Club Wolverine Hires Dr. Josh White as New Head Coach

Club Wolverine, the largest USA Swimming club in the state of Michigan, has announced the hiring of Dr. Josh White as the club’s new head coach. He replaces Jim Whitehead, who spent more than two years in charge before being removed by the parent board earlier this year.

White is a familiar face in Ann Arbor, having spent 14 seasons as a coach with the University of Michigan varsity program. That included nine seasons as an associate head coach.

White was part of the staff of longtime Michigan head coach Mike Bottom, including as part of the team that won the 2013 NCAA Men’s Championship. Following Bottom’s retirement in 2023, White was not retained as part of the staff of new head coach Matt Bowe.

While at Michigan, the men’s team won 9 Big Ten titles and 1 NCAA team championship. The women’s team won 3 Big Ten team titles. Specializing in distance and middle distance training, White’s swimmers won more than 40 Big Ten individual titles. White has coached multiple Olympians and Fitter & Faster Elite Clinicians including 1500m Silver Medalist Connor Jaeger and Open Water star Emily Brunemann.

Since leaving college coaching, White has been working with Fitter & Faster Swim Camps, the largest swim camp operator in the United States. as the Director of High Performance Swimming & Data Insights. In that role, he led both traditional camps and the production of specialty swim camps that included teaching about the kind of deep analytics that are available to elite international-level athletes.

Fitter & Faster is a SwimSwam partner.

In 2006 White attained his Ph.D. in human performance from Indiana University, studying in the Counsilman Center for the Science of Swimming. His graduate research focused on the power generated during swimming. He also spent time as the head coach of Pomona College in California.

“I am honored and excited to join the Club Wolverine family,” White said upon accepting the new role. “Having deep roots in the club and area, this opportunity feels especially meaningful. Club Wolverine is a storied program, and I look forward to working with its talented athletes, staff, and community to build on this tradition and foster the next generation of champions.”

Best known for his work with distance swimmers, the club said that his hiring marks “the beginning of a new era for Club Wolverine as the organization maintains its standard of excellence at every level.”

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Josh White as our new leader,” said the Club Wolverine Board of Directors. “His vision and depth of experience make him the perfect fit for our club’s future.”

The club has approximately 250 swimmers training with teh team at any given time. The team won the 10 & Under, 11-14, and 15 & over LSC Championships earlier this season. It is currently a bronze medal club in the USA Swimming Club Excellence program, and has in the past achieved gold and silver medal status.

Among the team’s notable current swimmers is Sam Campbell, a rising high school senior who made finals at the Ocala Futures meet in all three backstroke races and was 2nd in the 50 back. He is also the Michigan high school state runner-up in the 100 yard backstroke (49.92), and the Michigan ULTRA Championships winner of the 50 and 100 backstroke.

Isaac Adanin, a rising high school junior, won the Michigan ULTRA Championship in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and was the Michigan High School D1 State Champion in both the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM.

Adrienne Schadler, another rising junior, was the Michigan D2 State Champion in the girls’ 200 and 500 frees, and Tallulah Beg finished 3rd in the 100 breast and 4th in the 200 IM at last year’s D1 State Championship meet as just a freshman.

The club also serves a role as the official representation of many University of Michigan swimmers outside of the NCAA season.