In 25 years coaching Streaks swimming, John’s teams won the WB6 10 times. His teams won the Sectional championship 9 times. From 1994-1999 his teams won 6 straight WB6 titles, 6 straight Sectional titles, and went 52-0 in dual meets. Swimming under Willy had 9 seasons going undefeated in dual meets.
The discipline and commitment of his swimmers was inspiring to other athletes and other coaches at GHS. The obvious relationship between work ethic and success was evident with the swimmers.
John Willy grew up in Galena Illinois (northern suburb of Savanna). I am not sure how someone in Galena would learn enough about swimming to be such a successful coach. My guess is that he snuck down to Savanna to take swim lessons in the Mississippi as a youngster.
I reached out to some of his swimmers and asked them to share their experience in the swim program and the impact Coach Willy had on them. The swimmers responses show the pride they still feel in having been part of the GHS swim program, and the impact that Coach Willy had on them as swimmers and now as adults.
Adam Vitale- (GHS Class of 1997)
Attended University of Delaware
Today lives in Galesburg, President of G & M Distributors, Inc
Massey- What made the swim program so successful?
Adam- Under John Willy, the swim team was more than just a group of swimmers. Coach Willy developed young men into disciplined individuals with respect for their team, competitors, and lives. Fundamental respect was taught, which included how we acted and presented ourselves. Swearing and poor attitudes were not tolerated. Discipline and respect were ingrained into every aspect of the program. These fundamental learnings and lessons were carried through into each team member’s life.
Massey- Coaches like to say,”Tradition never graduates.” That was certainly true of the swim program.
Adam- Veteran swimmers led by example under Coach Willy. A young freshman quickly learned that being a part of the GHS swim team was more than swimming. It was about preparation and dedication. Expectations were high, and they were made clear. Coach Willy expected his team to work harder than others, and veterans emulated that value. Upon coming a veteran, the same level of consistency was imparted in the next generation.
Massey- Describe John Willy as a coach?
Adam- Coach Willy’s demanding nature commanded respect, which was always mutually shared. His tenacity motivated us to win, but only through integrity and hard work. These characteristics were motivating and inspiring; he pushed us to be our best and drove us to want the best for our teammates.
Massey- Are there any Coach Willy approaches or quotes that have stuck with you?
Adam- As I reminisce about my GHS swimming experience, I will always remember the discipline and power of consistency. The lessons taught in practice carry through to my professional career. They helped shape me into the person I am today. Along with the seriousness of the GHS swim team, there were also lighthearted moments.
Part of Coach Willy’s discipline and respect included our choice of language. Using the words “shut up,” which many may have wanted to tell him, resulted in at least fifty push-ups. It often doubled with further hesitation or visible angst. Looking tough was always a goal during photographs. Serious competition was encouraged, and there weren’t supposed to be smiles. Unfortunately, this always proved to be a tremendous challenge for me. I remember during one Register-Mail photo, I was the only swimmer smiling. My shoulders are stronger as a result of the push-ups.
I’ve also used Coach Willy’s line, albeit he also stole it, “Wouldas, Couldas, Shouldas, don’t swim” in many aspects of life. It’s a reminder to never make excuses and to focus on success.
Massey- What are some of your favorite memories?
Adam- I have more memories of the swim team than any other organization or team I’ve ever participated in. I believe Coach Willy had me join the team in the weight room the summer after my eighth-grade year. That started my journey into personal fitness that continues to this day. My class was the first class to use Mustain Pool.
Experiencing the generosity of our community helped shape my values. Generations of athletes benefited from the Believe in It campaign, which enabled Coach Willy to teach and coach us.
The work ethic I gained on the swim team developed me as a GHS student and as a professional. I must admit, getting to and being ready at Mustain Pool by 5:30 AM in winter wasn’t always easy. Most teenagers in the 1990s struggled with it, and I imagine it’s still the same. Staying until about 6:00 PM was equally challenging, but it taught me resilience and discipline. To this day, being on time is essential to me.
I was fortunate to also experience being part of a winning team. Coach Willy taught me the importance of getting results from training. Through him, I learned that you always strive to support others and encourage them to do their best. Coach Willy has impacted generations of swimmers, and he helped change lives.
Addison Block- (GHS Class of 2006)
Attended University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point
Currently a law enforcement officer in central Illinois
Graduated GHS in 2006.
Massey- What made the swimming program so successful?
Kenton Cooper- (GHS Class of 2009
Attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI
Currently lives in Grand Rapids
Security Operations Specialist for Wolverine World Wide.
Massey- Swimming had such unbelievable success, what made swimming so successful?
Kenton- Our swimming program was successful because of Coach Willy. Coach Willy had a great way of connecting with his team, pushing them to the highest level, supporting everyone, and making it fun. He had a great eye on identifying what someone’s strengths and weaknesses were. Coach Willy set a high standard for everyone on the team and that reputation carried throughout the entire swim program. Yes, somedays when exhausted, you might question why Coach Willy was pushing you so hard until you remember if you aren’t pushing the hardest you can someone else will then be training harder against you. Coach Willy had an amazing program between lifting, practices, off season training, and captains open practices. He learned and understood how to increase performance and strength throughout the entire year for his swimmers. I believe this set all of us up to be successful not only in swimming but our professional careers.
Massey- Coaches always say, “Tradition never graduates.” It was certainly true of GHS swimming.
Kenton- I had a great relationship with the veteran swimmers. I looked up to them growing up from Pete Peters to David Anderson. I wanted to be like them in the pool. By the time I was a freshman I looked up to that senior class of David Anderson, Addison Block, and Chris Gordon. I had already been swimming with them throughout many summers and wanted to be on that varsity team. I’ll never forget when Coach Willy would have me practice in one of David or Chris’s lanes and they would make me swim that set-in front of them telling me “Don’t let us catch you” or “come on Coop you can go faster”. Pushing me and supporting me. After that class graduated, David and Addison stayed in contact with me throughout the rest of my GHS career, always supporting and encouraging me. David and I would joke that when I broke one of his records, I would mail his record to him. When I became a veteran, I stayed in touch with a couple of the swimmers including Jakob Pettit. Jakob I felt was like me always watching the older guys race and wanting to be like them. He would hang out with me during club meets, watch my events, and I would watch his. I tried to encourage him like David did to me.
Massey- What was it about Coach Willy that made him so successful?
Kenton- Coach Willy was the best coach I had ever had. He had high expectations for me, and I respected him. Coach Willy had a passion for coaching, and it made him successful. His passion was passed onto all of us. He just knew how to connect with not only me but every single swimmer he had on the team. He watched every race making notes, adjusting, and always saying something to you when you got done racing. As a freshman, he put me in the lanes with the seniors knowing they would push me. He was very encouraging in everything I did which would keep me motivated to swim harder, faster, and be the best. All that encouragement showed with the results we had.
Massey- Are there quotes or routines that still stick with you?
Kenton- Coach Willy made swimming fun. He would make sure we had music either by the pool or in the weight room. Anytime Johnny Cash came on you could see him singing. The team would always stop swimming if we heard Ring of Fire as the entire team would sing it to him. If you showed up late for practice you were doing push-ups. No one wanted to be the person on the pool deck doing push-ups you were always early. During Christmas break we always did practice that consisted of 100 x 100’s. I always dreaded that practice but loved it at the same time. It was at that moment you knew we hit the highest / hardest part of the season before going into Conference and Sectionals. Some of my favorite memories during those big meets are how excited Coach Willy was for all of us. No matter if it was your first time qualifying for the state meet or you’re fourth that day. He was excited about your success.
Massey- Now as an adult, what impact do you feel Coach Willy had on you?
Kenton- Coach Willy had a very big impact on my life. He taught me a lot of life lessons including work ethics and being humble. One of the biggest things that I have learned from him is no matter what you’re doing you give it your all and you will succeed. I also have a passion for training and teaching others which I know I got from him.
Massey- What are some of your favorite memories?
Kenton- Some of my favorite memories are of our Sectional and State meets. Being with a group of guys who had put just as much blood, sweat, and tears into the season knowing no matter what happens that day we left it all in the pool. One of my favorite memories was Coach Willy’s last summer swim meet when a group of us including David surprised him singing Ring of Fire one last time. The smile, laughing, and the look he gave us. Coach Willy and I still communicate to this day and he’s still encouraging me.
Lives in Galesburg, near Lake Bracken Country Club
Massey- What made the swim program so successful?
Jared- I think we were a successful team in part because a lot of us came into high school already been swimming in the YMCA program for our entire childhood. Once at GHS, our training intensified immensely under Willy which is the first key in creating success. I think we were successful because Willy held us up to higher expectations than what maybe ourselves even believed we had. The bond that Willy was able to create amongst the team is something I think that set us apart from others.
Massey- How was the tradition passed on?
Jared- My brother, Jason was a senior on the team when I entered as a freshman. He was the team captain and I followed his role/footsteps just as I did growing up. I always chased his times, wanting to work harder and keep up with the upperclassmen practice so one day I could ultimately beat them. When I was senior and team captain I just wanted the team to be fun. Swimming for training by no means is “fun” so there needed to be times to make things fun, and keep the team upbeat! One thing in particular I implemented was the tradition of the team singing “Ring of fire” by Johnny Cash when we entered the pool at home meets. (Sounds very corny but Cash was Willy’s favorite singer and it was just fun for all that got into it and see Willy’s face turn a little red… I’m pretty sure the opposing teams thought we were nuts, lol)
Massey- What made Coach Willy so successful?
Jared- Willy was strict. You could almost say drill sergeant like. He knew what each swimmer was capable of and pushed you there, mentally and physically. There were days you just wanted to walk out because it seemed too difficult, body torn down, tired, but in the end, Willy knew how to motivate us, keep us interested and put our trust in his madness.
Massey- What are some of your memories?
In the winter months if there was snow on the ground outside you could bet on it you were getting some snowballs thrown at you by Willy while swimming. All in good fun of course.
A policy or two I can recall of his was no drinking pop and him setting curfews on nights before swim meets. If he caught you with a pop in your hands while at school lunch or just anytime he was around you were going to be doing pushups, usually 100 of them.
The curfew thing he took quite literal as well, if he said be home by 9pm you better be home by 9 pm, because yes, he would call your home to check! 😂 it’s a few things like this that just made Willy unique.
Massey- How has Coach Willy impacted you as an adult?
Jared- Mr. Willy demanded greatness. He knew there are steps to greatness and you don’t just get there haphazardly. The little things like getting up for weights or swim practice at 530am everyday while everyone else you know sleeps in. The hard work you must put in daily. The sacrifices, Accountability, Determination, Self-perseverance, it’s all built into his process and you don’t even know it until it’s over.
Looking back on it all, I believe when the last lap was swam, it was never about the pool.
Mr. Willy was moulding a young mind for the future, far from any water and stopwatches. His teachings have gone on to inspire me throughout life and for that I will forever be thankful for.
Michael Simpson (GHS- Class of 1995)
Lives in Muscatine, Iowa
Teaches English at Wapello High School
Massey- What made the swim program so successful?
Michael- I think that sometimes there is a confluence of events and personalities that come together to create good teams and I think that is what happened for our swim team in the nineties. The first and most important personality was Mr. Willy. Its hard to put into words the effect his particular style of coaching/relationships had on all of us, but he took a very difficult and boring sport and made it something we all loved and believed we could succeed at. We also had a good group of kids that liked each other and wanted to be around each other. Many of us became good friends outside of swimming and spent time together. Mr. Willy fostered those relationships by being tough but approachable and fun. Ultimately, I think the rational core of our success as a team was Mr. Willy’s grueling practices and his ability, through fear and or loyalty, to get us to come to practice and weightlifting without fail.
Massey- How was the program built?
Michael- I had a unique experience with the swim program and Mr. Willy. My mom was the girls swimming coach at the high school, my older sister worked for Mr. Willy as a lifeguard at Soangetaha Country Club and my brother was a senior on the swim team when I was a freshman. Regardless of those connections and my past swimming for the YMCA, I was determined not to swim in high school. I also didn’t think I liked Mr. Willy very much. I took swimming as one of the PE classes at the high school though, and decided that maybe it was something I could do. When I started swimming at the high school, they were experiencing moderate success. We had a few standout swimmers but didn’t win a ton of meets. The culture wasn’t quite what I experienced in later years as some of the older guys didn’t have the commitment that we had in later years. Some of that is due to our pool situation. My freshman and sophomore year we swam at the YMCA, then the Mustain pool was built at the high school, which we used my junior and senior year. As far as my team went, we didn’t lose a meet after getting our new pool, which was probably because we were no longer restricted to the shorter practices because of YMCA schedules and the water was kept much cooler, which allowed Mr. Willy to push us to the max without fear of overheating. As veteran swimmers, I think we just worked very hard and it was an example for the younger swimmers. We had fun teasing each other and goofing around, but it was never mean spirited. I think we respected each other for enduring the grueling practices and rooted for each other because of it.
Massey- What made Coach Willy successful?
Michael- The most important thing about Mr. Willy is that he was/is more than a coach/teacher. He built relationships with all of us that persist to this day. He pushed us very hard and was hard on us when we whined or complained, but it was clear that it was out of an interest in us as human beings and our own desires. He didn’t just focus on the best swimmers. He pushed us all to do our best. Again, I think a lot about Mr. Willy is intangible. Its hard to quantify what made him so effective at getting us to push ourselves to the point of puking in the locker room. As a teacher/coach now, its really hard to imagine getting some kids, let alone a whole team to commit to coming to every practice, let alone getting them to work as hard as we did. Once we had our own pool, practices when from an average of 5,000 yards to over 10,000 on a regular basis and two a day practices could get close to 15,000 towards the end of the season. I dreaded practice but would never consider skipping or slacking.
Massey- Are there any of the quotes or procedures you still remember?
Michael- One of the funny things about Mr. Willy is that we always called him Mr. Willy. He never said anything about it, but other people would ask why we never called him Coach, or Coach Willy. None of us could ever really answer that question with anything other than “ I don’t know, he is just Mr. Willy.” As an adult and teacher, I think it was because he held a position in our lives that was singular. He wasn’t just a coach. One of the ways he motivated us was to tease us or make fun of us for whining and complaining. When we finally got our pool at the high school, someone left a pair of pink leggings behind. After they sat in lost and found for a while, Mr. Willy decided they would be a punishment for whining. If someone complained, he would say “Pink Pants!” and they complainer would have to wear the pink leggings for the rest of practice. It got really bad after a while because they got very stretched out and created a ton of drag in the water as they trailed five feet behind the swimmer. Mr. Willy also didn’t allow us to say “Shut Up”. If he heard us say it, he would shout “Technical foul” or make the T motion with his hands and we would have to do 50 pushups. There were other infractions, some real and some he made up on the spot, that would get us “T’s” and require 50 pushups. In spite of the punishments, we all took it pretty well and even had fun with it. We also took pride in lifting weights at 5 in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday most of the year. He was always there and lifted with us.
Massey- What memories do you have of swimming?
Michael- My favorite memories from swimming are all connected to my teammates and Mr. Willy. Yes, winning a lot of meets was fun and winning conference and sectionals was fun, but the weight room, bus rides, after meet trips to Taco John’s, playing ping pong at each other’s houses, and team dinners before every meet are the best memories. We had a good group of kids that liked and respected each other and Mr. Willy. It was a special time.
As for my relationship with Mr. Willy, as I stated before I didn’t think I liked him very much at first. He is very much a no nonsense type or person, but that outward persona that seems hard to crack at first hides someone that is willing to goof around and have fun. My brother was a senior on the team when I was a freshman, so I knew most of the team before I started swimming. I am “an instigator” by nature, something Mr. Willy started calling me, and I would pull little pranks on people. My brother thought I was nuts because freshman are supposed to be scared of upperclassmen etc… but that didn’t stop me from turning people’s showers cold when they weren’t looking. Mr. Willy observed this all season and didn’t say much about it until the last practice of the year. At one point during practice, I looked into the rafters and saw my towels dangling and then I saw my shampoo bottle floating in the water. Mr. Willy had taken the contents of my locker and spread them around the pool. He told me that I had broken the rules by “instigating” as a freshman and that I needed to acknowledge it. That was just the beginning as he continued to prank me throughout the years by dumping snow on me while I swam or pouring cold water on me from the freezer.
Massey- What impact has Coach Willy had on you as an adult?
Michael- As I resisted swimming as a kid, I resisted anything to do with swimming as an adult. Not because of any bad experience, but it is a very difficult sport. After my kids started swimming, I found myself coaching YMCA swimming and enduring long days in the swimming pool. I think it was Mr. Willy’s influence on me that caused that. I also feel like he is a big part of why I teach and how I teach. I was never the best swimmer, but he coached me like I was. He gave me the confidence to work at it to be the best that I could be. He also took an interest in me as a person and built a relationship with me that has lasted to this day. As a teacher, I look to build relationships first and confidence second. Whatever comes after is possible because of those two things. Mr. Willy isn’t the only coach/teacher that did that for me, but he is definitely the most prominent.
As for our relationship right now, I have recently been diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer and Mr. Willy checks in with me regularly to see how I’m doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment