After 37 years as MSU’s head diving coach, John Narcy will finally leave the pool.

Narcy, 66, brought closure to his collegiate coaching career at the 2002 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

The Spartan’s only diving representative, senior Carly Weiden, placed 11th in the one-meter dive and 24th in the three-meter dive.

“I had a great farewell,” Narcy said. “Everyone thanked me for my contributions, which meant a lot.”

Since joining the Spartans in 1966, Narcy has coached All-Americans, Big Ten Champions, NCAA Champions and Olympians.

His storied career has come to an end in East Lansing, but it began his senior year at Tolleston High School in Gary, Ind. The Raiders didn’t have a diving team, but with the help of four friends, Narcy created his own team.

Despite not having a coach or pool, Narcy qualified for the Indiana State Diving Finals.

“I got on a Greyhound bus all by myself with a track suit and my duffle bag,” Narcy said. “I couldn’t think about anything, except trying to remember how to get to the pool.”

Narcy returned home as the Indiana State diving champion. The self-taught diver earned a scholarship to Michigan in 1954.

“That opened a lot of doors for me,” Narcy said. “I was able to go to college, instead of working in the steel mill. So my mom, with tears in her eyes, sent me to school.”

As U-M’s team captain, Narcy led the Wolverines to a third place finish in the 1957 NCAA Championship.

Graduating with a kinesiology degree, his road to Big Ten coaching began at the high school level. After two years as diving coach at Hinsdale High, Hinsdale, Ill., Narcy won the conference title.

“The coach over there knew they could win, all they needed was a diving coach,” he said. “I always knew my claim to fame would be diving.”

Despite the success during his two years at Hinsdale, Narcy began pursuing a coaching position at Iowa, Northwestern and MSU, the only Big Ten schools without diving programs.

“MSU called and they treated me so well,” Narcy said. “They wanted me so bad.”

After discussing the move with his wife, Pat, Narcy accepted the job despite a higher offer from Wisconsin. Narcy said he wanted to start a program from scratch.

“It would be a lower salary, but I wanted to be in the Big Ten,” he said. “That’s where I needed to coach.”

Narcy said he wasn’t just a coach, but rather a teacher 60 percent of the time and a coach the other 40 percent. For his teaching duties - water instruction classes - he earned $6,300 a year, while he earned $1.25 an hour for coaching.

When Narcy first started at MSU, there was no women’s diving team. But women were always welcome to train with the men.

Actually, Narcy’s best diver was a women, Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse. Farrell-Ovenhouse trained with Narcy from 1986-91 and won four Big Ten titles, two NCAA Championships, was a six-time All-American and placed fifth in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

“The best advice he ever gave me was to, ‘Just go and do what you have trained so hard to do, go on auto pilot,’” Farrell-Ovenhouse said. “He offered unending compassion and friendship to each of us.”

Swimming head coach Jim Lutz said Narcy’s abilities are evident in his diver’s achievements.

“John’s strength is his ability to coach champions,” Lutz said. “A majority of his divers have developed to be nationally ranked through John’s coaching.”

Narcy said successful coaching comes from knowledge.

“I am a patient person,” he said. “Patience with athletes, especially if they are floundering or going through hard times, is the only strength you need. I care about the individual and they sense that.

“When I ask, they perform. If a kid is willing to work, I’ll do what I can for them.”

Weiden, Narcy’s last pupil at MSU and Big Ten Diver of the Year, credits her success to his sense of humor.

“He stresses that diving is fun, but he never lets us take anything too seriously,” Weiden said. “He always makes us laugh.

“I’ve progressed so far and he’s helped me not only with diving but in life.”

Narcy said Weiden’s success has provided an enjoyable ending to his career. But it was Howie Kuhns’ letter that finalized it.

Kuhns, one of Narcy’s former high school divers, wrote the letter after hearing of his mentor’s impending retirement. In it, he thanked Narcy for “investing his life in people.”

“That was a great quote,” Narcy said “And a great feeling. It’s been a long road with bumps and turns, but it’s good to know I made a difference.”