FASTEST SWIMMER on the PALOUSE| 25-YARD SWIM SPRINT
| Tom Jager | |||||||||||||
At the end of his third year as the University of Idaho's head swimming coach, Tom Jager has no doubt he made the right decision in coming to Idaho -- it has been the most rewarding time of his career. "Coaching is so much more rewarding because I am actually helping other people," Jager said. "In my swimming career, everything I did was for me, '“ it was totally selfish and now it is selfless. It is about them now and not about me anymore." Jager takes pride in making sure his swimmers perform to their highest capabilities both in and out of the pool. In his first three seasons at Idaho, Jager has watched 95 percent of his athletes swim lifetime best times under his guidance, something he said is unprecedented in the sport. He also has stressed the importance of education to his team. The program's 2007 senior class will see 10 of 11 graduate from Idaho in just four years. "It is not just luck," Jager said. "We are doing something right. I have seen these kids mature and while I try to play down the guidance and leadership role, they do need it at this age. They need the guidance and they need good role models and I see the importance of that “ I feel proud to have been part of that." For Jager, the hardest part of the adjustment from swimming to coaching has not been the coaching aspect, but the lack of control. "The main difference is that when we come to championship time, I have no control," Jager said. "For a month all I do is worry and I never did that as an athlete because I had total control." Jager said after three year's of rapid improvement from his team, he is finally beginning to adjust to the loss of control and knows the team will work its hardest and perform at its highest level. "It all gets down to the simple notion of hard work," Jager said. "If you work hard in the pool you will be successful. If you work hard good things will happen." Jager's own hard work has not gone unnoticed during his tenure at the university. In the spring of 2007, Jager was presented with an Outstanding Employee Award by Idaho for his work ethic, leadership and the example he sets for the school. Director of Athletics, Rob Spear, said Jager is the perfect coach to build a program and a great fit for the University of Idaho. "When I met Tom, he impressed me in a number of ways," Spear said. "Obviously, his background speaks for itself. Beyond that, his commitment to academics and his enthusiasm for the University of Idaho are exceptional. "We are elated to have Tom as our swim coach." A native of Collinsville, Ill., and a 1982 graduate of Collinsville High School, Jager began to make his mark on the swimming world at UCLA. His Olympic and collegiate careers overlapped during his years with the Bruins. By the time he graduated in 1987, Jager had seven NCAA championships and two Olympic gold medals. As team captain for the U.S. national team, he added 11 national titles and five more Olympic medals ,three gold, one silver and one bronze. He is one of just two swimmers in history to compete in three Olympics (1984, 1988, 1992). Jager is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and the USA Swim Team of the Century. He held the 50-meter freestyle record from 1990 to 2000. Jager and his wife, Becky, have two sons, Wyatt and Cy. Becky is a University of Idaho history instructor and a volunteer assistant coach for the swim team.
The Tom Jager Files
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