Robert Bowman (April 6, 1965) is an American
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
coach who is the current head coach of the
Arizona State Sun Devils
The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...
swimming and diving teams of
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
. Bowman is best known as the coach of 23-time Olympic gold medalist American swimmer
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
. From 2005 to 2008, Bowman served as the head coach for the
Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving
The Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving program has both a men's and women's team. The University of Michigan swimming program is one of the most highly respected college swimming programs in the country. The men's and women's teams, which ha ...
team of the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
men's swimming & diving team. From 2008 to 2015, he worked as the CEO and head coach for
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
The North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) is a swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing a dozen Olympic swimmers, six of whom earned gold m ...
.
In 2015, USA Swimming appointed him the head coach of the men's U.S. 2016 Olympic Team.
Personal life
Bowman was born and raised in
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...
where he attended
Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to:
*Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama)
*Columbia High School (Georgia)
*Columbia High School (Florida)
*Columbia High School (Idaho)
*Columbia High School (Illinois)
*Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...
. He has a younger sister, Donna Bowman, who works at Chapin Middle School as a computer science professor.
Coaching career
In 1986–87, Bowman was a coach at the Area Tallahassee Aquatic Club and also served as an assistant coach at his alma mater,
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
.
[Bowman's bio](_blank)
from MGoBlue.com; published 2008; retrieved June 15, 2009. Bowman swam for the Seminoles from 1983 to 1985,
serving as a team captain in his final year. Bowman graduated from Florida State with a bachelor of science degree in developmental psychology and a minor in music composition in 1987. While at Florida State, Bowman was a member of the
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as PIKE, is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members over 30 ...
fraternity.
Bowman held assistant coaching positions with th
Napa Valley Swim Team(1991–92), the Cincinnati Pepsi Marlins (1990–91), and the Las Vegas Gold swim team (1988–90).
Bowman was also the head coach and program director for the Birmingham Swim League from 1992 to 1994. While with the Birmingham Swim League, he was responsible for program design, staff development and daily operation of a 250-member club. Under his supervision, BSL improved to a top five program regionally after finishing out of the top 20 the previous 10 years.
From 1994 to 1997, Bowman served as head coach for th
Napa Valley Swim Team
Prior to becoming the Men's head coach at Michigan, Bowman coached for nine years (1996–2004) at the
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
The North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) is a swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing a dozen Olympic swimmers, six of whom earned gold m ...
(NBAC) in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1996 to 1999 he held the position of senior coach; and from 1999 to 2004 he was NBAC's High Performance Coach.
During his tenure in Baltimore, Bowman helped to produce three individual national champions, ten national finalists and five U.S. National Team members. In recognition of his accomplishments, Bowman was named the USA's Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2003. He was also named Developmental Coach of the Year in 2002.
It was also during his work at NBAC that Bowman began coaching 23-time Olympic gold medalist
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...
. Under Bowman's tutelage at the North Baltimore Aquatic club, Phelps won five World Championship gold medals and was named the ''
American Swimmer of the Year'' from 2001 to 2004.
While at Michigan, Bowman worked closely with
Greg Harden
Greg Harden is a life coach, motivational speaker and executive consultant who is best known for his work with 7-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady. He also worked with Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP Desmond Howard, and 23- ...
, then the sport administrator for swimming. Harden spoke often with both Bowman and Phelps during their time in Ann Arbor leading up to the 2008 Olympics, and he often helped one communicate better with the other. Bowman gives Harden some of the credit for all the success Team USA had in the pool in Beijing. Bowman even says Harden was one of the major reasons he came to Michigan in the first place. Bowman on Harden: “He’s a miracle worker. He made me a better coach, and a better person.”
["Tom Brady's Guru"]
by Eric Adelson, January 11, 2011.
Bowman was named as an assistant coach on the
2004 U.S. Olympic Team, serving as the primary coach for Phelps. At the
2004 Games, Bowman helped coach Phelps to eight medals, including six gold medals and two bronze. Four years later, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he coached Phelps to achieve eight Olympic gold medals, which had never been done before in a single Olympics.
In April 2008, Bowman announced that he would leave Michigan at the end of the 2008
USA Olympic Swim Trials (July 2008) and return to the
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
The North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) is a swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing a dozen Olympic swimmers, six of whom earned gold m ...
after the
Beijing Olympics.
Bowman was added to the coaching roster to the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
serving as an assistant coach for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.
Bowman was hired as the new swim coach at Arizona State University in 2015.
[Bob Bowman hired as new ASU swim coach](_blank)
The State Press (April 2015). Retrieved on October 22, 2015.[Michael Phelps, Bob Bowman Heading to Arizona State](_blank)
Swimmingworldmagazine.com. Retrieved on October 22, 2015.
On September 9, 2015, USA Swimming announced that Bowman would serve as the head coach of the men's team for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.
According to a July 19 report from the ''Orange County Register'', 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Caroline Burckle received "a series of sexually graphic text messages and a voice mail on her cell phone" on the night of May 16, 2011. The text messages came from Bowman and Sean Hutchison, two U.S. national team coache
Books
* ''The Golden Rules: 10 Steps to World-Class Excellence in Your Life and Work''. Bob Bowman, with Charles Butler (2016),
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Bob
1964 births
Living people
American Olympic coaches
American swimming coaches
Florida State Seminoles men's swimmers
Michigan Wolverines swimming coaches
Arizona State Sun Devils swimming coaches
Sportspeople from Columbia, South Carolina