Inductees

A longtime high school coach, Jim Whytlaw likes to put it this way about his career: “I have always told my wife that my tombstone should say, ‘He yelled because he cared.’”

He certainly showed the way for 37 years (1973-2010) as a swimming and diving coach — including 34 successful years at Glendale High School – and was one of the Ozarks’ biggest champions of the sport. Which is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Whytlaw with the Class of 2021.

His teams were 810-58 (.933) in duals, and 10 teams were top four finishers at state meets. The 1983 and 1998 Glendale boys placed third, and the 2009 and 2010 boys were state runners-up. The 2001, 2002 and 2007 girls placed fourth while the 2008, 2009 and 2010 girls were state runners-up.

Six individuals won state titles: Mike Krahn (100-yard breaststroke, 1981); Charlie Mace (100-yard butterfly, 1983 & 1985); Carol Mace (100-yard butterfly, 1983), Caroline Johnson (50-yard freestyle & 100-yard freestyle, 2002 & 2004), Alex Carney (200 freestyle, 2006) and Deanna Sorenson (500-yard freestyle, 2007). Four relay teams won state: the boys 200-yard medley (2000), the girls 200-yard medley (2002, 2009) and the girls 400-yard freestyle (2002).

“Because our pool time was so limited (we had five schools using one pool so each school had 1 hour, 15 minutes for practice),” Whytlaw said. “I stressed to the athletes that they needed to make sure that every workout, every set and every swim was done at 110 percent.”

“I tried to make every athlete feel that they were equally important to the team,” Whytlaw added. “Regardless of the athlete’s ability, encouragement goes a long way. Because of this, I would try to use every athlete in every meet possible and impress upon them the importance of doing better than before.”

Whytlaw himself was a successful swimmer and diver.

In Oklahoma City, he competed for the Oklahoma City Swim Club, then sponsored by Kerr-McGee energy company, and made his mark at Northwest Classen High School, drawing interest from Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma.

However, Whytlaw signed with Brigham Young University and was a four-time All-Western Athletic Conference diver. He was BYU’s first one-meter WAC champion (1971) and was 20^th at the 1972 NCAA Championships, qualifying for the Olympic Trials.

Teaching math, however, was his priority, considering high school teacher Alice Cheshire had left an impression during freshman Algebra I.

In 1973, he arrived in Springfield from Indiana. Initially, Whytlaw taught and coached at Central High School but, three years in, moved to Glendale to continue teaching high school math full-time and coach swimming. He threw every ounce of energy into both roles.

“My high school swim coach, Charles Carpenter, was a great influence on me because of his integrity and love of coaching that he was able to demonstrate,” Whytlaw said.

Whytlaw also played a role in the expansion of swimming and diving programs across the state when he represented southwest Missouri on the MSHSAA Swimming and Diving Advisory Committee.

In the Ozarks specifically, Springfield Public Schools was the only district to offer the sport in the early 1970s. Now 30 schools field teams.

Whytlaw was Missouri Swimming Coach of the Year eight times and was a three-time Section 5 Coach of the Year for an eight-state region. In 2008, he was the National High School Girls Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations – the third time as a finalist.

Academically, he was a 1994 Distinguished Teacher by The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and a 2007 finalist for Teacher of the Year for Springfield Public Schools.

All of which was time-consuming. That’s why Whytlaw appreciates the support of his wife of 43 years, Sharon.

“During that time, she was very understanding about the early mornings, late nights and out-of-town trips that we would take,” Whytlaw said. “I give her credit for all of the honors that I have received.”

Many others made his career special: Daughter Angela Odom, a Glendale swimmer and later a longtime assistant; and SPS’ Orville Pottenger and Charles Espy. Whytlaw also was swim coach at Highland Springs Country Club for years.

“I thank all of the parents of all of the kids that I ever coached,” Whytlaw said. “Swimming started in Springfield in the fall of 1972 because the parents demanded it. Parents are the ones who got swimming started, and they are the ones who have been able to keep it going in Springfield.”