Wednesday, January 18, 2012

In the water with Brian Gallagher

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By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

Swim coach Brian Gallagher arrived in the Wood River Valley in 1978, like many others to ski and work in the building trades. But Gallagher has created a legacy far beyond his role as a craftsman and carpenter. He has slowly built a remarkable team of swimmers who routinely take top awards.

Gallagher's Wood River High School girls team won the state championship five years in a row from 2005-2009. For the past eight years, the same team has gone undefeated at every meet it has attended, winning the regional title each year.

For the past two years, Gallagher's Sun Valley 5B swim team, made up largely of high school swimmers, won the Western regional "small team" championships.

"The reason I have such a good high school team is because most of them are year-round swimmers," says Gallagher, who can be seen five afternoons a week in the YMCA pool swimming along with his athletes rather than shouting from poolside.

Gallagher's athletes swim 5,000 to 7,000 yards each day, paying $140 per month for pool time and coaching, and a few thousand dollars each year to travel to swim meets.

The investment can pay off, with team members winning college scholarships worth $45,000 per year. Gallagher has also had swimmers get financial help to attend Division 3 schools, using grants or academic scholarships.

"If they want you as a swimmer, they will find a way to get you there," he says.

Gallagher's own career as a swimmer began when he was 6, winning the Arizona 25-meter backstroke state competition. By the time he was 10, he was ranked in the top five nationally for the 50-yard freestyle.

During his college years at the University of Arizona, Gallagher captained the water polo team to two NCAA championships. He finished in the top five of his age group in the 2.5-mile Waikiki Rough Water Swim in Honolulu in 1983 and then again 17 years later in 2007. In 1985 he won the 5,000-meter Masters World Championships in Toronto.

"That was a cold one," he recalls.

In 2007 he won the U.S. Masters National Long Distance Championships in Sandpoint, Idaho, in the 50-54 age group. As a masters-class swimmer, Gallagher also has taken many regional titles.

Clearly he is a coach who walks his talk, but also one who also knows how to motivate athletes to focus on self-improvement. Gallagher said athletes with a singular focus succeed at swimming.

"Kids can get self-esteem through any sport. You have to love what you do. Swimmers have to like aerobic sports and they have to be self-motivated. It takes a lot of dedication and perseverance. Eventually you learn that the goal isn't to beat someone, but to improve yourself, your stroke technique and your concentration skills. It goes beyond worrying about what others are doing. You can't control how someone else trains. It becomes a concentration on what you need to do.

"The kids who are there at practice all the time develop a passion for the sport. They don't like to miss practice."

Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com

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