George Haines, 82; Innovative Swim Coach’s Athletes Won 44 Gold Medals at Olympics

Hall of Fame swim coach George F. Haines, who developed and guided a long list of Olympic gold medalists and world record-holders, including legend Mark Spitz, Donna de Varona, Brian Goodell and Don Schollander, has died. He was 82.

Haines, who suffered a stroke four years ago, died Monday in a nursing home in Carmichael, Calif., said his wife, June.

Haines was head coach of the U.S. Olympic men’s swim team three times, and his powerhouse club team at Santa Clara, Calif., was the epicenter of the swim world in the 1960s and ‘70s. Under his watch, Haines’ athletes accounted for 44 Olympic gold medals.

Spitz, who won a record seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, remembered arriving in Santa Clara to train under Haines when he was 14, and then setting the first of his numerous world records in 1967, at 17.

Spitz said he broke Schollander’s record in the 400-meter freestyle by more than two seconds.

“George came running onto the side of the pool and pulled me out and whispered in my ear, ‘Hey, you’ve got to be quiet now. The paper will notify the whole world that now you’re the world record-holder. Now instead of being the hunter, you’re going to be the hunted,’ ” Spitz told The Times on Tuesday. “He was right.”

The coach had a well-developed sense of humor, showing it the next day at practice.

“He said, ‘Now we’re going to do a race Mark really loves,’ ” Spitz said. “ ‘We’re going to do two 400s, and since he’s the fastest in the world, he better not lose.’ ”

Haines’ resume also included stops at UCLA and Stanford. He coached the Bruin men for four years, starting with the 1974-75 season. He left Westwood for an Amateur Athletic Union coaching job in Philadelphia.

The Bruins twice finished third in the NCAA swimming championships during his tenure.

Cal Coach Mike Bottom, who has shaped the careers of Olympic gold medalists Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin, trained with Haines at Santa Clara for about 10 years.

“George was so far ahead of his time,” he said. “He basically started interval training ... some of the stuff I’m still using to coach the fastest swimmers in the world. I’m employing some of the same techniques he used, and what I do is considered a little bit untraditional.”

Santa Clara Swim Club Coach Dick Jochums spoke about carrying on Haines’ tradition in a 2005 interview with Splash, a USA Swimming publication. “I get to walk his deck,” Jochums told the magazine. “When you come into that pool, it’s like walking into Yankee Stadium.”

Haines was born March 9, 1924, in Huntington, Ind. He started swimming at the local YMCA.

After serving in the Coast Guard, he attended San Jose State and graduated in 1950.

He began coaching and teaching physical education at Santa Clara High School.

There will be no services. However, a previously scheduled reunion to celebrate the Santa Clara club’s 55 years, including a tribute to Haines, will be held June 23-25. Among the scheduled speakers at the dinner on June 24 are Spitz, de Varona and Jochums.

Haines is survived by his wife; daughters Kerry Derr of Boise, Idaho; Janice Canfield of Glendale; Jody Baer of Orangevale, Calif.; and Paula Baldwin of Granite Bay, Calif.; a son, G. Kyle Haines of Klamath Falls, Ore.; three brothers; a sister; nine grandchildren; and a great-grandson.