Coach Zhu Exceeds Expectations

Brooklyn, N.Y- Coach Alan Zhu is a Physical Education teacher at Millennium Brooklyn High School. After transferring to MBHS in 2015, he has already found his place as coach of the swim and table tennis teams. 

Coach Zhu grew up in New York with his parents and younger sister. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, where he excelled in swimming as the team’s co-captain and MVP. He still holds two records, years later. Zhu stated, “I couldn’t go to [state championships] my freshman year because I broke my leg, but I went every year after that.” After graduating he moved on to earn his bachelors in sports management at Queens College. According to his teacher profile on the MBHS website, Zhu later secured his first coaching position of their swim team for four years. Zhu has coached many influential swimmers, one of which who qualified for the Olympics.

As well as being a coach, Zhu is also a business owner. He owns the swim school Swim Safe New York. “It’s a weekend business, we have about, currently, 200 students.” He took over his family’s swim school in 2008, however his parents and sister continue to help. The Zhu family has a strong history in swim. His parents used to swim for the Canton provincial team in China, and his sister Annie swam at the US Olympic Qualifiers three times since she was 13.  When he’s not teaching or by the pool, he’s pursuing a master’s degree in science. Classes take place twice a week at Brooklyn College, and he hopes to, “learn a little bit more about sports management.” Zhu is also engaged, and plans to get married soon. “She’s funny, intelligent, and kind hearted.”

Zhu’s students at MBHS don’t know much about his personal life. Magda Golabek, a senior in his Physical Education class, claims he, “looks like someone who goes to the gym or something.” Barbara Chrobak, a senior in Swim Gym, describes him as, “a person who would eat a lot of salad.” Students think highly of him as a teacher, and value his motivation to help students improve. Chrobak says, “he has a good sense of humor and is a great physical education teacher. He has the motivation to be able to tell a student how to fix their mistakes.”