Retired Marine colonel now leads swim program

[thedrifter]

Retired Marine colonel now leads swim program




By Linda McIntosh
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER
May 8, 2004

CAMP PENDLETON ? George Brown remembers training for the Olympic swimming trials in 1960. Later he trained in the Marine Corps, where he served for 30 years.

Now the retired Marine colonel is training others in the sport he loves.

Early in the morning, before work, Brown coaches the masters swim program at the Joe and Mary Mottino Family YMCA in Oceanside. Then he goes to his job at the Camp Pendleton Armed Services YMCA, where he is executive director.

Brown sees it as his way of giving back.

"It's something he wants to do," said his wife, Carolyn.

Training begins at 6 a.m. as Brown leads swimmers through laps, drills and exercises to build up endurance and speed and beef up strokes.

Some of the swimmers are training for triathlons, and their coach knows what that takes.

Brown won 10 Virginia state masters swimming records for his age group.

But competition aside, Brown sees swimming as a sport for life.

"I want others to see the benefits of swimming," he said.

That means everything from relieving stress to building endurance and getting a total body workout.

Not everyone in Brown's class is out for competition. Some swimmers just want a structured workout.

"This is something you can do in your 80s," he said.

Brown teaches a variety of ages and skill levels.

"He had a swimmer who could not do a full length at first," said Kate Winzenburg, aquatics director at the Mottino YMCA. "Now that person is doing 20 hundreds," she said, referring to the distance the swimmer can now achieve.

"We set a goal and work toward it," Brown said. "It gives you a feeling of accomplishment."

Sometimes Brown holds cookie swim-offs and rewards the winner with a big cookie.

"It may sound silly, but after an hour of swimming, that cookie is worth a lot," said Carolyn Brown.

After one tough workout, Brown brought in breakfast for everyone. His wife made blueberry muffins.

"They have the biggest hearts," Winzenburg said of the Browns.

"George has good rapport with everyone, from beginners to those training for the Ironman."

During class, Brown takes apart strokes such as the butterfly, backstroke or breast stroke and goes over technique. He works with students in the water and demonstrates everything from kicks to flip turns.

"Swimming gives everyone so much," Brown said.

For information about the program, call the YMCA at (760) 758-0808.

Do you have a story idea for Camp Pendleton? Contact Linda McIntosh at (760) 476-8214 or linda.mcintosh@uniontrib.com. For special events, please alert us at least four weeks in advance. We work ahead!



NANCEE E. LEWIS / Union-Tribune
Retired Col. George Brown gave some pointers to a couple of participants in his masters swim program at the Mottino Family YMCA.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/n...m08tfcamp.html

Ellie