Veteran coach to hold Level 2 clinic

A seasoned and world-renowned coach will be on island next month to conduct a FINA Level 2 coaching course.

Borowski

Steve Borowski will fly to Saipan from Hawaii to serve as instructor of a coaching course from March 16 to 18 and is expected to share his vast knowledge not only to local coaches, but also to visiting mentors, as the three-day clinic will be held after Saipan Swim Club hosts the 2015 International Invitational Swim Meet.

“I am pleased to announce that NMI will be hosting a FINA Level 2 coaches clinic on Saipan on March 16 to 18. The clinic will take place on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday immediately following SSC’s international meet and ocean swim. Steve Borowski will be the instructor. We are very fortunate to have a facilitator with such amazing experience and credentials. I hope that many of the off-island coaches will be able to extend their stay on Saipan for this great opportunity,” Northern Mariana Islands Swimming Federation president John Hirsh wrote in an email circulated to local and off-island clubs.

Borowski’s long and impressive list of accomplishments includes induction to the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame, Illinois Water Polo Hall of Fame, and Chicago High School Sports Hall of Fame.

He has more than 60 years of experience in coaching in local, state, regional, national, and international levels and serves as assistant coach to Mark Spitz and Gary Hall Sr. and other U.S. Olympic Team swimmers leading up to the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Borowski was also an accomplished swimmer and water polo player. He swam for Indiana University and helped the team win back-to-back NCAA championships (1968 and 1968). He was part of the 400m medley relay team that set an NCAA record in 1969.

When he was 50, Borowski marked several World, National, and State records in 50-and-over 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly races. He had the same feats when he turned 55 and swam 50m and 100m butterfly events.

In water polo, he was a College All-American and was part of the team that went unbeaten for two years in Big 10. Borowski also competed in the 1964 Olympic trials.

The veteran mentor is a member of various coaches associations in the U.S. and was repeatedly sought to call the shots for national teams of Australia, Hong Kong, and Monaco, but begged off to coach in Hawaii. Borowski is the founder and still the coach of Kealakehe High School Swim Team, which he established 12 years ago.

Borowski’s coaching course on Saipan will be divided into five sessions. The first one that will last for three hours will focus on introduction and governing policies of the sport and the relevant science to understanding teaching the strokes. The second session (four hours) will cover one hour per each stroke, while the third will tackle starts in all four strokes (one and a half hours). The last two sessions will discuss turns in all four strokes plus the individual medley (one a half hours) and teaching skills and methods for coach and test (three hours).

The entire course will cover 13 hours with Session 1 set for March 16, Sessions 2 to 4 the whole day of March 17, and the last on March 18.