Ron Ballatore

Ron "Stix" Ballatore (1941 – April 27, 2012) was an American college and international swimming coach. From 1978 to 1994, Ballatore was the head coach of the men's swimming and diving team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he coached his UCLA Bruins swimmers to an NCAA national championship in 1982.

Education Graduating Southern Illinois University in 1962, he earned a bachelor of science degree. As a college swimmer, he received All-American honors competing in the backstroke for the Southern Illinois Salukis swimming team. In 1975, he completed a master's degree in educational psychology from Azusa Pacific University.

Early coaching, and UCLA His first coaching job was at Toledo Swim Club, where he worked from 1965 to 1967, moving to Pasadena City College from 1967 to 1978.

In sixteen years at UCLA, Ballatore's Bruins never won a Pacific-10 Conference team championship, but finished second in the conference ten out of sixteen seasons. Nevertheless, he was chosen as the Pac-10's Coach of the Year four times. Nationally, however, his Bruins teams were perennial top-ten contenders in NCAA competition. Ballatore's swimmers won twenty-six NCAA championships in individual events, plus another two NCAA championships in relay events. and the Florida Gators swimming and diving team at the University of Florida from 1996 to 1999. Before UCLA, he coached the Lancers swim team of Pasadena City College from 1967 to 1978.

Olympic coaching While leading the UCLA Bruins swimming program, Ballatore coached twenty-eight Olympians, including gold medalists Brian Goodell and Tom Jager. Four-time Olympic gold medalist Tom Jager, still holds the record in the 50-meter freestyle.

Ballatore and his first wife, Sandra Lee had two children, a daughter and a son. With his second wife, Ann Claire he had three children two girls and a boy. He died in Gainesville, Florida, from cancer; he was 71 years old.