Bill Boomer
Encyclopedia
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 technical consultant 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.
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. 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 animal
s, 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. Boomer was inducted into the University of Rochester
Athletic Hall of Fame
in 2007.
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 Stabalization
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: ???
. 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 incident as an integral part of shaping many of his life and coaching philosophies.
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
from 1962 to 1990. Since the early 1990s, Boomer has been a technical consultant for the Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
swim team and has worked one-on-one with many world-class swimmers. Boomer was a coach for the 2000 US Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
team.
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. 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 animal
Aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...
s, and those techniques would then be adapted by some of the best swimmers in the world. Boomer's techniques emphasize keeping the core body
Core (anatomy)
In anatomy, the core refers, in its most general of definitions, to the body minus the legs and arms. Functional movements are highly dependent on the core, and lack of core development can result in a predisposition to injury...
aligned properly to minimize water resistance
Water resistance
Water resistance may refer to:* wet strength, a measure of how well a fibreweb is holds together upon a force of rupture* waterproofing, making objects relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions...
.
Boomer and his coaching staff were named the 1998 UAA
University Athletic Association
The University Athletic Association is an American athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. Member teams are located in Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York...
Coaching Staff of the Year. Boomer also coached the men's soccer team at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
from 1965 to 1969, leading the team to a 24-26-3 record. Boomer was inducted into the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
Athletic Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
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 Stabalization
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
- Josh DavisJosh Davis (swimmer)Joshua Clark Davis is a former freestyle swimmer from the United States who was team captain in 2000, he won five medals as a member of US Men's Relay Teams: three golds at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and two silvers four years later at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney,...
, world record-holder and Olympic gold-medalist - James A. Pawelczyk, NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut - Jenny ThompsonJenny ThompsonJennifer Beth Thompson is an American former competitive swimmer, and one of the most decorated Olympians in history, winning twelve medals, including eight gold medals , in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics.Thompson, a Massachusetts native who calls Dover, New Hampshire her...
, world record-holder and Olympic gold-medalist - Dara TorresDara TorresDara Grace Torres is an American international swimmer and a twelve-time Olympic medalist. Torres was the first swimmer from the United States to compete in five Olympic Games , and, at age 41, the oldest swimmer ever to earn a place on the U.S. Olympic team...
, world record-holder and Olympic gold-medalist - Amy Van DykenAmy Van DykenAmy Van Dyken is an American swimmer who has six career Olympic gold medals. Four of these gold medals came in the 1996 Summer Olympics, making her the first American woman to accomplish such a feat and the most successful athlete at the 1996 Summer Olympics...
, world record-holder and Olympic gold-medalist
Personal life
Boomer and his second wife, Sally Fischbeck, reside in Clifford, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. 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 incident as an integral part of shaping many of his life and coaching philosophies.