Bill Boomer

William "Bill"/"Buzz"/"Boomer" Boomer was the head coach of the men's swim team at the University of Rochester from 1962 to 1990. Since the early 1990s, Boomer has been a guest speaker for the Stanford University swim team and has worked one-on-one with many world-class swimmers. Boomer was a coach for the 2000 US Olympic team.[1]

Boomer had no experience coaching swimming when he started at Rochester. The graduate assistant to the track and field team had in fact never seen a swim meet prior to being offered the job.[2] In order to better understand his swimmers, Boomer studied how the human body reacted to the water in a pool. From there, Boomer developed swimming techniques similar to those used by aquatic animals, and those techniques would then be adapted by some of the best swimmers in the world. Boomer's techniques emphasize keeping the core body aligned properly to minimize water resistance.

Boomer and his coaching staff were named the 1998 UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. Boomer also coached the men's soccer team at the University of Rochester from 1965 to 1969, leading the team to a 24-26-3 record.[3] Early in Boomer's career as the University of Rochester Varsity Swim coach, he coached the 1966-1967 Men's Varsity Swim Team to an undefeated season, 11-0.[4] This was the first of many other successful swim seasons. Boomer was inducted into the University of Rochester Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Videos

He has a series of five videos that are known in the swimming world as the Boomer Chronicles. Filmed in 2000 by Bill Boomer and Milt Nelms on competitive swimming technique. The following series of videos outlines a revolutionary thought process because of the way he approaches aquatic based movement from its core.

Boomer Chronicles 1: Body Awareness Teaches awareness of body segments. It's important information, but the whole series could have used higher production values and better editing. It will likely appeal to only the most serious students of swimming.

Boomer Chronicles 2: Assembling Aquatic Body Lines 2000. This tape focuses on postural characteristics necessary for both survival and performance in land-based or aquatic environments. It begins with the specific alignment qualities necessary for bodyline assembly in both environments. The video concludes with a focus on assembling a functional aquatic bodyline.

Boomer Chronicles 3: ??? Assembling Aquatic Performance Platforms on Boomer Boards - focuses on constructing a swimmer's aquatic chassis. This core framework or working platform contains our aquatic suspension system. Swimmers use this unitized suspension system as a stabilizing tool when managing aquatic environmental forces.

Boomer Chronicles 4: Aquatic Stabilization Focuses on how various swimmers, using the prone "X" posture on Boomer Boards, construct and operate their prone suspension systems. This video also illustrates how to construct a supine performance platform and its suspension system for aquatic stabilization.

Boomer Chronicles 5: ???

Notable protégés

Personal life

Boomer and his second wife, Sally Fischbeck, reside in Clifford, Pennsylvania. He has two adult children from a previous marriage. As an adolescent, Boomer lost several fingers in a farming accident, and he credits coping with the trauma of that episode as an integral part of shaping many of his life and coaching philosophies.

References
  1. West, Debra (2003-07-06). "A Swim School of Her Own". New York Times.
  2. Melina, Lois (Jul–Sep 2000). "The Boomer Boom". Swimming Technique.
  3. University of Rochester Men's Soccer 2007-2008 Media Guide Archived February 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, p. 21
  4. Reference team captain, Sandy Carpenter
  5. Bradt, Steve (Fall 1998). "Jim Pawelcyzk's Excellent Adventure". Rochester Review.
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