{"id":388174,"date":"2019-08-05T10:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T17:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=388174"},"modified":"2019-08-04T21:57:18","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T04:57:18","slug":"swimming-world-presents-lessons-with-the-legends-coach-jerry-holtrey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-lessons-with-the-legends-coach-jerry-holtrey\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents “Lessons with the Legends: Coach Jerry Holtrey”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lessons with the Legends: Coach Jerry Holtrey<\/span><\/h2>\n

By Michael J. Stott<\/span><\/p>\n

\"dolfin<\/a><\/p>\n

Indelible\u2014and successful\u2014is the impression left on retired swim coach Jerry Holtrey by his mentors, Glen Hummer, Gus Stager and Doc Counsilman. Indelible\u2014and caring\u2014is the lasting impact he has had on the thousands of athletes he has coached and taught in a 53-year career, principally with the Lake Erie Silver Dolphins (50) and The Hawken School (47) in Gates Mill, Ohio.<\/p>\n

Holtrey swam on Hummer\u2019s 1957 Huntington (Ind.) YMCA national championship squad and competed for Stager (Michigan) and Counsilman (Indiana) while in college. His first coaching post was with Club Olympia in Fort Wayne, where he instructed Olympic gold medalists Sharon Wickham (1968) and Matt Vogel (1976) as age groupers. After brief stints in Indiana and Kentucky, he moved to the suburbs of Cleveland. Once there, he never left, teaching physical education and coaching at Hawken and growing his uber-accomplished LESD program.<\/p>\n

Holtrey\u2019s Olympians from LESD include Diana Munz (1996, 2000) and Melanie Valerio (1996) and 1998 World Aquatics Championship 5K open water winner Erica Rose. He counts U.S. national and 14-time Ohio high school champion Alyssa Kiel and U.S. national junior freestyle ace Byron Davis among his other myriad aquatic stars. Over the years, his club swimmers have captured 24 individual event titles at senior nationals and have won high-point awards at both senior nationals and the World Open Water Championships. USA Swimming recognized his prowess, leading him to coaching assignments on two Pan Pac teams and head coaching positions with national junior teams that went to Barcelona and Melbourne and as an assistant who traveled to Yokohama in 1998.<\/p>\n

At Hawken, his athletes garnered more than 400 All-America recognitions and racked up 26 team state titles (24 girls, 2 boys, 16 consecutively). His career dual meet mark stands at 658-117-2 (85%) and his team district championships at 48. During his tenure, Hawken athletes captured 82 individual and 49 state relay crowns, including 19 400 yard free relay titles. In eight of his final 14 years, Hawken girls won all three relays at the state meet. He has earned multiple designations as Coach of the Year from the Ohio High School Swimming Coaches Association (eight), The Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Chagrin Valley Conference.<\/p>\n

To hear from coach Holtrey about his lifelong lessons in coaching,<\/strong>
\ncheck out the full July 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/em>, available now<\/strong><\/p>\n

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