- George Haines
George Frederick Haines (
March 9 ,1924 –May 1 ,2006 ) was a swimming coach who coached at theSanta Clara Swim Club ,Stanford University andUCLA . He also coached for six U.S. Olympic swim teams.Early life
Haines was born in
Huntington, Indiana , and became interested in swimming after joining the localYMCA , where he won two YMCA championships.cite web|url=http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/11282.asp|title=Coach George Haines, Swim Maestro: A Remembrance|date=May 1 ,2006 |accessdate=2007-10-08|last=Colwin|first=Cecil|publisher=SwimmingWorldMagazine.com] After moving to California, he founded theSanta Clara Swim Club in 1950. This club soon became a training ground for competitive swimmers from all over the United States.cite web|url=http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/w-swim/spec-rel/050206aac.html|title=Former Swimming Coach George Haines Passes Away|publisher=UCLABruins.com|accessdate=2007-10-08|date=May 2 ,2006 ]Olympics
In 1960, Haines was selected to coach at the
1960 Summer Olympics , and seven of his swimmers from Santa Clara also qualified, including 1960 gold medalistsChris von Saltza ,Lynn Burke , George Harrison, andPaul Hait ; the first class also includedDonna de Varona and Steve Clark, who would win gold at the 1964 Olympics.cite web|url=http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/w-swim/spec-rel/050206aac.html|title=Former Swimming Coach George Haines Passes Away|publisher=UCLABruins.com|accessdate=2007-10-08|date=May 2 ,2006 ] In the 1960s, multi-gold medalistsDon Schollander andMark Spitz joined Santa Clara to train with Haines prior to their success at the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympics.College swimming
From 1974 to 1978, Haines coached the UCLA men's swimming team. In 1982, Haines became the women's swimming coach at
Stanford University , coaching the team to an NCAA championship in 1983 as well as two second places finishes and two third place finishes.Legacy
He left Santa Clara in 1973, and retired from coaching swimming in 1988. In 2001, Haines was going to have a grand reunion with some of the club's former champion swimmers. However, the reunion was postponed because he suffered a stroke, which incapacitated him for the rest of his life. He passed away in a nursing home in
Carmichael, California onMay 1 2006 . He was married for 60 years to June Carter Haines, and the couple had five children. A bronze statue of Haines now stands next to the Olympic-size pool at the Santa Clara Swim Center.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
