Bobby Patten, head coach and co-founder of the Dallas Aquatic Masters Program, has worked with friend, partner and Olympic gold medalist Jim Montgomery since 1981 when they swam together as students at SMU.

Now Patten is coaching the program’s outdoor summer session at the school. During their first night on Monday, they had more than 65 members present.

The swimmers were between 20 and 84 years of age and their skill levels range from beginner to advanced.

“We’re really excited about the summer camps this year,” Patten said. “We normally teach at SMU this time of year in the evenings after the women’s team is finished. After about the 12th of May we will add mornings to our available time slots. We also have a training camp at Vail Colorado where we will swim, study nutrition, and have a great time in general.”

Patten, an SMU alumnus, first attended the school on a swimming scholarship in 1981.

In 1983, he was diagnosed with a form of malignant cancer in the muscle tissue of his left arm. At the time, the only treatment was to amputate the limb.

Patten, who holds world records in the free and butterfly, found that option intolerable.

“I heard about this experimental procedure at UCLA,” Patten said. “They would go in and remove the effected areas only, then I would have rehab. It was pretty radical for the time. I continued swimming for SMU then would spend summer in the hospital.”

Patten swam for the school until he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1986.

“The P. E. program does not even exist now, and that’s a shame because it was a really good one,” Patten said. “The wellness program that the school has now is a fine one and there is the new wellness center being built, but it’s not quite the same.”

Patten said many of SMU’s professors pioneered the way in wellness when he was in school. One professor that he remembers well is the now retired Ladislav Novak.

“[Novak] was an anthropologist who was specializing in the study of muscle to body fat ratios. He was a fascinating man,” Patten said. “He drew upon his past experiences as a Nazi Concentration Camp victim when he began his studies.”

Patten went on to set four world records, All-American records and United States Masters Swimming records, and he hasn’t stopped.

He set world records with the Masters program in the 1500 LCM FREE, the 200 LCM FLY, the 800 SCM and the 1500 SCM FREE.

“I guess that I am able to keep on going out of sheer stubbornness,” Patten said. “The main thing that I have learned in life was something that I learned at SMU under Coach [George McMillion]. If a way seems blocked to you, you don’t give in. You never give in. You find another path either over the obstacle, under it or around it. Nothing is accomplished by quitting.”

The summer swim program normally costs $65 per month. A special discount is being offered to faculty and staff for $45 per month.

“We would really like to see more of the faculty, staff and students at the pool,” Patten said. He said he likes a diverse group of learners. The trainers pace the workouts based on the skills of each swimmer.

“Our 84 year old has a program that is geared for their needs that is completely different from that of the 20 year olds, but we all have a good time,” he said.

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