James Counsilman
Biographical details | ||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | December 28, 1920|||||||||||||||||
Died | January 4, 2004 Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 83)|||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | Ohio State University | |||||||||||||||||
Playing career | ||||||||||||||||||
1940–1942 | Ohio State Buckeyes | |||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Breaststroke | |||||||||||||||||
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||||||||||||||||||
1952–1957 | Cortland State Red Dragons | |||||||||||||||||
1957–1990 | Indiana Hoosiers | |||||||||||||||||
1964, 1976 | U.S. Olympic Swim Team | |||||||||||||||||
Accomplishments and honors | ||||||||||||||||||
Championships | ||||||||||||||||||
NCAA (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973) | ||||||||||||||||||
Awards | ||||||||||||||||||
International Swimming Hall of Fame (1976) Distinguished Flying Cross (1945) | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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James Edward "Doc" Counsilman (December 28, 1920 – January 4, 2004)[5] was an Olympic and hall-of-fame swimming coach from the United States. He was the head swimming coach at Indiana University (IU) from 1957 to 1990.[6] He served as head coach for the USA's Olympic swim teams for 1964 and 1976; and was inducted as an Honors Coach into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1976.[7]
Early career
Counsilman was born in
Post Ohio State, Counsilman went on to earn a master's degree at the University of Illinois (1947), where he also served as an assistant coach, before pursuing a doctorate degree in physiology from the
While at Cortland State, he coached freshman George Breen in 1953. Breen was molded by Counsilman into a standout athlete, and broke the world record for the 1500 meter freestyle.[10] Breen, qualifying for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, set another world record in the 1500 meter freestyle with a time of 17:52.9 during the preliminaries, but was unable to match the time in the finals and received only a bronze medal.
Once at Indiana University, he continued to train Breen for the 1500, an event for which he would receive a second bronze medal in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Ultimately, Counsilman was credited with molding Breen into one of the finest Olympic distance swimmers in United States history.[11]
Tenure at IU (1957–1990)
At IU, Counsilman coached the men's team to 6 consecutive
He served as the Men's Head Coach of the USA's swimming team at the 1964 Olympics (where the USA men won 9-of-11 events) and at 1976 Olympics (USA men won 12-of-13 events).[9]
In 1961, he was named Coach of the Year by the American Swimming Coaches Association.
In 1964, he led the Indiana team to its sixth straight USA national championships (AAU at the time).[12]
In 1979, at the age of 58, he briefly became the oldest person to swim the English Channel.[13]
Swimmers who swam for Counsilman include:
Post IU
Doc Counsilman is known as one of the greatest swimming coaches of all time. He was also an innovator in the sport,[14][15] pioneering underwater filming, and even watching swimmers underwater, as can be seen in Royer Pool at Indiana University today. He was also the instigator of hypoventilation training, a training method which consists of swimming with reduced breathing frequency.[16]
Counsilman died in Bloomington, Indiana, in 2004, after developing Parkinson's disease.[5]
He has been inducted into various Hall of Fames, including: the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1976), Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame (1988), IU Athletics (2001),[17] the American Swimming Coaches Association[18] and SUNY Cortland (2005).[9]
See also
References
- ^ New York Times 5 August 1946 Page 28
- ^ New York Times 5 April 1953 Page S1
- ^ New York Times 20 December 1942 Page S5
- ^ New York Times 5 April 1941 Page 9
- ^ a b Doc Counsilman, 83, Coach And Innovator in Swimming. Published by The New York Times on 2004-01-05; retrieved 2010-03-29.
- ^ a b 2009-10 Men's Swimming Media Guide Archived 2011-03-10 at the Wayback Machine p.123, from the IU Hoosiers website; retrieved 2011-02-02.
- ^ "Dr. James E. "Doc" Counsilman (USA)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- ^ a b More about Doc page from the Doc Counsilman: Making Waves page of the WTIU; retrieved 2011-02-02.
- ^ SUNY CortlandHall of Fame; published in 2005, retrieved 2011-02-02.
- ^ "World record progression 1500 metres freestyle", Wikipedia, 2019-12-19, retrieved 2020-01-31
- ^ "George Breen, a Four-Time Olympic Medalist, Dies After Cancer Battle". Swimming World News. 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
- TIMEon 1963-08-23; retrieved 2011-02-02.
- ^ James 'Doc' Counsilman Archived 2011-03-11 at the Wayback Machine from the Indian Hoosiers website; published 2004-01-04; retrieved 2011-02-02.
- Swimming World Magazineonline. Published 2004-01-04, retrieved 2011-02-02.
- ^ IU's legendary swim coach to be featured in WTIU special by Ann Wesley, Indiana University. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
- S2CID 26688092.
- ^ IU Athletics Hall of Fame - 1991 Inductees Archived 2011-03-10 at the Wayback Machine from the IU Hoosiers website; retrieved 2011-02-02.
- ^ Counsilman's entry from the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame subpage; retrieved 2011-02-02.
Bibliography
- The Science of Swimming, by James E. Counsilman, Prentice Hall, Juni 1968, ISBN 978-0-13-795385-1
- The Complete Book of Swimming , by James E. Counsilman, Atheneum, 1977, ISBN 978-0-689-10530-2
- Competitive Swimming Manual for Coaches and Swimmers, by James E. Counsilman, Counsilman Co., 1977, ISBN 978-0-253-31395-9
- The New Science of Swimming, by James E. Counsilman and Brian E. Counsilman, Prentice Hall, April 1994, ISBN 978-0-13-099888-0
External links
- Counsilman Center for the Science of Swimming – Official website
- Dr. James E. "Doc" Counsilman (USA) – Honor Coach profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame at the Wayback Machine (archived April 2, 2015)