Ron "Stix" Ballatore (1941 – April 27, 2012) was an American college and international

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

coach. From 1978 to 1994, Ballatore was the head coach of the men's swimming and diving team at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA), where he coached his

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

swimmers to an NCAA national championship in 1982.Associated Press,
Ex-UCLA coach Ron Ballatore dies
" ESPN (April 27, 2012). Retrieved July 7, 2014.

Education

Graduating Southern Illinois University in 1962, he earned a bachelor of science degree. As a college swimmer, he received All-American honors competing in the backstroke for the Southern Illinois Salukis swimming team. In 1975, he completed a master's degree in educational psychology from Azusa Pacific University.

Early coaching, and UCLA

His first coaching job was at Toledo Swim Club, where he worked from 1965 to 1967, moving to Pasadena City College from 1967-1978. In sixteen years at UCLA, Ballatore's Bruins never won a

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

team championship, but finished second in the conference ten out of sixteen seasons. Nevertheless, he was chosen as the Pac-10's Coach of the Year four times.
Pac-12 Men's Swimming Media Guide
', Pac-12 Conference, Walnut Creek, California, pp. 1–2, 10 (2014). Retrieved July 7, 2014. Nationally, however, his Bruins teams were perennial top-ten contenders in NCAA competition. Ballatore's swimmers won twenty-six NCAA championships in individual events, plus another two NCAA championships in relay events. His UCLA swimmers also compiled a 98 percent graduation rate. A combination of

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

compliance problems and the weak financial condition of the UCLA athletic department in the early 1990s forced UCLA to disband the Bruins men's swimming program after the 1993–94 season. Ballatore became the head coach of the

Brown Bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...

swimming team at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

from 1994 to 1995, and the Florida Gators swimming and diving team at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

from 1996 to 1999. Before UCLA, he coached the Lancers swim team of

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...

from 1967 to 1978.

Olympic coaching

While leading the UCLA Bruins swimming program, Ballatore coached twenty-eight Olympians, including gold medalists Brian Goodell and

Tom Jager Thomas Michael Jager (born October 6, 1964) is an American former competition swimmer. He is five-time Olympic gold medalist in relay events, a two-time World Championship individual gold medalist for the 50-meter freestyle, and a former world ...

. Four-time Olympic gold medalist Tom Jager, still holds the record in the 50-meter freestyle. Ballatore served as a coach for five Olympic swimming teams, including the United States team at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, the Peruvian team in 1968, the Ecuadorian team in 1972, and the Israeli team in 1976. He was the head coach of the U.S. national swimming team at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games, officially known as the VII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mexico 1975 (), were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games ...

, where his American men's swimmers won twenty-six medals in individual and relay events.

Honors

He was inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009, and the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. Famed UCLA Coach Ron Ballatore's Upcoming Induction into Bruins Hall of Fame
" ''Swimming World Magazine'' (August 30, 2012). Retrieved July 7, 2014. Ballatore and his first wife, Sandra Lee had two children, a daughter and a son. With his second wife, Ann Claire he had three children two girls and a boy. He died in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

, from cancer; he was 71 years old.

Education

Early coaching, and UCLA

Olympic coaching

Honors

See also

References

Further reading