Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Rochester, New York | January 30, 1947
Alma mater | Bethany College |
Playing career | |
1966-1970 | Bethany College |
Position(s) | breaststroke individual medley |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1970-1971 | Springfield College Asst. Coach |
1971-2004 | Tufts University Swimming and Diving |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 268-81 (Tufts) Percentage - .768 [2] |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
7 x NE/NESCAC Coach of the Year [3] ISHOF Dick Steadman Award '91 [3] '07 CSCAA Colleg. & Scholas. Trophy CSCAA 100 Greatest Swim Coaches of the Century | |
Don Megerle, a competitive swimmer at Bethany College, was a long-serving coach of the men's swimming team at Tufts University, a Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference school. In his 33 years as Tufts Head Coach from 1971 to 2004, he led the team to an overall record of 268-81, producing 92 Division III All-American swimmers, and 2 National champions. [3]
Don Megerle was born on January 30, 1947, in Rochester, New York. [4] At 13 in 1960, he swam and won events for Rochester's Central YMCA as part of their Junior swimming team. [5] That year he came within 1 second of breaking a pool record swimming the Medley Relay, [6] and he would continue to win events in freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke as a young swimmer. [7] Continuing to show stroke diversity as a 14-year-old youth swimming for Midvale, he won three events in three separate strokes at Rochester, New York's Oak Hill Country Club Invitational; the 50 yard butterfly, the 50 yard backstroke, and the 100 yard freestyle. His ability to master multiple strokes would become a great asset later in his coaching career. [8]
He was a graduate of Rochester New York's Irondequoit High School where he swam competitively. Swimming the breaststroke, he helped set an Irondequoit pool record for the Indians in January 1965 in the 200 Medley Relay with a combined team time of 1:50.6. [9]
In College, Megerle swam for the Bethany College Bisons, a small Liberal Arts College with Division III sports in rural West Virginia. At Bethany, he specialized in the breaststroke under Coach Tom Grall, who had previously coached at Irondequoit High. Bethany placed first in the President's Athletic Conference Swim Championship at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland during Megerle's Freshman year. [10] Megerle swam at Bethany during the tenure of six-time All-American backstroker Wes Anderson who won All America honors in the Medley Relay on three occasions between 1967-68 as well as in the 100 and 200 back. [11] Two former members of his High School swim team also swam for Bethany, having been recruited by Grall, including Bruce Kepplar who was team Captain from 1967-68. [10] [12] [13]
After college, Megerle was briefly an Assistant Coach at Springfield College under Coach Charles Silvia, who Megerle considered a valuable mentor. According to Megerle, Silvia "taught me how to handle people and get the most out of them...I owe him a great deal...there are 45 coaches in the country who served under him at one time". [4]
When former Tufts Swim Coach Edward Reed left for Brown University in the Spring of 1971, Megerle was hired in his mid-20's as a replacement by Tufts Athletic Director Rocky Carzo, largely over the phone according to Megerle. Reed, who had coached swimming at Tufts since 1966, would excel as a Brown University Swimming and Water Polo Coach. [14] Director Carzo believed Megerle could be a long-term asset to the Tufts Community. [15]
With a losing season in 1973, Megerle turned around a small struggling team, and had a notable winning season by 1975 with a record of 11-2 in dual meets. Megerle's 1977 Swim Team had five Division III Swimming all Americans, winning 22 of 26 meets, with all five All-Americans returning in 1978. [16] By 1984, the Tufts Team had enjoyed ten consecutive winning seasons, a remarkable transformation from 1950-1969 when the team failed to have a single season with more wins than losses. [17] [18] As a Division III NCAA team which could not offer scholarships to recruit swimmers, Tufts was still able to establish itself as a top New England swimming program. Tufts swimmers were attracted to the team and motivated to work harder as a result of the attention Megerle gave each team member.
In the 1980s Tufts Swimming was strengthened by the NESCAC conference refocusing their emphasis to centralize management of the Colleges in their conference to focus on sports other than football. Conference administrators began to see athletic programs as "crucial extracurricular activities", that could complement rather than diminish the critical place of academics. [19]
Word of mouth and skilled recruiting continued to attract top swimmers to the program. Pete Coassin was a 1980 four-time Division III All-America swimmer, who helped lead Tufts to a 36-5 dual meet record during his four years on the team from 1979-1982. [20] In 1985, Megerle coached three-time All-American Jim Wong, a 1986 Team Co-Captain, who Megerle believed "had a good chance of becoming the best swimmer Tufts ever produced". Four other All-America performing swimmers swam on the 1985 team. One of Tufts former superstars, Jim Lilly, who specialized in the butterfly from 1979 to 1982 became an All-American in 12 events and set four Tufts records. [21] [22] Mark Benvenuti, a 1996 All-American in the 200 Medley Relay, became a swim coach. [23]
In Megerle's last five years of coaching from 1999 to 2004, the team had a 39-7 dual meet record, with an overall meet record in his Tufts coaching career of 268–81. [14]
Skilled at keeping his teams at Tufts happy while motivated and focused, in 1998 he wrote "To perform well at any level, the athlete must understand that stressful thoughts create muscular tension that eventually interferes with your freedom of motion". To some swimmers Megerle's 5' 3" stature may have made him a little less imposing than former coaches. [24]
Megerle could be tough, but tried to never push too hard. He has said "Practice is important, but I believe swimming is more psychological than anything else. I want my guys to be in their best frame of mind before a meet. That way they'll give me their best performance". Confirming Megerle's focus, in 1977 Division III All-American swimmer Dave Linstedt said,"You have to credit the coach for our success. In my case he just talks to me before a race, and he gets me in the right frame of mind. Than I do better than I thought I would." [4] All-American Dan Whalen best expressed Megerle's ability to individualize coaching and focus on the unique skill of each of his swimmers, crediting the coach's low key program for his own success and noted, "Coach Megerle changed my style completely, he made me a swimmer; he is the only one who has ever worked with my style and stroke". [16]
Megerle was known as an able coordinator for NCAA Championship meets, making him particularly valuable in the competitive swimming community. In 1982, he was appointed as a member of the NCAA Men's Swimming Committee. [25] In March 1989 he acted as a Co-Director with Sue Peterson of Merchant Marine Academy for the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in Orlando, and in 1990 was a coordinator for the Division I NCAA Men's Championship in Indianapolis. [26] [27] During his 30 year coaching career, he had the patience, dedication, and work ethic to successfully administer 32 NCAA Division I Men's Championships, 28 NCAA Division III men's meets, and 22 NCAA Division III Women's events. [3]
After his long tenure as Swimming and Diving Coach, Megerle served as Director of the Tufts University President's Marathon Challenge, where he inspired hundreds of Tufts Students and alumni to train and compete in the challenging event. He coached Track and Golf during his tenure, taught swimming at Pine Knoll Swim School and worked as the staff host for the Tufts Travel-Learn Iceland Reykjavik Marathon and 2007 NOVA Marathon Documentary. [28] Megerle's 2004 replacement, Coach Adam Hoyt, built on Megerle's legacy. The Tufts Jumbos Men's Swim Team continually placed high in conference standings, and won the NESCAC conference in 2018, led by Engineering student swimmers Roger Gu and Michael Manfre, though Megerle had stepped down as Head Coach over a decade earlier. The women's team, also coached by Hoyt, recently won their first NESCAC conference in 2022. [29]
Well recognized in New England, Megerle was a seven-time New England or NESAC Coach of the Year. [3] As the first recipient, he was awarded the International Swimming Hall of Fame Dick Steadman Award in 1991, as a coach "who had done the most to spread happiness in the sport." Megerle's swimmers knew their Coach's light touch and sense of humor could reduce tension during tough meets. [28] [3]
In 2007, the College Swimming Coaches' Athletic Association (CSCAA) awarded him the Collegiate & Scholastic Trophy, an award given to the coach who judged by his peers in coaching, has "the greatest contribution to swimming as a competitive sport, and as a healthful, recreational activity in the province of undergraduate and scholastic education.” [30] Most impressively, the CSCAA later listed him as one of the "100 Greatest Swim Coaches of the last 100 years". As expected in 2023, he was inducted into the Tufts University Athletic Hall of Fame. [3]
The New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective liberal arts institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The eleven institutions are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Tufts University, Trinity College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.
James Steen served as a swim coach at Kenyon College from 1976 to 2012, where he became the first coach in NCAA collegiate history to have his men's and women's teams win a combined 50 Division III NCAA championships.
Brett Geoffrey Hawke is a former competitive swimmer who represented Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics. He was the head coach of the Auburn Tigers swimming and diving team of Auburn University in the United States until 28 March 2018.
Jack Bauerle is the former head coach of the University of Georgia (UGA) men's and women's swimming teams. At the end of his coaching career, Bauerle finished his 42nd year as a head coach for the UGA women's team and his 35th year as men's head coach. Bauerle began coaching the women's team in 1979 and later became head coach for the men's team as well in 1983. He has three children, John, Magill, and Duke, who have followed in Jack's footsteps.
Allen "Skip" Kenney was an American Olympic and college swimming coach who served as Head Coach of the men's swimming team at Stanford University from 1979 to 2012. In his 33-year dynasty, he coached his teams to 7 NCAA championships and to a remarkable consecutive 31 Pac-10 Conference titles.
Irondequoit High School (IHS) is a co-educational public school in Rochester, New York in the suburb of Irondequoit, New York. It was founded in 1924 as a part of the current West Irondequoit Central School District.
Edwin Charles Reese is an American college and Olympic swimming coach, and a former college swimmer. Reese serves as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns men's swimming and diving team that represents the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. He previously served as the men's head coach for the United States' Olympic Swimming Team in 2004 and 2008, as well as an assistant coach at the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2012 Summer Olympics. He is widely regarded as the greatest swim coach in history.
The Brandeis Judges are 17 intercollegiate sports teams that represent Brandeis University. They compete in the NCAA's Division III in the University Athletic Association conference, which they joined in May 1987. The team colors are blue and white, and their mascots are The Judge and Ollie the Owl.
The Tufts Jumbos football program represents Tufts University in the sport of American football. The team competes in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). The team's head coach is Jay Civetti, who has led the Jumbos since 2011.
The Tufts Jumbos are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The Jumbos compete at NCAA Division III level as member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Like all Division III schools, Tufts does not offer athletic scholarships. Coed and women's sailing are the only Division I sports at the school.
The Bowdoin Polar Bears are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine. The Polar Bears compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Bowdoin College currently fields teams in fourteen men's sports and sixteen women's sports. The polar bear team name was selected to honor Robert Peary of the class of 1877 who lead the first expedition that reached the North Pole.
The Trinity College Bantams are the varsity and club athletic teams of Trinity College, a selective liberal arts college located in Hartford, Connecticut. Trinity's varsity teams compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The College offers 27 varsity teams, plus club sports, intramural sports.
Teri McKeever was an American college and Olympic swimming coach. She was the head coach of the California Golden Bears women's swimming team at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1993 until her firing in 2023. Her Cal Bears teams have won four NCAA national championships. McKeever served as an assistant coach for the United States Olympic women's swim team three times, and as the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's swim team.
The 1979 Tufts Jumbos football team was an American football team that represented Tufts University in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) during the 1979 NCAA Division III football season. In their second season under head coach Vic Gatto, the Jumbos compiled a perfect 8–0 record. It was the first Tufts team to record a perfect season since 1934. The team played its home games at Ellis Oval in Somerville, Massachusetts. Key players included quarterback Chris Connors.
Greg Meehan is an American Olympic and College swimming coach, who has served as the women's head coach for the Stanford swim team since 2012, winning NCAA conference championships in 2017 and 2018. He was an Olympic Coach for the US Women's Olympic Swimming Team in 2016 and 2020.
Cherantha De Silva is a Sri Lankan medal-winning swimmer, who has represented his country at 6 World Aquatics Championships, 3 FINA World Cup's, 2 Commonwealth Games, 1 Asian Games as well as 1 South Asian Games, winning 7 medals. De Silva broke 6 Sri Lankan national records and 4 internationally recognized records . Further, De Silva qualified with 4 World championship B standards(B cuts) for the 2018, 14th FINA World Swimming Championships held in Hangzhou, China. He narrowly missed the A standard in the 50m Butterfly (SCM) clocking 23.48. While the A standard could have made history for Sri Lanka as the first Sri Lankan to achieve the A standard he missed it by 0.2 seconds. Also, De Silva was bestowed the "Best Sportsman of the Year" award at the school level, provincial and Sri Lanka school level.
The 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested March 16–19, 2016 at the 35th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.
The 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested March 16–18, 2017 at the 36th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.
The 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested from March 17-20, 2021 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina at the 39th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.
Katherine Cadwallader Douglass is an American swimmer who is currently on the USA National Team. In 2021 she placed second in the 200m meter individual medley at the 2020 Olympic Swimming Trials, qualifying for the US Olympic Team. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won a bronze medal in the same event. She swam for the University of Virginia where she competed at the collegiate level, and is a fifteen-time NCAA champion. In addition, she also holds the American record in the women's 100 yard butterfly, 200 yard breaststroke, 200 yard individual medley and 200 metre individual medley. At the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, Douglass became the first swimmer to win three individual titles in three different strokes.