Steve Van Der Beken can’t tell you how many undefeated seasons he’s had. He can’t list how many career wins and losses he’s compiled, nor can he recount how many plaques and trophies he has in his home.

He’s a coach with no use for awards and individual accolades. Instead, he’s the type who can remember the names of nearly all the hundreds of swimmers he’s mentored.

The only important numbers to him are the ones showing his swimmers making personal progress.

It’s this unique style that Van Der Beken brought to the Manchester Swim Team Rapids four seasons ago.

By the way, the club has won three outdoor state championships in as many years and will try for a fourth this year.

“We’re really just concerned with each swimmer getting better,” said Van Der Beken. “If each and every swimmer improves, the team will improve as a whole, and that’s the only thing that matters – steady improvement.”

Van Der Beken, joined by assistant coaches Jean Mitchell, Bill Ewing and Mike Peterson, holds two-hour practices six days a week. Van Der Beken uses practice time to perfect stroke mechanics and work on drills designed to strengthen and build cardio endurance.

Though team members vary greatly in age, Van Der Beken relies on high school seniors Ashley Green of Hooksett, Nick Catano of Goffstown and Amy Burke of Bedford to lead the team.

MST travels to meets on weekends with one overnight excursion for a meet hosted by Bowdoin College in Maine. Van Der Beken, who’s been a swim coach for more than 30 years, also splits his time as head swim coach for Manchester Central.

Though the financial cost of being a swimmer is not high, Van Der Beken said it’s the mental and time commitment that can be difficult at times.

“These kids are giving a lot to swimming,” said Van Der Beken.

“They’re giving up some of their social life, trying to balance things out with school, plus trying to make something of their time in the pool, be it go on to college or more.”

Van Der Beken described his swimmers as “a rare bunch of kids,” saying he’s most impressed with the sacrifices made to be a part of the team. This year, Van Der Beken’s roster includes around 60 swimmers.

“We sometimes go head-to-head with teams with more than 150 swimmers,” he said. “Today, a lot of kids would rather play a game, so we lose some kids to other sports. But the ones who stay can really have good careers later. Those are the stats I remember.”

Neighborhood-area members of the championship-winning team include: Christina Denbow and Zachary Denbow of Hooksett; Carter Pribis, Alaina Pribis, Stephen Muzzey and Kaelin Willette of Concord; Katie Donovan, Savannah Lavoie and Kathryn O’Neil of Auburn; Bow’s Stephanie Lynn, Kerry McMann, Katie Jenkins, Robert Jenkins and Richard Jenkins; and Bedford’s Leah Burke, Scott Ewing, Riley Ewing, Kelsey Ewing, David Delahunty, Linda Delahunty, Maria Colella, Kyle Colella, Katherine Berg, Hayley Berg, Karam Sandhu, Milan Sandhu and Neelam Sandhu.