George Backman, Connecticut Swimming coach and stroke technician, died August 16, 2020. He was 83 years old. George stood out on deck; always in hiking boots, blue jeans, and a long sleeved shirt (usually green plaid) with 2 watches slung over his shoulders. Not one to yell, he was soft-spoken, down to earth and kind, yet if he felt a swimmer was wrongly disqualified, he would argue for that swimmer whether it was his swimmer or not.
His different approach to butterfly paid off for his swimmers. His OAK butterfly corps — he founded Charter Oak Aquatic Club in 1978 along with Leslie Bruni and Gerry Zwicker — led the state and his swimmers and relays held numerous CSI records, All-American status, and qualified for Olympic Trials and Paralympics. But athlete ranking/level did not drive him. If a swimmer asked a question about stroke technique, he would spend hours with that swimmer. If you cared, he cared. His deep understanding of stroke mechanics earned him the respect of his coaching colleagues.
He was spiritual, wrote poetry, and was a dealer in antiques. He loved talking about the craftmanship of antiques true to his calling as a stroke technician.
Donations may be made in George’s memory to the Farmington River Watershed Association (http://www.frwa.org/).
Special thanks to George’s coach colleagues and friends for their generous help with this article: Jim Ottman, Bill Ball, Dave Reilly, George Miles, Nick Cavataro, Jon Levine, Deb Cosme, Ellen Johnston, and Rick Lewis.