the county. Only six teachers a year for all school levels are honored. Bonnie was recognized in 2003 and Carl in 2006.

He reminisced about coming to the sunshine state.

“We had thought about Florida, but the real push came when my parents suggested that if we were going to make a move we should do it before we started a family, or got tenure, which would make it tougher to leave,” he said.

He first was a golf coach at Naples. He helped organize the former Southwest Florida Golf Conference.

Kolling said he was fortunate to coach Connie Chillemi when she won the state championship in 1973 for Naples and 1974 and 1975 when he coached at Lely. She became a professional golfer.

He moved to Lely when it opened in 1974, organizing its swim team in 1978.

“In those days the swimming program was funded by parents,” he said. Lely, Barron Collier and Naples were part of the Southwest Florida Conference.

“In the first year it was mostly club swimming not school meets,” he said. “Schools only competed when it came to district competition.”

He said his team had the element of surprise in district competition.

“When we showed up no one knew us,” he said. “But I had four girls who were aces. Three qualified individually for state and all four went to state on the relay team.”

The team included Marco’s Carol Klotz, Paula Sorrenti, Rita Dedio and Lisa Orr.

“I was so happy, I jumped into the pool, clothes and all.”

It wouldn’t be the last time he’d get a soaking.

In those days he taught life saving in the summer months at the Island Country Club on Marco.

“Dottie Weiner was in my class, getting recertified,” he said.

On Marco she is known as “Miss Dottie” for having taught thousands of kids how to swim and forming the first swim team on the island.

A few years later he was able to get proper swim lane ropes for the Marco YMCA, replacing clothes lines.

“Whenever I see her she tells me about all the bruises she got in trying to save me,” he said. One of the first practice sites for Lely was at the West Lake Golf and Country Club.

“We were the best team on turns because the pool was only 36 feet long,” he said.

When Kolling thinks back to other top swimmers, he smiles when he talks of George Frazier, formerly of Marco, who still holds the school record in the 100-yard breaststroke from 1984.

“A hot shot club swimmer came over to George and asked him his time in the 500 freestyle,” Kolling said. “George told him around five minutes and the hot shot laughed. When the race was over George went 5:02 and was drying off when the guy finished.”

Marco boys, now men, made up a flashy relay team. In 1991 Tom O’Neil, Scott Hogan, T.J. Shea and Mike Schyck broke and still hold school records in the 200-yard medley and 200 freestyle. O’Neil still has the record for the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. Schyck still is on the record board for highest number of points scored in dual mete competition off a one-meter dividing board in 1989. Hogan still has the record for the 100-yard backstroke, set in 1993.

Marco’s Jim Josberger also was no slouch. He stills hold the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle marks, set in 1989. Marco’s Gordon Glover, Nick Rimes, Travis Tittle and Trevor Smith remain on the board for the 400 freestyle relay, set in 1999.

Justin Eaton has the mark for the most points scored din a championship, 1996, from a one-meter diving board.

On the boys side the only recent record holder is Marco’s Harry Stephenson. He holds the records for the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle that he set last season as a sophomore.

For the woman Christine Fort still has the marks for dual and championship points, set in 1987 off the one-meter diving board.

Kolling remembers how Jennifer Johnson was in the top five in the state in 1997 in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly. She still holds the records in all three events.

Eight girls’ records were broken and reset by four swimmers who have dominated the last three years.

They are Mercedes Farhat, Wesley Blassneck, Louisa Farhat, all of Marco and Ling Su.

Mercedes, a senior, holds individual records in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard breaststroke. Blassneck, a junior, is the best in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley and 500-yard freestyle.

The two joined Louisa, a junior and senior Ling Su to set marks in the 200-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle and 400- freestyle relay events.

Throughout Kolling’s career, it has not been the quality of swimmers produced, but the lack of numbers. On average he has had 28 to 30 swimmers, total, for boys and girls teams.

Yet in 2006 Kolling took an untimely swim after his team was second in Class 2A, Region 4 competition.

“I was expecting to move swimmers on to state, but coming in as regional runner-up was beyond our expectations.”

At the end of last season Kolling awarded Mercedes Farhat the first Coach’s Award.

“Mercedes earned the honor for four years of leadership in the pool, the classroom and the community,” he said.

Farhat said, “Coach Kolling has always been an inspiration, a real motivator. He looked to the top swimmers to work with the younger swimmers, to make the team better.”

Farhat recalled the last time the relay team swam together.

“Wesley, Louisa and I had been swimming relays together for three years, training to be our best,” she said. “Before the race, he said to race this one for old time’s sake. I started crying.”

For Kolling the old times never felt so good.