Tom Himes walks out of the quiet calm of his spartan office into the buzz of dozens of 12- to 14-year-olds milling about on the deck of the indoor pool at the Loyola University Maryland Fitness and Aquatics Center.

Wearing a white T-shirt with the letters NBAC and the words North Baltimore Aquatic Club below them, Himes carries a printout of the afternoon’s workout. The top of the sheet reads “NBAC CHALLENGE 3 PRACTICE THURSDAY MARCH 21, 2024, 5:00 PM–6:45 PM,” but really this could be any day of any week over the course of the more than three decades he has coached for the renowned swim club that launched the careers of Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps and Beth Botsford, both of whom Himes coached when they were kids.

As always, Himes, NBAC’s head coach and CEO, is meticulously prepared; the sheet breaks down the exact strokes, distances, and minutes allotted for each session into four blocks of time. In many ways he is a man of routine, and NBAC’s results have shown that his routines work.

At this point in Himes’ career, the numbers are staggering. He has coached swimmers to more than 750 national rankings, including 91 number-one rankings, and more than 550 state and area records, according to NBAC. In 2005, he was inducted into the Maryland Swimming Hall of Fame, and last year he entered the International Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame. His name has become synonymous with coaching excellence—the Maryland Swimming Age Group Coach of the Year Award was renamed in his honor.

The kids, one somehow more sinewy and skinnier than the next, wear blue swim caps with “NBAC” on one side and “Paris 2024” on the other. After the Olympics in France, they’ll be replaced by ones reading “Los Angeles 2028.” This is aspirational, but given Himes’ record, not completely far-fetched.

The tweens and teens giggle, shout, and bounce from one cluster to another, as tweens and teens are apt to do. Himes, 67, is businesslike but not stern. They gather around him while he runs through the day’s practice plan, then eagerly jump into the water and start swimming laps.

This is the apex of youth swimming; during Himes’ tenure, NBAC has never lost a Maryland Swimming scored championship meet and is consistently recognized by USA Swimming as a top 25 age group club. The kids take practice seriously, which is why they train for generally an hour and a half to two hours, six days a week, 11 months a year.

Many of them hope to swim competitively in college, and a few dream of winning Olympic gold. Yet before practice and during drills, you’re hard-pressed to spot a kid without a smile on his or her face. Despite working so hard, it looks like they’re actually…having fun.

Julia Rommel is a 15-year-old whom “Coach Tom,” as she and many others call Himes, used to work with. At the time, she had an issue with her kneecap, which she thought might derail her career.

“He helped me after surgery get back to where I was,” she says. “I saw myself, when I was first trying to get back, not loving the sport as much. He got me back to where I was loving it again.”

Julia isn’t the only Rommel whom Himes has impacted. Her mother, Jen, swam for him 35 years ago.

“In my opinion, the definition of a good coach is someone who sets an expectation and then holds you to it. And Tom does that well,” Jen says. “Whether he’s being tough with you in the moment or he’s just being matter-of-fact, you know he cares. Even as a kid, I recognized that.”

Himes devotes 60 to 70 hours per week to the job and usually deals with some club business on his “off day.” Having left a career at the Department of Defense (he coached nights and weekends throughout the job), he doesn’t have to be doing this.

“This is about the kids,” he says. “I’m trying to keep it that way. It’s not about me. It’s not about the parents. It’s about them. They love it here. I don’t have to make them come to practice. They want to come to practice. And they know they’re going to have to work hard. I like watching them develop. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to see a kid get better—whatever that better is.”

For a guy who has devoted much of his life to swimming, Himes doesn’t have an especially decorated background in the pool. The Baltimore native didn’t swim in college or high school; he stopped competing year-round around the age of 15. Yet he remained intrigued by the sport, and he began coaching full-time while attending the University of Baltimore. (He graduated in 1980 with a degree in business management.) After stints in Glen Burnie and at the Howard County YMCA, he was recruited to come to NBAC by the club’s co-founder, Murray Stephens.

“There’s so much more to swimming than swimming up and down the pool,” Himes says. “It teaches commitment, it teaches a work ethic. It’s just a nice challenge to teach the kids to get as much as they can out of the sport. You’ve got to train the kids not only physically, but mentally.”

“THERE’S SO MUCH MORE TO SWIMMING THAN SWIMMING UP AND DOWN THE POOL.”

From 1985 to 2002, Himes was the head age group coach at NBAC. He then left to coach other clubs and worked as an assistant coach at Towson University and UMBC before returning to NBAC in 2009. Among his pupils during his first stint was a 9-year-old Beth Botsford, who had just started swimming year-round. When she showed up to her first practice, she had no swim cap or goggles.

“I remember the warm-up alone was more than I had ever swam at one time in my life,” she says. “I think I made it through maybe half of it, and I got out and said, ‘Oh my God, I can’t do this.’”

Botsford recalls being in tears when Himes approached her and urged her to stick it out for at least two weeks. He saw something in the young swimmer that she did not see in herself.

“She was a mess when she first came here,” he says. “She swam sloppy, but she came back every day. She wanted it, and she worked hard. There’s no secret to this thing. The kids that work the hardest do the best. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you’re not working hard, it’s only going to get you so far. And it’s the same thing the other way. You might not have a lot of talent, but if you work hard, you can get somewhere.”

Six months after Botsford started working with Himes, she broke a national record in the backstroke. Himes sat her down to talk about her future.

“My goal was to make the 2000 Olympics, and Tom was like, ‘You need to put 1996 on [that goal list],’” she says. “I will always remember that because I was only going to be 15 years old then. He just has so much wisdom.”

At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, the not-yet-legal-to-drive Botsford won two gold medals, in the individual 100-meter backstroke and as a member of the women’s 100-meter medley relay team.

Himes’ motivational acumen has been well-documented, but Botsford also credits him with teaching her the importance of kicking. He’s always been an advocate of a strong lower body for swimmers, which is one reason why he knew he had someone special when he first saw Michael Phelps dart through the water. He coached the 23- time Olympic gold medal winner from ages 10 to 12.

“He certainly did a whole heck of a lot more after me than he did with me,” Himes says. “No one could have foreseen the unbelievable level that he reached, and I’m not going to suggest that I did.”

But it was when he saw 10-year-old Phelps do a 500-meter free kick (holding onto a board while kicking to propel yourself through the water) in under six minutes that Himes realized the boy was a special talent.

“That was probably one of the first things that he did that I was like, ‘Wow.’”

Prior to Michael, Himes coached Phelps’ sisters, Hilary and Whitney, both outstanding swimmers in their own rights. (At 14, Hilary had been the fastest distance swimmer in the country for her age group and Whitney was third in the world for the 200-meter butterfly.) After swimming for Himes for a year, Hilary moved to another coach before returning to him.

“Tom welcomed me back, which I [credit] to continuing my love for swimming. If I hadn’t gone back to Tom, I don’t know that I would have stayed with swimming,” says Hilary. “He was always just really warm and compassionate and a great coach. He was an important figure in my life.”

Hilary, like many of Himes’ former swimmers, has fond memories of Himes dressing up like Santa Claus during practice on Christmas Eve. (The only days NBAC doesn’t hit the pool are New Year’s, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.) The mustachioed Himes has the right look and disposition for the role.

“The younger kids were a little on the fence as to whether it was really Santa,” says Himes, who retired his Kris Kringle suit in 2021. “The older kids figured it out quickly, but I really never gave in to officially letting them know. The little brothers and sisters of team members really thought I was Santa.”

“TOM WAS A GREAT COACH. HE WAS AN IMPORTANT FIGURE IN MY LIFE,” SAYS HILARY PHELPS.

In 2015, Himes, whose two children are grown (his daughter, a former Division II All-American lacrosse player, is an occupational therapist; his son is a Catholic priest), began making plans to cut back on his coaching at NBAC as he and his wife of 38 years, Betty, were moving from Perry Hall to Pennsylvania.

So much for the best-laid plans. Nearly a decade later, he still commutes one hour to NBAC six days a week—he just can’t seem to drag himself away from the pool.

“His motivation is helping NBAC, helping his kids to be better,” says Chris Kaplan, who swam for Himes.

Now 47, Kaplan is the head coach and executive director of Monocacy Aquatic Club in Frederick.

“If a coach called him up and asked for advice, he’d be happy to help. If a coach asked him to come out and watch practices and give them some advice, he’d be there. He’s not in this for himself.”

None of the accolades or awards seem to have a particularly profound impact on the outwardly unassuming Himes.

“I’m honored and thrilled that people acknowledge what I’ve done,” he says. “I’ve been lucky enough to have been around a lot of very good coaches and learned from them. But I just really like what I’m doing and I put everything I have into it.”

That’s clear as he walks the deck at practice, making a point to talk to as many kids as possible. Some get a light ribbing, a few receive gentle criticism, while others are offered words of encouragement.

“There is no question that the swimmers come first and foremost in everything he does,” Jen Rommel says. “There is an expectation not of perfectionism in any way, but that you’re going to bring your best every day.”

Because that’s exactly what you’re going to get from Tom Himes.

Training for the Olympic Games is a year-round endeavor that requires steadfast focus and total commitment. It’s the first thing athletes think about when they wake up and the last thing on their mind when they go to sleep. These are people whose lives revolve around a singular focus, in pursuit of one of the biggest stages in sports.

Maggie Belbot is one of those people. Leading up to what was going to be the Olympic Trials in a few months, the 15-year-old Bryn Mawr student and swimmer at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) had been in a home stretch mentality, working to shave off the only tenth of a second she needed to qualify for the 100-meter fly.

But when the coronavirus made its way to the United States, those plans came to an abrupt halt, as the Olympic Games joined the wave of major sporting events that have been cancelled or postponed. The International Olympic Committee announced the augmented timeline last month, with the games now set for 2021.

“It’s kind of frustrating,” Belbot says. “You’ve been working toward a goal for so long, and now it’s all been taken away from you.”

Despite the disappointment, Belbot is choosing to keep her head up, reminding herself that there will still be plenty of opportunities in the future.

“My mentality is about coming back stronger,” she says. “I don’t want to get down and negative. The positives are there—even if they’re harder to see.”

The effects of the Games’ postponement are far-reaching, signifying the end of some careers, but also the prolongation of others. The extent to which this delay will affect Olympic athletes across all sports won’t be fully realized until they’re able to start preparing again.

“I have not seen anything or talked to anybody who feels this was a bad call,” says Tom Himes, the head coach at NBAC, which has trained several Olympic superstars such as Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps. “It’s certainly disappointing what’s happening. But the other reality is everybody’s in the same boat. We have no control over the situation.”

Given the current circumstances, perspective is everything. What might be a disappointment for one athlete could present an opportunity for another.

This idea certainly applies to Coppin State alum and Aberdeen resident Christina Epps, a triple jumper who is currently in the midst of rehabbing her second ACL injury in eight years. Faced with an expedient recovery timeline, she decided to continue to pursue her goal of making the United States Track and Field delegation for Tokyo.

After stops and starts where her knee wasn’t doing what she wanted it to, it was only recently that Epps felt secure in her abilities. And now, with the Games postponed, she’ll have a bit more time to get ready.

“For me, this whole situation has been a blessing in disguise,” Epps says. “I was excited—it’s just an opportunity for me to continue to get stronger and regroup. Now I can prepare for next year.”

Conversely, Himes feels that his swimming hopefuls will particularly feel the effects of this delay. Swimmers are creatures of habit, and the consequences of a disruption in their routine will vary from person to person.

“It’s going to be very individualized,” Himes says. “I think the 18 and under kids are all in a position where they can certainly come back from this. But for some of the older [swimmers], this could put an end to their career to have to wait another year. If nothing else, you have to look at the good parts of this. It possibly is giving a lot of them a little bit of a mental shutdown and ability to retool and get excited again.”

Cassie Kalisz, a Bel Air native and swimmer at Louisiana State University who has already qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 200-meter backstroke, says that, while the current circumstances don’t affect her already-finished collegiate season, there still is a sense of disappointment. Kalisz is a NBAC alum who comes from a family of swimmers. Her older brother, Chase, is an Olympic silver medalist. She had hoped to compete and qualify for the 100-meter backstroke in the coming months as well, but will have to put that dream on pause.

“I was in the middle of pretty hard training leading up to [the delay], so to stop out of nowhere is pretty shocking,” Kalisz says. “Swimming is the kind of sport where you stay ahead by swimming every day and staying really active. It’s definitely going to change a lot of people’s careers. It’s a little bit sad because a lot of people have been tailoring this entire year of training just to this summer.”

In the meantime, for those choosing to continue to pursue an Olympic career, a little creativity is warranted. Training for the Games is a seven-days-a-week effort, and with everything but nonessential businesses closed to the public, athletes have been cut off from their traditional methods of getting themselves in Olympic shape.

Belbot and Kalisz say that they and their teammates have been texting each other workouts and tips for staying in shape while cut off from training facilities. And for Epps, though running outside while maintaining social distancing is still allowed, her access to weight rooms—full body strength is key in the triple jump—will be limited. “That’s one of the only dilemmas of this whole thing for me,” she says.

Despite any residual frustration, all the athletes feel as though the right decision was made. As much as they’d like to change the circumstances, they fully understand the measures taken to postpone the Olympics—and in effect, flatten the curve.

“If the consequence is being a little bit out of shape, then I’m fine with it,” Kalisz says. “It’s pretty unfair what’s happening, but it’s more important to realize that it is something really serious. While there’s people who are upset about what’s going on and how it affects them personally, I think it’s really important to look at the big picture and see that the world is really hurting. It’s something we need to really take seriously.”

The five-time Olympic gold medalist and 14-time world champion Katie Ledecky can add one more accolade to her resume—2017 Female Athlete of the Year. The Associated Press chose Ledecky, with 351 votes, over world-class tennis player Serena Williams (343 votes) and track star Allyson Felix (248 votes).

Finishing second last year in voting to gymnast Simone Biles, her candidacy was strengthened this time around by her performance at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships is Budapest, where she won five gold medals and a silver.

According to the AP, Ledecky is the eighth female swimmer to win the award and the first since Amy Van Dyken in 1996. Among others is 1969 winner Debbie Meyer who Ledecky mirrored at last year’s Rio games by swimming the 200, 400, and 800 freestyles in a single Olympics. She is also the first active college athlete to win since UConn basketball player Rebecca Lobo in 1995.

“It’s a really great history of women swimmers and freestylers,” she told AP. “I really look up to a lot of those women.”

The 20-year-old Stanford sophomore got her start in swimming at age 6 because she wanted to make friends. Over the years, she has spent time training at Michael Phelps’ alma mater, the North Baltimore Aquatic Club in Mt. Washington. Now, she is one of the most decorated American female swimmers in history and is favored to win big at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Despite the pressure of living in a performance-driven and results-driven world, Ledecky enjoys her journey from start to finish and always puts in her best effort.

She is remaining levelheaded and trying to enjoy a normal college experience—living in dorms, swimming with friends, and trying to decide on a major.

“Just being in the college environment has kind of added another layer of fun,” she said. “Being with teammates and working toward NCAA championships and having that team goal, that’s another thing that is fun. I know the four years goes by very quickly and I want to do everything I can to prepare.”

“The young bucks brought tears to our eyes,” Phelps told the Today Show. “I was trying to hold back as much as I could. Nathan started shedding tears, then Ryan was shedding tears. Being a part of the 400-free relay has been a dream of mine. I’ve been on the good side and bad side of it. I was happy we could win that relay as a team.”

Phelps admitted that having his 3-month-old son, Boomer, in the audience while he won his 19th gold medal, made the experience “a lot more emotional.”

“I tried to look for him up there and, when I finally found him, he was asleep,” he said with a laugh. “Hopefully we was awake during the race but, if not, I can play it for him when he’s a bit older. It’s just an inspiration to have him here.”

Kalisz and Phelps, of course, have their training at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club in Mt. Washington to thank. Kalisz has trained at the NBAC since 2000—and, more recently, in Scottsdale, Arizona—with mentor Phelps and coach Bob Bowman. In a 2013 interview, he talked about how rewarding that experience has been.

“Training at NBAC with the greatest swimmer of all time has been probably the best environment for me,” said Kalisz, pictured, clearly enjoying himself in Rio.

“I’ve always dreamed about racing and swimming with him. I never thought that would happen to me.”

Phelps’s work in Rio isn’t done yet. On Tuesday night, he’ll swim the men’s 200-meter fly, on Thursday he’ll swim the 200-meter IM he finishes up on Friday night with his signature 100-meter butterfly.