Don Swartz, legendary Marin swimming coach, dies at 79

Don Swartz moved to Marin in the 1960s and rose to prominence after coaching Terra Linda High swimmer Rick DeMont to a first-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Germany.

That moment led to multiple high-level swimmers moving to Marin to train with Swartz at the Marin Aquatic Club, which became a national power in the 1970s.

Swartz took a long break from coaching but returned to it in 2005, mostly training masters and senior swimmers with the North Bay Aquatics, and earned induction into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

Swartz, who at 79 was still actively coaching, died earlier this month while on vacation in Costa Rica following complications from the flu.

“He loved the deck more than everything,” North Bay Aquatics president and head coach Ken DeMont said. “He loved his wife (Madeline), his soulmate, but after that he was happiest on the deck coaching. His secret sauce was he got people to believe in themselves.”

Mr. Swartz’s Marin coaching career began in 1968 with the San Rafael Swim Club, which merged with a few other clubs in the county to become the Marin Aquatic Club in 1970.

“He was a leader in mental training and visualization and positive thinking and cycle training techniques,” said Bob Placak, a standout swimmer at San Rafael High and a double gold medalist at the 1979 Pan American Games. “He created an environment where success was inevitable.”

Mr. Swartz became known for innovating techniques like cycle training and negative splitting to get the most out of his swimmers.

“Cycle training was revolutionary. It came from his research about track athletes,” former Terra Linda High swimmer Keith Strange said. “You could give athletes a day of rest and a day of work and you’d get more out of the day of work because you gave them a day of rest beforehand.

“That cycle training was fundamental to what Don was doing. He was the champion of progressive training – 10 reps of a certain distance, every one faster than the one before it. You have to be aware of how hard you were working and you have to work harder the next time and the next time.”

Negative splitting is a concept that a swimmer should go fast for the first half of the race but be mentally prepared to go even faster in the second half.

“In the first half of that race, you’d set the pace but in the second half you’d try to go faster than the first half,” said Scott Dicker, another one of Swartz’s star swimmers from San Rafael High. “We always trained that way – always try to maintain your position but try to come back harder and faster.”

Those techniques helped Rick DeMont qualify for the 1972 Summer Olympics in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle – setting the world record in the 1,500 during qualifying. Rick DeMont placed first in the 400 at the Games but was later disqualified from both events after testing positive for a banned substance contained in his prescription asthma medication.

That success attracted other top swimmers – including Doug Northway, Robin Backhaus and Rick Abbott – to come to Marin to train with Mr. Swartz. In 1973 Rick DeMont became the first swimmer to break the 4-minute mark in the 400 free.

San Rafael High enjoyed a swimming boom around this time with Bob Placak, Linda Placak, and Nancy Placak all trained by Mr. Swartz. The Marin Aquatic Club placed fourth nationally in 1974.

“It was a group of people that came together from all over the world,” Bob Placak said of the Marin Aquatic Club in the 1970s. “He created this culture that was positive. You could train yourself to be the best you could dream of being.”

Although Mr. Swartz helped many top-level swimmers reach their potential, he was never a high-level swimmer.

“One of his interests in life was human potential and how to cap it,” Ken DeMont said. “That was what he was after and he did it in a way that was so kind and so gentle and with a smile on his face. There was no beating people over the head to get them to do things.”

Mr. Swartz retired from coaching in 1976 but returned to the profession in 2005 and had been with North Bay Aquatics ever since.

“The amount of people that he has touched over the years is amazing,” Ken DeMont said. “I grew up with Ann Curtis and she was a giant among swimmers. Rick and I were so lucky to have her teach us how to swim. She’s obviously on the (Mount) Rushmore for sure in Marin county. He’s probably the godfather of the guys who pushed Marin swimming onto the national level.”

Bob Placak organized a 50-year reunion last year with Mr. Swartz and many of his top swimmers.

“I was the last one speaking at that event,” Strange said. “I said raise your hand if you’ve ever coached, talked, or ever been a parent and the goals or ideals promoted by Don became a part of your life and everyone stood up. The level of respect and admiration we had for him, it’s hard to explain.”

Mr. Swartz is survived by his wife, Madeline, and his brother, Joel.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s crushing for our team,” Ken DeMont said of the impact of Mr. Swartz’s death on North Bay Aquatics. “It’s no doubt just a huge loss. There’s no replacing what he did, the way he did it. We’ll figure something out and keep moving forward.”