By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
Hall of Fame swim coach Don Swartz died earlier this week while on vacation in Costa Rica from complications related to the flu. Word first reached California, where he was a coach with North Bay Aquatics, on Thursday.
Swartz was 79 years old.
The program’s head coach Max Byers posted a notice on the team website on Thursday that read, in part:
“I have few words right now as I attempt to process what has happened. After his family, Don’s greatest love in life was his swim team and the great culture that he helped create. He loved both the youth and Masters as if we too were part of his family.
There will certainly be more to say as Don’s passing becomes more real. Right now there is mainly sadness and shock.”
The team canceled practice on Saturday in wake of the news.
Swartz was a 2013 inductee to the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He began his coaching career in 1967 at Ladera Oaks Aquatic Club in Northern California, and after a brief stop in Davis, became the head coach of the Marin Aquatic Club.
From 1970 to 1976, he built the team into a power, coaching several swimmers to Olympic and World Championship teams. That included coaching Rick DeMont when, in 1973, he became the first person to break the 4 minute barrier in the 400 meter free at the World Championships in Belgrade.
He was a coach on the 1975 World Championship staff among several other international trips with Team USA.
An early pioneer on the mental side of coaching, in 1977 he founded the Creative Performance Institute and worked with coaches and athletes on teaching the mental side of the sport, including goal setting, risk taking, visualization, and anxiety management.
He rejoined the coaching world in 2005 with North Bay Aquatics, where upon his death he was a coach of the senior group and Masters team.
Tributes to Swartz poured out from around the swimming community on Thursday as news spread. Vern Glenn, the sports director for the Bay Area’s CBS affiliate, said that Swartz was ‘everything’ to his sons Zack and Nicky.
“His wisdom, wit, insight and presence were all his super powers,” Glenn wrote on Instagram, sharing a video of an interview with Swartz.
View this post on Instagram
David Marsh, a fellow ASCA Hall of Famer, posted of Swartz’s passing.
In “retirement” Don coached kids every day for his beloved team —North Bay Aquatics.
Don educated all of us on THE most important parts of the coaching profession. Who could forget his keynote speech American Swimming Coaches Association – “The Quantum Leap”: belief, the beginners mind, and impact on human beings. Praying for Don’s family, team and friends.
A recreation of that speech can be heard below on ASCA’s YouTube Channel:
Swartz, along with North Bay Aquatics coach Ken DeMont, maintained a blog on various coaching topics that serves as a legacy to Swartz’s career-long commitment to the ‘soft skills’ of the sport.
Read more at Swim Coach Direct.Read the full story on SwimSwam: Hall of Fame Swim Coach Don Swartz Dies In Costa Rica, Aged 79
Hence then, the article about hall of fame swim coach don swartz dies in costa rica aged 79 was published today ( ) and is available on swimswam ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Hall of Fame Swim Coach Don Swartz Dies In Costa Rica, Aged 79 )
Also on site :
- Predicted Delhi Capitals playing XI vs MI, IPL 2026: Prithvi Shaw to return, Sameer Rizvi as impact player again?
- What’s behind Remco Evenepoel’s shock Tour of Flanders debut - and what it tells us about the season to come
- FFMIC 2026 Spring Knockout Stage Week 3 Day 1 – All You Need To Know