Retired swimming coach Bob Steele has been inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame, recognizing an impressive 46-year career for the Garden Bay resident.
Steele began coaching in 1960. He was a member of the USA Swimming Master Coach/Consultant program, visiting teams with a high school swimmer in the world rankings.
He has coached championship teams at the summer league, high school – Peoria Richwoods and Deerfield, Ill. – club teams – Justus Aquatics, Fla. and Wichita, Kan. – and university levels (Northwestern, Southern Illinois, and California State-Bakersfield) during which time he had All-Americans at all levels. He has had 19 swimmers world ranked in 41 events and coached two American Record holders.
His collegiate teams won five NCAA II National Championships in seven years at California State-Bakersfield. His SIU teams won the National Independent Championships six times and finished in the NCAA I Top Twenty 10 times. His swimmers have competed in the Pan Am Games, World Championships, Olympic Games, sports festivals and represented the U.S. in international meets. Steele was the aquatics director at the Orlando International Aquatic Center hosting 12 national aquatic championships, World Games Team Trials and many Florida Swimming events.
He served USA Swimming as the Director of Athlete and Coach Development for nine years, initiating and overseeing such programs as Select Camps, Outreach Camps, Coaches Colleges, OTC Aquatic Center development, National Championships, Olympic Festivals, the Training Design Handbook, Stroke Posters, Lane lines Newsletter, and more.
Steele has lectured on swimming throughout the U.S. and many foreign countries. He has made presentations at coaching clinics, and operated the Winning Spirit Racing Camps for teams throughout the country. The focus at team camps were the ingredients of swimming success: skill, fitness, motivation.
His foundation for recruiting, retention and improvement is centered around fun, motivation, and using the science of swimming to help kids “be the best they can be.”
Steele’s coaching philosophy is, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it” and “If it’s fun to watch, it’s fun to do.” Former swimmer Roger Von Jouanne termed “Steele training” as “distracted pain.”
Career moments of pride for Steele include having 55 lifetime bests of 60 swims at NCAA II’s, having seen so many swimmers improve to swim FAST, and having had a positive effect on so many young people’s lives through competitive swimming.
Coach Steele is an ASCA Level 5 certified coach with extensive international experience.
“My career focus has been to help other teams and my swimmers, coaches, parents and BOD’s, be the best they can be,” Steele said. “I hope my legacy is training fun and AccuTraining along with developing personal traits, values and skills that help every person reach a higher level. Coach Hard n’ Swim FAST.”
