It has now been forty years since a small band of coaches put the American Swimming Coaches Association in motion. The original organizers met between sessions of the 1958 Women's AAU Short Course Nationals at the SMU Pool in Dallas.

That year, the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association was celebrating its 25th birthday, while the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA today) was 36 years old. Today the American Swimming Coaches Association is the largest swimming coaches association in the world, with over 5,200 members, and the largest coaches association in any sport in the world.

Walt Schlueter, coach of the Miami Shores Country Club, provided the original concept. The new organization was to represent club coaches, particularly those in women's swimming who had no coaching organization to which to go. The membership of NISCA and CSCAA consisted of coaches who were officially coaching in either a high school or college. Unfortunately, at that time many coaches coaching high school and college teams were not accredited personnel of the respective institutions. Therefore, those coaches were not eligible to join either of the existing coaches organizations.

Coaches such as Jim Campbell, Walt Schlueter, Dick Papenguth, John Hussey, host "Red" Barr, Mary Kelly, Peter Daland, George Haines, Phill Hansel, Rose Mary Dawson and Buck Dawson were among those present at that first meeting. Phill Hansel volunteered to be acting Secretary/Treasurer and worked (without charge of funds) out of his new office at the University of Houston.

On December 3, between meetings of the 1958 AAU Convention, the first ASCA Board of Directors was elected in a conference room provided by Robert Tannehill at the Lakeshore Athletic Club. In attendance besides Tannehill were: Donald F. Anderson, William Armstrong, William Burrell, James Counsilman, Ray Daughters, Buck Dawson, Rose Mary Dawson, Ralph D. Erickson, Robert Fountain, James W. Greene, George G. Haines, Phill Hansel, Dr. Hal Henning, C. E. Herzog, Donald S. Hilliard, Adolph Kiefer, Thomas Lamar, Charles McCaffree, Jr., Phil Moriarty, Robert Ousley, David H. Robertson, Mrs. J. T. Thompson and Ben York. The following is a copy of the Official Minutes of the Meeting as they were written in 1958.

Minutes ASCA Chicago IL 12/3/1958

Phill Hansel acted as temporary Chairman and distributed the proposed constitution and bylaws to all those who were present; he then opened the meeting with a discussion of the general purposes and objectives of the proposed group.

Charles McCaffree, swimming coach of Michigan State University, described the College Swimming Coaches Association, which was formed in the 1920's. He stated that this organization had been very effective in serving collegiate swimming but that another group, such as the one proposed, was also necessary.

Dave Robertson, swimming coach of New Trier High School and president of the Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association, stated that his group had performed a similar function for high school coaches. He also expressed the belief that a group such as the one proposed was necessary to serve other areas of swimming.

Ray Daughters, chairman of the National AAU Men's Swimming Committee, stated that there had been other similar attempts in the past to form a group such as the American Swimming Coaches Association. He went on to say that these attempts had failed because they were "outlaw" groups which did not plan to cooperate with existing organizations. He then stated that he believed this group could make a great contribution to swimming, and that it had a great chance for success because it was designed to coordinate its efforts with those of existing associations, the AAU in particular.

Dr. Harold Henning, Chairman of Swimming in the Central AAU, stated that he felt such a group could be very effective in holding clinics and generally upgrading swimming. He offered the cooperation and support of the Central Association in the venture.

Following this, there was a general discussion on electing a Board of Directors and formally organizing the American Swimming Coaches Association. After many important comments from those present, it was decided that a Board of Directors would be elected at this meeting; and from these directors, the officers of the American Swimming Coaches Association would be elected.

The nominations were then taken, and the following were elected to the Board: William Armstrong, Peter Daland (Robert Gole, alternate), Rose Mary Dawson, George Haines, Phill Hansel, Mary Kelly, Thomas Lamar, Charles McCaffree, Walt Schlueter (Ray Daughters, alternate) and Robert Tannehill.

Following the selection of the Board members, the following officers were elected; Phill Hansel, President; Mary Kelly, First Vice President; Charles McCaffree, Second Vice President and Robert Tannehill, Secretary/Treasurer.

Sixteen members of the group paid their first annual dues, creating an initial fund of $160.00 in the treasury. Phill Hansel, Rose Mary Dawson and Bill Armstrong agreed to create an application blank to be distributed the following day at the National AAU Convention. Meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:

Robert Tannehill Secretary-Treasurer

A year and several newsletters later, Bob Tannehill resigned and Ralph Wright from the Plantation Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky, replaced him. Phill Hansel continued as President until 1962 and then retired in favor of Charles McCaffree from Michigan State.

The next year McCaffree was replaced by diving coach Dick Smith. At the 1962 Chicago AAU Convention Wright was succeeded as Secretary/Treasurer by Buddy Baarcke of the North Palm Beach Swim Club. During those first four years the original organizers adopted bylaws, selected an insignia and signed up 200-plus members.

Phase II of ASCA began in 1964 under President Jim Counsilman from the University of Indiana and was continued under Walt Schlueter of the Arizona Desert Rats. The energetic secretary during this period was Mike Milliman, coach of the Fresno Dolphins and Morrel High School. He became the first semiprofessional for ASCA by receiving a very modest monthly stipend intended to cover at least a portion of his out-of-pocket expenses. Mike's house became ASCA's front office as he began sending out the "ASCA Newsletter" with regularity. Dave Beaver, coach of the San Leandro Beaver Swim Team, was treasurer. True to his name, Beaver mailed out dues billings with a persistence unique among swim coaches.

Regular ASCA clinics were inaugurated in conjunction with the AAU Conventions, the AAU Nationals and even at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The first formal ASCA Clinic was held during the AAU Convention in Las Vegas which featured a talk given by Walt Schlueter on "Stroke Rhythm and the Percent of Effort."

The clinics that followed were informal. A panel of three, four or five coaches-of-the-moment were put up in front of their peers to talk about Cynthia Goyette, Catie Ball, Ann Fairly or any swimmer that had picked up a gold medal in a recent competition. The sessions were presided over by Doc Counsilman and were spontaneous and enthusiastically received.

This phase saw a vigorous growth in both ASCA services and membership as the roster swelled from 150 to over 1,300. Much of the credit for this growth must go to the creative thinking and continuous effort of Mike Milliman.

In 1968, the start of Phase III of the ASCA evolution, came President John Spannuth of the Phillips 66 Splash Club. His Secretary/Treasurer was water polo-oriented Chuck Hines of the Des Moines YMCA. It was under Spannuth's leadership that ASCA came into its own. His greatest achievement was the formation of the ASCA World Clinic as a combination annual meeting and coaches clinic. Until then the ASCA Clinic had always been held as the side show to some other organization's main attraction.

The first World Clinic was held on Thanksgiving weekend in 1969 at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale. Four hundred coaches registered for the three days of comprehensive lectures which were given by coaches and professionals in the fields of motivation, stress and other psychological and physiological aspects of competition.

John Tallman from the University of Washington inherited the unenviable task of carrying on Spannuth's programs. He solicited the aid of the Gaughran brothers, Jim and Bob, to hold the ASCA World Clinic in Palo Alto just before the San Francisco AAU Convention. The top coaches and physical educators from the West Coast carried the speakers' duties before an audience of almost 600.

Tallman's reign was most noted for its financial success as he generated nearly $14,000 for his successors. He also proposed the development of a paid position for an "Executive Secretary." The Board of Directors approached several people to take on the duties, but no one was willing to assume the job until the following year. The first choice, Charles McCaffree, declined after prolonged deliberation, and Tallman ended up serving as both President and acting Secretary/ Treasurer.

Phase IV started in 1971 when ASCA moved its headquarters to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Buck Dawson, Director of the Hall, proposed that ASCA make a $5,000.00 contribution to the Hall of Fame; and in return, he and his staff, which included Alice Kempthorne, would serve as Secretary/Treasurer and assume the administrative duties. The ASCA Board accepted the arrangement and Buck Dawson assumed the title of "Executive Secretary."

An all-Florida panel of coaches was selected to back up Dawson. Bob Ousley, whose Fort Lauderdale Swimming Association trained at the Hall of Fame Pool, was elected President. Buddy Baarcke of North Palm Beach was Vice President, and Jack Nelson of the Jack Nelson Swim Club was voted Secretary/Treasurer. That administration put ASCA on a solid foundation at a permanent address with regular office hours. Buddy Baarcke designed the ASCA box logo which is still in use today.

Under President Ousley the organization projected itself beyond professional services, taking on an aggressive role in influencing swimming policy. Ousley advanced the notion that a strong voice in the governance of swimming is a necessary obligation for the world's number one swimming coaches association.

This greater political involvement led ASCA to begin actively informing AAU delegates on various issues and influencing the outcome of votes on major issues. As one example, ASCA led the legislation, originated by Buddy Baarcke, Jack Nelson and Jay Markley, which changed the National Junior Olympics from an age group division format to a senior format. ASCA also sponsored the 1972 "Hershey Meet" which provided those swimmers who did not make the Olympic team with a summer championship. Until then, the summer nationals were never held during Olympic years. Although the meet was a $1,250.00 financial loss to ASCA, it induced the installment of a summer nationals following the Olympic Games by 1976.

At the ASCA Board of Director's meeting held during the 1972 ASCA World Clinic in Montreal, Buck Dawson advised the Board that he wished to step down from his position. He further recommended that the office remain in the Hall of Fame and that the Board employ Bob Ousley as its Executive Director. The motion was made and passed. Bob was hired for $3,600.00.

That hiring in 1972 started Phase V. During this phase, attendance at the World Clinic reached over 1,000 and the membership reached over 2,000. The first World Clinic Year Book, a composite of talks from the 1969 to 1973 World Clinics, was published in 1973.

The employment of Bob Ousley marked a period of slow, steady growth for the ASCA that culminated with a remarkable event at the Las Vegas World Clinic in 1983, where a proposal was brought forward by several members of the ASCA Board to "combine" with United States Swimming and move ASCA Headquarters to Colorado Springs. A debate was held at the Annual ASCA Business Meeting, and President Don Gambril acted as moderator in a "point/counterpoint" discussion of the merits of the proposal. Three Board Members spoke for the proposal, and three against. Then they heard from the coaches on the floor. The meeting, previewed for months in the ASCA newsletter, had the best ever attendance. Luminaries in the coaching world such as Doc Counsilman, George Haines, Paul Bergen, SMU Coach George McMillion and many others spoke in vociferous opposition to the move, citing the dangers of loss of independence from the National Governing Body, and spoke of the need for ASCA as a counterbalance to the layperson-dominated National Governing Body. When the mood of the audience was clearly anti-combination, Coach Don Gambril recommended that nothing more than further study be done at this time. Coach George McMillion made a motion to "Forbid even further discussion of this item. It should be put to bed once and for all. We don't want the Board even spending time on it again." George insisted on a straw ballot on his motion, and it was taken. The vote was 1,006 to 3 in favor of Coach McMillion's motion to kill further discussion. The strength and importance of an independent American Swimming Coaches Association was established. No further talk of combination with USS has ever been broached. Coach Ousley's retirement in 1984 brought Phase V to the end. He left a strong and independent ASCA organization in his wake.

In 1984 the Board sought new leadership and found Dr. Keith Sutton, a doctoral candidate at New Mexico with a coaching background and academic strengths in research and marketing, and he was hired as the new ASCA Executive Director. Bob Ousley worked part time to help bring Keith up to speed, and ASCA employee Anne Bloese also played her part in helping with the transition. Keith got a great number of projects started, and one that quickly came to fruition was THE JOURNAL OF SWIMMING RESEARCH, the only academically refereed journal in the world devoted entirely to competitive swimming. Keith's wife, Mary Sutton, was also a key player in bringing THE JOURNAL to life.

THE JOURNAL was born as a quarterly and immediately attracted a distinguished editorial board, with every major swimming scientist in the USA and several worldwide figures on the Editorial Board. Tragically, one day in August of 1984, Keith suffered a fatal heart stoppage and died at his desk in the ASCA office. He was 36 years old. The 1984 World Clinic in Chicago was conducted in a sort of trance, with many tearful moments reflecting on what Keith's death meant to his family and to the swimming world at large, as well as the loss to the Association. Filled with vigor, enthusiasm and an academic expertise that promised many exciting new ASCA projects, Keith was a shining light for the ASCA that was extinguished much too early.

In the fall of 1984, the ASCA once again accepted applications for a new Executive Director. Coach Jack Simon chaired the Search Committee, which also included Dick Hannula, Mark Schubert and Skip Kenney. The committee accepted applications for three months, then interviewed four final candidates in Colorado Springs in December and selected Coach John Leonard of Lake Forest, Illinois, as the new Director. John's background included the US Army, a physical education degree, a seven-year club coaching career in Syracuse, NY, and a seven-year club coaching career in Lake Forest. He had also coached at the High School, Prep School, NCAA Division III and NCAA Division I level during that coaching career. He began his career at ASCA in January of 1985. This marked the start of "Phase VI" in ASCA history -- our current era.

ASCA Job Service begins.

ASCA Staff grows to include Certification Coordinator and Age Group Program Coordinator.

SwimAmerica Learn to Swim Program is researched and begun with 7 initial programs.

Certification tops 1,000 coaches.

ASCA Membership tops 2,500 coaches.

SwimAmerica has 50 programs in place.

ASCA develops Position Evaluation for Head Coaching Jobs. Publishes "How to Hire the Best Swim Coach."

First Compensation Survey for Certified Coaches.

Schlueter Stroke Awards for Age Group Swimmers.

SwimAmerica tops 100 programs.

Certification tops 1,500 coaches.

ASCA leadership is instrumental in founding the World Swimming Coaches Association. Headquarters are established in ASCA's Fort Lauderdale offices. The new organization almost instantly grows to over 1,000 coaches in 64 nations.

ASCA Membership tops 3,500 coaches.

Levels 1-4 Required Certification Courses complete.

WASHINGTON, D.C. World Clinic sets attendance record of 1,501 attendees.

SwimAmerica tops 350,000 clients.

Certification tops 2,500 coaches.

ASCA adds business cards and stationery for coaches.

ASCA adds Health Insurance plan for coaches and adds financial planning services.

Club Assistance Program visits its 150th club team.

ASCA Membership passes Code of Ethics proposal as a requirement for full membership in ASCA.

Certification tops 3,000 coaches.

ASCA Life Insurance Program adds $250,000 to ASCA Reserve Fund.

ASCA Membership tops 4,100 coaches.

WSCA Gold Medal Clinic/Age Group Clinic separates and forms an "every fourth year" rotation of clinics.

ASCA adds "Mountain States" office in Utah.

ASCA Committee System expands to include more members in active participation.

ASCA Membership tops 4,300.

The phrase "Drug Wars" comes into being as the Chinese swimmers, obviously doped, dominate Rome World Championships. The ASCA Board votes for the first time to devote time and money to address the problem. The political ramifications within United States Swimming and FINA are huge. Coaches are involved in swimming governance and politics on a highly volatile issue.

ASCA Newsletter is published 12 times in a year, along with 1 Journal of Swimming Research and 6 AMERICAN SWIMMING Magazines -- 19 publications a year for $55.00.

ASCA Membership climbs to 4,450 members.

Certification reaches its 4,000th coach.

Drug Wars heat up with substantial publicity and recognition that ASCA and WSCA are leading the way in creating clean sport for swimming. ASCA's John Leonard receives the USS "Athletes Appreciation Award" for working on clean sport. He shares recognition with ASCA Board and WSCA Board.

SwimAmerica numbers top 750,000 in 600 programs.

ASCA Membership tops 4,600 members.

Certification climbs to over 4,500 coaches.

WSCA becomes the primary agent to fight the Drug Wars, with Peter Daland, Forbes Carlile, John Leonard and Cecil Colwin leading the way. FINA meets quietly with WSCA leadership to share ideas.

ASCA certifies over 70 coaching clinics across the USA, as the concept of local clinics to supplement the World Clinic grows.

At the World Clinic, ASCA President George Block asked, "How many of you are willing to pay a premium for ASCA to fill its advocacy role in swimming?" Over 80% of the room raise their hands, and the ASCA Board renews its commitment to the Drug Wars and working effectively within United States Swimming to represent coaches.

ASCA forms a major alliance with US Water Polo to have water polo and swimming coaches in the same association and certified.

SwimAmerica™ trains its 400th Program Director, and over 350 site supervisors work in addition.

The ASCA Revenue Budget tops 1.1 million dollars, for its first million dollar year in history.

As the year ends, another Drug Wars saga emerges at the Perth World Championships, and ASCA and WSCA are again credited with playing a major role in demanding that FINA clean its house. We're not popular with some FINA figures, but the press asks the crucial question... "where would this problem be if the coaches had not demanded action?" The press, WSCA, ASCA, United States Swimming and Australian Swimming are all leading the way, and as the year ends, there is hope that FINA may finally have awakened to the danger of drugs in our sport. Can Sydney be clean?

SwimAmerica™ joins forces with SPEEDO, Inc. to put quality swimsuits on all SwimAmerica™ learn-to-swim children, making sure each has the right kind of suit for successful swimming lessons.

A new "Partnership Relationship" begins with United States Swimming and ASCA, authored by ASCA Vice-President and former USS Board Member Pat Hogan. The new era of cooperation begins as Chuck Wielgus takes over the helm at USS.