Murray Callan was born in Long Beach, California, in 1924 and from an early age was exposed continually to pools and the ocean; he quickly developed an affinity for both. Murray always felt his early and uninterrupted exposure to water was a primary factor in his athletic, academic and professional successes. Murray used his aquatic foundation to move into more advanced hand-to-eye coordination sports, excelling in both football and baseball while in high school.

Before Murray could graduate from high school he was drafted into the military, becoming part of Tom Brokaw’s Greatest Generation, serving as a tailgunner in TBM torpedo planes while fighting the Japanese in the South Pacific during World War II. During boot camp, Murray began teaching fellow Navy trainees how to swim when they struggled to pass the swim test needed for graduation. He knew he had a knack for instructing because of his patience and ability to communicate with those he was teaching. It was also here that Murray first witnessed mothers giving birth to their babies in tide pools in the South Pacific. This image stayed with Murray for years and eventually became the basis for curiosity and the desire to implement early and natural exposure to warm water for infants in the United States. Hence the research began and the Murray Callan Soft-Touch, No Fear Technique was born.

After surviving several harrowing ordeals during the war, Murray returned home and accepted a football scholarship to San Diego State University, where he was to lead the Aztecs in rushing in 1948, playing against the likes of Brigham Young University, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. At this time, he met his future wife, Joan Standley, who would soon become an integral part of the administrative realm of the original Murray Callan Swim School.

Once his outstanding career as an Aztec running back was over and following graduation, Murray decided that teaching and coaching were his calling. After finishing his teaching credential, he began a 30-year career as a teacher and coach in San Diego Unified School District. He began his career at Point Loma High School where he was the varsity baseball coach and the backfield coach for the football team. He later became a long time swimming coach at Clairemont High School. To this day, Murray holds records as one of the winningest coaches in the District’s history, claiming several titles in football, baseball, tennis, swimming, soccer, gymnastics, and wrestling.

It was during this time period that he began to intensively study the connection between early aquatic exposures with advanced academic, athletic and social development. He felt, and it was later proven in studies in West Germany, East Germany, and the former Soviet Union (Russia), that there was a viable connection, but it had to be in a warm, relaxed aquatic environment. Murray felt there was a natural transition from the womb to warm water and thus a very fluid, energy-efficient and relaxed child results. To take the next step to more advanced hand-eye sports such as tennis, golf, or baseball, where smooth, energy-efficient movements are essential, is natural. On the other hand, if a child’s aquatic exposure is in an environment where the method emphasized is not a fluid, relaxed and energy-efficient stroke, but instead on a non-fluid, non-relaxed or choppy method then there will be no carryover. The person, whether child or adult, will invariably be at risk if not truly comfortable in the water.

While teaching and coaching at Point Loma and Clairemont High Schools for 30 years, Murray was also the aquatic coordinator at the La Jolla Country Club for 20 years. In 1975, Murray purchased a commercial property on Law in Pacific Beach and designed and built a custom facility for the express purpose of teaching infants and young children to swim. (A new facility was added by the 2nd generation of Callans in San Marcos in 1996. In 2014, Glenn Callan gave that facility to his son, Brett, and it is now named Callan Swim School.) Murray knew that merely leasing properties with pools already on them was not adequate. Such pre-existing facilities are not designed for teaching young children how to swim and consequently are usually unsuccessful. In addition, most leased pools are usually shared with the public and maintained by other groups, thus bringing into question hygienic issues. With Murray’s innovative methodology and unique pool design, success was and still is inevitable.

After 25 years of producing successful, relaxed swimmers, Murray was inducted into the inaugural class of the United States Swim School Hall of Fame. The United States Swim School Association’s annual Teacher of the Year award is named in his honor and is still presented to deserving swim instructors at USSSA annual conferences. Ultimately, he brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the world of swimming. This was to be the basis of forty-five years of creativity that would lead to the nurturing and progressive program their swim schools symbolize. Murray and Joan’s philosophy, methodology and desire to help the San Diego community have enabled thousands of children, as young as just a few months, to begin to learn to swim in a warm, patient and relaxing environment. They felt that children should be at one with the water and that swimming was the only athletic experience that could one day save their lives. So from the thousands of children who have enjoyed this experience to the thousands more in future generations, Murray and Joan, we all thank you.