The Shamrock Swimming Club
Built in 1949 by the Texas oil wildcatter Glenn McCarthy, the Shamrock in Houston was the largest hotel in the United States. It had an enormous 165-by-142-foot pool that saw celebrities, fire divers, syncro shows, and a ski boat. It also hosted some of the best swimmers and divers in Houston under the tutelage of some of the great coaches in the state. [Read More...]
Longhorn Aquatics
What has now become known as Longhorn Aquatics began in the fall of 1935, when Tex Robertson arrived in Austin and informed the University of Texas that he would be their swimming coach. The position did not pay anything since the position did not exist. Undeterred, Tex recruited star swimmers from around the country and convinced UT to let him coach for free. Needing more swimmers, Tex started a swim team at Deep Eddy Pool and Barton Springs. His motto was “If you can float, you can join Texas Aquatics.” [Read More...]
Dad's Club
Begun in 1948, Dad's Club Swim Team is one of the nation's most established swimming organizations and is nationally recognized for its rich tradition of swimming excellence and innovative programs. Novice swimmers through Olympians are exposed to an exciting and challenged training environment where each individual strives to reach their fullest physical and mental potential, and fulfill their competitive dreams. Six Olympians, more than 25 swimmers representing international teams, and 76 USA National qualifiers highlight the club's elite level achievements. At the state and regional levels numerous USA Junior National finalists and qualifiers, as well as several high school record holders were developed in the program. [Read More...]
City of Midland
Ignoring the obvious limitations of distance, population and lack of facilities, in 1967 a handful of determined Midland parents decided to create an AAU swim team and aquatic program with no pool, no coach and twenty swimmers. COM has since produced dozens of swimmers qualified to compete at the Junior National and Senior National levels, a score of NCAA Division I swimmers and several who have competed in Olympic Trials. [Read More...]
The Woodlands Diving Team
The Woodlands Diving Team began in the '70s with coach Dick Smith. Several international Olympians trained at the Woodlands Athletic Center under Coach Smith including top U.S. diver Keith Russell. [Read More...]
Lakeside Aquatic Club
When the Lakeside Aquatic Club was founded in 1982, all it aimed to be was a summer recreation team (then called the Lewisville Aquatics Club). But recognizing the incredible competitive potential of several of its swimmers, a group of dedicated parents began raising funds and they hired Jack Simon, one of the most influential people in swimming worldwide. Within four years the Lakeside Aquatic Club had about 150 swimmers and was already competing in Nationals and Junior Nationals. [Read More...]
Town North Family YMCA Sea Otters
One of the longest-running swim teams in the state can be found at the Town North Family YMCA in Dallas. The location was started in 1958 and its founders were immediately focused on a strong, competitive swim program. Jack Semones, who led the group, liked to say they had a swim team before they had a building. [Read More...]
Alamo Area Aquatics Association
A unique entity in Texas swimming, the Alamo Area Aquatic Association (AAAA) was established in 1977 to serve as an organizational and administrative umbrella for multiple programs. At the time the organization was first established, there were three separate, distinct, and independent Age Group swimming programs in San Antonio, one of which, the San Antonio Aquatic Club (SAAC), was the second oldest of its kind in the state of Texas. [Read More...]
Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club
From humble beginnings and with years of determination, the Cyprus Fairbanks Swim Club (also known as FLEET) has become one of the top programs in Texas. In 1975, the swim team was a pilot program using the Bleyl Junior High School’s facilities. Team practices for a year-round club commenced the next year. The program slowly began to attract talent, but the biggest jump came in 1988, when both Jeremy McDonnall (who went on to be a 13-time All-American for the University of Tennessee) and Andrew Livingston (who went on to be a two-time Olympian) joined the team. [Read More...]
Woodlands Swim Team
When The Woodlands opened in 1974, the commercial core was a project originally identified as the CLCC (Commercial Leisure and Conference Center). This project included The Woodlands Conference Center, the Wharf Shopping Center, and The Woodlands Athletic Center (the WAC). In July 1973, Dick Smith (U.S. Olympic Diving Coach 1964 and 1968, International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree) and Tom Boak (International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree) met in Scottsdale, Arizona, to develop the program for what would become the WAC. It was from this program that the plans were developed and the facility was built. [Read More…]