Head Coach, John Leonard

John Leonard has been the Executive Director of the American Swimming Coaches Association in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, since assuming that post in January of 1985.

In the process of growing the Association from 1,600 members in 1985 to 5,400. Leonard has overseen a staff that has developed educational programs and services that include 24 different types of coaching schools, overseen the development of a Certification program that has certified over 8,600 coaches in 21 years, organized the model national learn to swim school in SwimAmerica which has taught over 1.5 million American youngsters to swim, and turned the American Swimming Coaches Association into an advocacy force to be respected in national and world swimming and world sport.

Leonard began his coaching career in Syracuse NY, where he developed numerous national qualifiers, national scorers and a 1976 Olympian, while building an 800 member swim team and managing a 35 pool city Aquatics program. In 1978, he moved to Lake Forest Swim Club and Lake Forest College in Illinois, where he again developed a nationally powerful club team and USA National Team members.

John was a founder of the World Swimming Coaches Association in 1988, and still serves on the Board of that Organization. He received the USA Athletes Appreciation Award in 1996, for his strong anti-doping actions in world sport. In 2004, he received the Paragon Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was honored with the Collegiate/Scholastic Trophy from NISCA for his contributions to swimming and was named one of the 25 Most Influential People in all of Aquatics, by Aquatics International magazine. He serves on multiple committees for USA Swimming, including the Olympic International Operations and International Relations Committees, and is a member of the FINA International Coaches Commission. John has served on 14 USA National Team Staffs and has worked for American Swimming at 6 Olympic Games. He currently serves as the Chairman of the United States Swimming Steering Committee for the USA Olympic Team in Swimming.

An accomplished writer and editor, Leonard has authored over 1,000 articles on the sport of swimming, written four books on swimming and edited three others, in addition to making clinic presentations from groups ranging from swimming parents and coaches to sports administrators.