Bill Swink (right) with Patrick Grayson who later wrestled at NebraskaInterMat has learned that Virginia Hall of Fame wrestling coach Bill Swink has been named the head coach at Connellsville Area High School in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Connellsville has a long history of success as they have qualified for every WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) team tournament since its inception in 1979.
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Bill Swink began his coaching career in 1985 at Connellsville Junior High West. He coached there until 1991 when he moved to Virginia with his wife Andrea. While in Virginia, he continued to coach for 25 years, six of those as an assistant high school coach and 19 years as a head high school coach.
Swink spent most of his years as the head coach at Colonial Forge High School. He went to the school in the fall of 1999, when it opened, and spent 17 years at the helm of the Eagles wrestling program. While at Colonial Forge his teams won 16 District/Conference championships, 15 Region championships and 6 State championships. His high school head coaching record stands at 427 wins, 86 losses and 2 ties. Swink's wrestlers have won 23 individual state championships and earned All State honors 130 times.
He is currently the State Chairman of VAWA (Virginia Wrestling Association) and Activities Director at Spotsylvania High School. He has been involved with USA Wrestling for many years having served on the Board of Directors and the Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee. He has been the Athletic Director of Spotsylvania High School since 2016. During his five-year stint with the Knights, Spotsylvania captured the Class 3 state baseball championship in 2018, reached the girls soccer state semifinals that same year and they rebuilt their football and wrestling programs into Battlefield District contenders. Bill is closing in on his retirement at the end of June.
He was inducted into the Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2015 he was named USA Wrestling's State Chairperson of the Year and in 2017 received the President's Award from USA Wrestling. He was named Virginia Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association in 2004, 2007, 2012, and 2016.
Bill currently lives in Spotsylvania, Virginia with his wife Andrea and their daughter Natalie.
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