Commentary: Al Irwin coached us in the pool and in life

Re. “Al Irwin, longtime lifeguard and coach, dies at 96 in Newport (Dec. 24):

Like a lot of men who grew up in Newport Beach, I was fortunate enough to swim and play water polo for two of the greatest coaches to come out of Orange County: Ted Newland and Al Irwin. At 87, Newland is still going strong, but Irwin passed away a couple of days before Christmas. He was going to be 97.

I first got to know Irwin when I became a lifeguard for Newport Beach. A year later, he became my lieutenant in Area 3 (Big Corona) when I worked there as a 17-year-old. He was a true waterman, as comfortable in the water as he was on land.

While on his breaks from lifeguarding, Irwin would free-dive off the Corona del Mar jetty and catch lobsters for his family’s dinner. He may even hold the record for the most summers as a Newport Beach lifeguard. During a sabbatical from UC Irvine, he spent part of his time scuba diving with Jacques Cousteau in France and teaching at Cousteau’s legendary school.

After I graduated from high school, Irwin became my water polo and swim coach at Orange Coast College. His swim team had won the state championships the year before, so we were already looking to repeat.

What sort of coach was he? As far as I can remember, I never heard him raise his voice to get our attention, and he had the respect of everyone on the team. He always gave us encouragement and often would greet us at the end of a good swim or team win with as much excitement as we had.

We also knew we had his support, whatever the outcome. I never once heard him say a negative thing about another person. That’s a pretty rare quality.

If he was disappointed we knew it. A couple of times he simply walked off the pool deck, saying workout was over because we’d lost our focus and were wasting our time and his. To many, he seemed more like a wise father. We knew he cared about us.

In 1965, Irwin became the water polo and swim coach at UC Irvine, and at that point he changed my life as well as the lives of several of my best friends. He took us with him to UCI. He had the faith in us that we could help establish a positive reputation for a brand-new university.

It was a win-win situation. We got a great education, and UCI got off to great start with its first sports team. This was only enhanced by the outstanding Newland taking over the program after Irwin was made assistant athletic director. Newland continued to establish UCI as a powerhouse in water polo, winning three Division I NCAA championships.

Something that stood out to me over all the years was how Irwin could see someone he hadn’t seen in decades, grab the person’s hand with both of his and offer a welcome using the person’s full name, and then carry on a conversation as if no time had passed. His memory was amazing.

His life was full of unbelievable experiences, as well as numerous honors and awards. Though he would gladly sit and talk with you about his life, he never seemed to brag.

The one thing he cared about most was his family, and when you saw him he always asked how your family was doing. His wife, Lois, was the love of his life, and his daughter, Marcia, and her husband, Dave, and their family surrounded him with love and laughter.

There will be a lot of people at his memorial, young and old, because he was the kind of man you feel privileged to call a friend, because you knew he felt about you the way you felt about him. He’s a man who will live on in the memories of all the people he coached and worked with and all the friends he made over his lifetime.

Former Newport Beach lifeguard BILL LEACH, who graduated from UC Irvine in 1968, now lives in Hawaii.