George J. Fisher (died 1960) was a physician and leader in the fields of

youth development Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. ''Youth.gov'' states that "PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, ...

and

physical fitness Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of Outline of sports, sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate ...

in the United States during the early twentieth century. He was a noted advocate for advancing the sport of

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Volleyball and the YMCA

Fisher was president of the international

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

's Physical Directors Society from 1904 to 1919. Fisher is best remembered for making volleyball a part of the program in military training camps, both in the United States and abroad while serving as Secretary of the YMCA War Work Office With the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, volleyball spread worldwide. Fisher included volleyball in the recreation and education program for American armed forces as early as 1914 and American soldiers fighting in World War I played volleyball on the beaches of Normandy and Brittany. In 1919 Fisher made volleyball a part of the program in military training camps, both in the United States and abroad. He was the editor of the ''Volleyball Rules Guide'' for the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Boy Scouts of America

Fisher served as deputy Chief Scout Executive of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

from 1919 to 1943, and as National Commissioner from 1943 until his death in 1960.

United States Volleyball Association

Fisher was the founder and first president (1928–1952) of the United States Volleyball Association. He also served as the first editor of the ''Volleyball Guide'' from 1917 to 1947. The Leader in Volleyball Award was renamed to the George J. Fisher Leader in Volleyball Award in his honor.

References

External links

Fisher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, George J. National Commissioners of the Boy Scouts of America American volleyball administrators 1960 deaths 1871 births YMCA leaders