Soichi Sakamoto

Soichi Sakamoto (, January 23, 1906 – August 2, 1997) was an American swimming coach for the Hawaii Swim Club from 1946 through 1981, the University of Hawaii from 1946 through 1961 and the U.S. Olympic team in 1952 and 1956. He pioneered the use of interval and resistance training for competitive swimmers, methods that have now become standard throughout the sport. He coached several national champions and five Olympic medalists that included Bill Woolsey, Thelma Kalama, Evelyn Kawamoto, Bill Smith, and Burwell Jones.

Early coaching

Sakamoto was born in the coastal town of Lahaina, to Tokuishi and Shika Sakamoto on January 23, 1906. Lahaina is located on the Western coast of the Island of Maui, in Maui County, Hawaii. Maui County consists of the Islands of Maui and four smaller adjacent islands.

Despite having never worked as a swim coach, in 1937 he established the Three-Year Swim Club in Puunene, Maui, largely for the children of poor sugar plantation workers. The name of the club, which had a membership as large as 100, reflected Sakamoto's goal of getting his pupils on the Olympic team in three years, and most members signed three-year contracts to diligently pursue their training, while refraining from smoking and drinking. While several of his early students did indeed qualify for the Olympics, the 1940 and 1944 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to World War II. His early teams had great success, despite the Olympic cancellations, and won the 1939, 1940 and 1941 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national outdoor team championships.

Hawaii Swim Club In 1946 he started the Hawaii Swim Club in the greater Honolulu area on the island of Oahu, Northeast of the Island of Maui where he was born and worked as a school teacher. Sakamoto's work days could be grueling, often staying til midnight at the pool after ending his school day teaching around 2:30. He coached the club through 1981, when his wife became ill and he decided to spend time caring for her. It was the club to which he was most dedicated and which he coached for the longest period. He continued coaching the Hawaii Swim Club until the age of 75, when he retired from coaching.

Among numerous championships, as previously mentioned, his women's team with the Hawaii Swim Club won the National Women's AAU Outdoor team championship in August, 1949 in San Antonio, Texas. Individual honors went to future Olympic swimmers Eveleyn Kawamoto who won national titles in breaststroke and IM, and Thelma Kalama, who took titles in the 110 and 440 yard freestyle.

University of Hawaii He was the swimming coach at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu from 1946 to 1961, where he also coached diving, and during this period served as an assistant coach for the US Olympic Swim Team from 1952 to 1956.

Sakamoto was known to carefully examine the stroke of each of his swimmers individually and build on their strengths, while eliminating any flaws or inefficiencies. What might work for one swimmer, would not work for another. Meticulous in planning detailed strategy, he carefully timed each swimmer's strokes per minute to determine the cadence required to win a particular event.

His most outstanding students include: Bill Woolsey- a swimmer for McKinley High School and Indiana University, who captured two Olympic medals for the U.S. in the 4x200 free relay, a gold in Helsinki in 1952, and a silver in Melbourne in 1956. Takashi "Halo" Hirose - national 100-meter champion in 1941, NCAA champion, and three-time All-American Dick Cleveland- triple gold medal winner at the 1951 Pan American games, and a three time National NCAA champion in 1953-54. Thelma Kalama - a member of the gold medal winning 1948 Olympics women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay team Evelyn Kawamoto - 1949 national champion in the 300-meter individual medley and 200-meter breaststroke, and two-time bronze medalist at the 1952 Olympics Keo Nakama - world record holder for the mile, All American swimmer for the University of Ohio, and later a ten year member of the Hawaii State House of Representatives. George Onekea - 1956 Olympic competitor in the 400 and 1500 meter freestyle. Bill Smith - double gold medalist and team captain at the 1948 London Olympics and world record holder in four events. Smith trained with Sakamoto as early as 1940 in Hawaii, and returned after World War II to train for the 1948 Olympics.

By 1958, early AAU national champions Sakamoto coached included Keo Nakama, Halo Hirose, Fujiko Katsutani, Chic Miyamoto, Bunmei Nakama, and Jose Balmores. Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame The Soichi Sakamoto Pool in Wailuku, Maui was named in his honor. In 1957, he was named "Hawaii Sportsman of the Year", formally known as the Vernon McQueen Award. He was presented the award in Honolulu for bringing "world-wide recognition to Hawaii and its athletes."

In October 2015, Julia Checkoway published her book The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory (Grand Central Publishing, 2015, ), a The New York Times bestseller according to Amazon.com.