Ohio State pistol coach James Sweeney is a sure shot.
Through his years Sweeney has had the honor of coaching pistol shooting and men’s gymnastics; both Conference Medal of Honor winners.
Sweeney gives directions to his athletes through a microphone as the constant popping of pistols ring out in the basement of Converse Hall. The OSU pistol team is coming off a rebuilding year after losing four All-American athletes in the 2002 season. They are beginning to prepare for the 2003 National Collegiate Pistol Championships in March.
In the 2000 season, Sweeney and his team captured the National Collegiate Pistol Championships.
“This was the first time in the history of the modern sport that a military academy had not won. We were the first and only civilian team since then to take the first place spot from a military school,” Sweeney said.
It was during this season that OSU shooter Laura Murray won the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
“One of my highest honors as an educator and a coach was when I had both the male and female Big Ten Conference Medal winners, one in gymnastics and one in pistol,” Sweeney said.
The 2001 season also proved to be successful with the Buckeyes bringing home second place at the nationals.
“We never came home empty handed,” Sweeney said.
Adding to the talent of the team, assistant coach Donna Knisley is an accomplished shooter – having won the Air Pistol Championship for the state of Ohio in 1993. Knisley has been working side by side with Sweeney for the last four years.
“Coach Sweeney is very easy to work with. Coaching comes naturally to him. He truly has an understanding of what it takes to be a successful coach,” Sweeney said.
Sweeney has been shooting competitively for almost 30 years but shooting has been a passion for Sweeney as long as he can remember.
“My father taught me to fire my first .22 pistol when I was six years old on our family farm in Pennsylvania,” Sweeney said.
After years of recreational shooting, Sweeney fell into his next athletic adventure almost by accident. He arrived at Ohio State as a walk-on football player for Woody Hayes but was injured late into his freshman year. He started using gymnastics as rehabilitation for his injury, discovering a true talent for the sport.
“Even though my football career was short-lived, I still had the honor of playing for Woody,” Sweeney said. “Then I discovered gymnastics was my sport.”
Sweeney was a member of the OSU men’s gymnastics team from 1953-56, serving as team captain in 1956. He is also distinguished as an OSU All-Time Letterwinner in 1954, ’55, and ’56.
“The high point of my career as an athlete was when I ranked eighth in the nation in rings,” Sweeney said.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in physical education from OSU in 1957, Sweeney taught at public school in Erie, Mich. Sweeney returned to OSU three years later to obtain his Ph.D in sports pedagogy, leaving once again to serve as the men’s gymnastics coach at Washington State University.
Back in Ohio in 1966, Sweeney took over as head coach of the OSU men’s gymnastics team until 1972. Sweeney was awarded the NCAA Coach of the Year for gymnastics in 1968. During this time, Sweeney coached gymnast Bruce Trott to win the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor. Sweeney was also teaching professional physical education classes at the collegiate level.
“I went into full-time professorial status in 1972 until I retired in 1992,” Sweeney said. “I couldn’t decide if I liked teaching or coaching better, so that’s why I kept bouncing from one to the other.”
The call to coach found Sweeney once again in 1999 when he was asked to be coach of the pistol team.
“I’ve had such luck all my life,” he said. “I couldn’t do football anymore and found gymnastics. After I couldn’t do gymnastics I fell into shooting on the coaching level.”
Sweeney doesn’t plan on giving up the coaching job any time soon.
“It has been a good run so far,” he said. “It’s much more time-consuming than I ever would have dreamed for a retirement job, but it’s been fun.”
When asked why he enjoys coaching Sweeney said because “Coaching as well as teaching is about making a difference in people’s lives.”
Several pistol team members said Sweeney has accomplished this.
“There is nothing Coach won’t do for you on or off the range,” said Jessica Marshall, junior shooter and captain.
“Coach always makes himself available for us,” said Tom Eberz, junior shooter . “He’s one of the most generous people I’ve ever met.”
“I’ll talk to coach about anything from shooting to philosophy,” junior shooter Mark Seidelmann said. “He’s taught us about patience and having a positive outlook.”
When he’s not at the shooting range, Sweeney enjoys fishing, canoeing, water-skiing and taking motorcycle trips across the United States with his fiancée.
