Amid darkness at 5 a.m. on a recent weekday morning, varsity swim coach Christian Bonner was already on the school’s pool deck, watching as his athletes completed their laps. His voice reverberated across the Olympic-sized pool — whether he was explaining the various swim sets or shouting words of encouragement.
His coaching is rooted in a long athletic history. Throughout his years as a student, Bonner was deeply involved in more than eight different sports, including more uncommon ones such as judo and wrestling, but he was never a competitive swimmer.
When his high school days came to an end, he believed that his athletic career would end as well; however, in his first year at De Anza College, an unexpected conversation changed his athletic trajectory in his undergraduate years.
“While on the bleachers, I heard a bunch of athletes talking about swimming for school one day, and I sat up and started chatting with them,” he said. “They needed people on their team, so I ended up swimming my freshman and sophomore year in college.”
It was in swimming that Bonner discovered coaching as well. While on the college swim team, Bonner realized he needed a job; coaching swimming provided much needed money to him at that time, while also allowing him to maintain a heavy academic load. Seeing how he could help others improve while also making money, Bonner applied for the job as a private coach.
From his undergraduate years at De Anza and San Jose State until he started graduate school at NYU, he continued to coach intermittently. Eventually he ended up at Saratoga High, where he has served as the head swimming coach since 2008 and coached hundreds of swimmers along with his co-coach, science teacher Kristen Thomson.
In that time, his high school athletes have broken multiple SCVAL, CCS and state records, with many of them achieving national recognition as both National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association All-American and Academic All-American status.
After 17 years as a coach here, Bonner still takes pride in seeing his athletes’ grow year-by-year.
Said Bonner: “My favorite part about coaching is seeing how sports help to instill an individual’s work ethic, and then also seeing how individuals change or improve during the course of the season. Those are the things that are both important and rewarding in coaching.”
Although coaching swimming is not very profitable, Bonner’s personal interest in the sport continues to keep him coming back.
However, his choice of profession also takes into consideration another standpoint — Bonner sees coaching swimmers as a way to give back to the local community. Being able to help his athletes grow both in and out of the pool, and how the lessons he teaches translates to success later on in life is one of the most fulfilling feelings for Bonner. For him, having the ability to influence others in such an uplifting way overpowers the demotivating lack of profit from the job.
Despite this extensive workload, Bonner’s professions stretch beyond the pool deck. He also teaches ceramics at De Anza College, while serving as the ceramic tech. He has been on staff at the college for 18 years. In 2019, he also began running his own ceramic restoration business.
Through years of coaching and teaching, Bonner has built a career defined by passion and dedication. Whether on the pool deck or in the classroom, his ability to guide and inspire those around him remains at the core of everything he does. Bonner aims to make not only athletes, but also individuals who carry the values of hard work, resilience and growth beyond the sport.
“I have a personal belief that anybody can actually do pretty much anything that they’re willing to set their mind to, so long as they’re willing to work hard enough at it, and understand that sacrifice is the key,” Bonner said.
