BROMSGROVE, UK--The British Swimming Coaches Association (BSCA) has received notification that Coach George Bole died on Saturday. He was 95 years-old. Bole spent years coaching in both the United Kingdom and in the USA (Tampa, Florida), as well as helped found the BSCA.
www.gbswimcoaches.co.uk/.../
Sad news here as well.
I was privileged while serving as President of MACA (Masters Aquatic Coaches Association) to present George with our Lifetime Achievement Award at the ASCA convention in Orlando FL. I'm a little foggy on the year, might have been '98 or '99. I got to spend a little time with George that weekend and he certainly had a lasting impression. I read some of his articles when I first started coaching Masters, and I bought his "Mastering Masters Swimming" around the same time.
I know how much the swimmers at St. Pete loved him and benefited from his coaching. I'm thankful that his gift was widely distributed through clinics and articles, and appreciated by those who got to meet him.
Thanks George.
I echo these same feelings as well. I came in contact with George at the Y Nationals in 1992 in Fort Lauderdale and bought that same book "Mastering Masters Swimming" and another book that he sold called "Precision Drills For Better Skills" and I refer to these two books a lot today some 20 years later. He knew one of my first age group coaches, John Hussey, and did a clinic with him and Howard Firby and came over from England for the clinic. He was a real nice guy and a great coach. His St Pete teams always swam very well at Nationals. I used to swim against one of swimmers named Art Halttunen, who was a great IM and *** swimmer.
I remember one of his great swimmers was Jane Lambke, who died suddenly at the age of 61. You can read her story here www.usms.org/.../index.php and here www.usms.org/.../str39q2.htm
I know Bill Specht was very thankful when he moved to Florida to train and swim for Geroge Bole in St Pete and credited him with success in his swimming career as well as countless others on St. Pete Masters.
Sad news here as well.
I was privileged while serving as President of MACA (Masters Aquatic Coaches Association) to present George with our Lifetime Achievement Award at the ASCA convention in Orlando FL. I'm a little foggy on the year, might have been '98 or '99. I got to spend a little time with George that weekend and he certainly had a lasting impression. I read some of his articles when I first started coaching Masters, and I bought his "Mastering Masters Swimming" around the same time.
I know how much the swimmers at St. Pete loved him and benefited from his coaching. I'm thankful that his gift was widely distributed through clinics and articles, and appreciated by those who got to meet him.
Thanks George.
I echo these same feelings as well. I came in contact with George at the Y Nationals in 1992 in Fort Lauderdale and bought that same book "Mastering Masters Swimming" and another book that he sold called "Precision Drills For Better Skills" and I refer to these two books a lot today some 20 years later. He knew one of my first age group coaches, John Hussey, and did a clinic with him and Howard Firby and came over from England for the clinic. He was a real nice guy and a great coach. His St Pete teams always swam very well at Nationals. I used to swim against one of swimmers named Art Halttunen, who was a great IM and *** swimmer.
I remember one of his great swimmers was Jane Lambke, who died suddenly at the age of 61. You can read her story here www.usms.org/.../index.php and here www.usms.org/.../str39q2.htm
I know Bill Specht was very thankful when he moved to Florida to train and swim for Geroge Bole in St Pete and credited him with success in his swimming career as well as countless others on St. Pete Masters.
