John deBarbadillo
John Joseph deBarbadillo Sr. (March 21, 1909 – November 23, 2000) was an American swim coach from York, Pennsylvania. He grew up near Philadelphia, learned to swim in Codorus Creek, and trained in gymnastics at the York YMCA.
He started at the York YMCA in 1929 as Assistant Physical Director and became Director by 1940. He created a learn-to-swim program and a station-to-station method to teach thousands of children at once. He helped develop the butterfly and breaststroke techniques. He led the York YMCA Swim Club from the late 1920s to 1974, coaching 58 All American swimmers and Olympic bronze medalist Bob Sohl in 1948.
He learned weight training from Bob Hoffman and used strength and nutrition to boost his swimmers. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, teaching swimming in the Pacific. After leaving the YMCA, he coached the Outdoor Country Club (1974–1986) and the YWCA Blue Dolphins (1985–2000). He also worked as a swim official for national organizations.
He received many honors, including the Conrad Carroll Award (1969), the Joseph G. Rogers Award (1979), and induction into the National YMCA Hall of Fame (1999), the York County Hall of Fame (1973), and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. The National YMCA created the John deBarbadillo Award in 1988 to recognize long-time contributions to Masters Swimming. He also wrote Teaching the Very Young to Swim and developed the station-to-station crawl method.
He died in York, Pennsylvania, and was survived by his wife Betty, a son John (a physician who swam for Lehigh), a stepson, and two granddaughters. A service was held at Church of St. John the Baptist, and he was buried in Susquehanna Memorial Gardens. His legacy lives on in the many programs and coaches he inspired in youth and Masters swimming.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:35 (CET).