Jul - Aug 2002 View the PDF - Swimnews Online

COLWIN ON COACHINGALL ROADS LEAD TO BALTIMORECecil ColwinMurray Stephens, Head Coach of the North BaltimoreAquatic Club, has made a distinct contribution toAmerican swimming, both as a coach of world-classswimmers and as an entrepreneur whose influencenow spreads worldwide. Stephens’ successful program,based in one of the world’s rare coach-owned facilities,continues to attract a steady stream of coaches andofficials eager to observe his methods.From Stephens’ state-of-the-art complex,containing two 50-metre pools, one indoors and oneoutdoors, the NBAC has sent forth 10 Olympicswimmers who have won a total of 5 gold, 2 silver, and1 bronze medals in the Olympic Games. Recently, ina constant search for new talent, the NBAC programhas spread into neighbouring Harford County,Maryland, and South Central Pennsylvania.A Great MotivatorCoach Murray Stephens stands for high ideals foryouth and is an educator in the true sense of the word.Stephens’ easy-going manner belies the tenacity hebrings to every job he tackles. He is a tough, determinedleader with tremendous energy,resourcefulness, and ingenuity. Heknows what he wants and generallyachieves it. I’ve never heard himuse an alibi or make an excuse;winners don’t need them.Stephens is a past master ofthe finer points of the sport,especially in his ability to inspireswimmers to win. In his own quietway, he is one of swimming’s mostable motivators. His swimmers goabout their mission in a purposefuland dedicated manner, almost as ifsomething of the coach’spersonality has rubbed off on them.The team is proud of their traditionof excellence, which motivatesthem to swim faster and faster.Before he entered high school, he swam mostly athome in a pool that his father built for him to improvehis swimming. In high school he learned to race inall strokes, excelling in butterfly and free style.Although not destined to reach the Olympian heightsas a swimmer, he was good enough to win Collegeconference championships in the 200 and 500 freestyleand compete in the U.S. Eastern Championships.Stephens started the NBAC in 1968 together withTim Pierce, who had been interim coach at LoyolaCollege, and later a high school and YMCA clubcoach. Stephens and Pierce started the NBAC teamafter Coach Arthur “Reds” Hucht had rebuffedStephens’ interest in coaching at the KCO (Knights ofColumbus), and Pierce’s Y club administrators hadrebuked him for “training Y club swimmers to toomuch success away from the Y program.”That summer, Pierce’s Loyola High Schoolswimmer, Bob Gavin, made the United StatesOlympic Trials in Los Angeles. In the 1969-70 season,NBAC beat KCO in major local meets that KCO hadnot lost in over 20 years. In 1971, Pierce decidedthat he only wanted to coach high school, andMurray became the NBAC Head Coach.Acquiring His Own FacilityIn its early years, the NBAC team was based at LoyolaHigh School’s six-lane pool. At times the NBAC rentedadditional pools but not on a regular basis. In 1985Stephens heard about an old pool, owned by an 82-year-old gentleman who had bought the pool in 1945after working there as a boy from the time it wasopened in 1930. After the war, the original building,a large wooden structure, had burnt down, and thefacility had lapsed into a state of disrepair.Stephens went to look at the pool and noted that,although the pool was 110 feet wide and 200 feet longwith a shallow end that was only one foot deep, itcould be shortened to form a 50-metre course, withsome room left for casual bathers. Stephens saw thepossibilities for converting the pool into a venuesuited for competitive swimming. He made severalapproaches to the owner to buy the pool, only to berejected each time.Stephens said: “He was quite the crotchety person,and he was adamant about not wanting to sell thepool to me. He loved that old pool just as if it was achild. He didn’t think I had the time to run it properly,but he did agree to let the club train in the pool. Aftera year had passed, I had formed some sort of rapportwith him. So I walked into his office one day and gavehim a cheque for $5000, which I had borrowed frommy mother because I didn’t have $5000, and I saidthat I wanted to buy the pool, and here’s a contract.I had written the contract myself, using someterms that I had culled from some property sales I’dEarly BeginningsMurray Stephens’ interest inswimming started at the age ofeight when his father took him forprivate lessons to Eric Steingass,who later became his coach whenhe swam for Loyola High School.Meadowbrook outdoor 50 metre poolSWIMNEWS / JULY-AUGUST 200225