John Wingfield

2019 Hobie Billingsley Award Winner


John Wingfield started his diving coaching career at Ball State University in 1988 and was the diving coach and Director of Aquatics there until 1998. He then took a position with USA Diving in Indianapolis and opened the first USA Diving National Training Center in 1998 where he oversaw the development of athlete applications and placement and established the dryland training center, as well as coached elite junior and senior level divers. Wingfield remained with USA Diving until 2012 in various administrative capacities, but always coaching a group of the nation’s elite divers. That has translated into success for central Indiana high school divers. Whether as the official diving coach at the high school or in his role with USA Diving and Indiana Diving Academy, Wingfield has trained and coached 11 girls to 13 IHSAA state titles and 6 boys to IHSAA diving titles. Phillip Jones, who won the IHSAA title in 2001, still remains the boys diving state record holder. Wingfield has also trained Indiana high school divers to 17 runner-up finishes and 9 third-place finishes at the IHSAA championships. Wingfield’s role at USA Diving resulted in Indiana divers competing at the highest level. In 2007, Wingfield was the Head Coach of the FINA World Championship team where David Boudia (Noblesville) and Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis) won a bronze medal in the Synchronized Platform event. That summer he was also an Assistant Coach for the Pan American Games Team where Boudia and Finchum won gold in the same event and Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood) and Haley Ishimatsu won bronze in the Synchronized Platform event. He was Head Coach of the 2008 USA Olympic Diving Team which featured Boudia, Finchum and Dunnichay. He was also Head Coach of the 2008 World Cup team where Boudia won bronze in teh 10-meter platform event . He has been named the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Diving Coach of the Year five times. In 2009, he was awarded the USOC Developmental Coach of the Year for all Olympic and Pan American Sports. In 2012 he was He was presented with the Glenn McCormick Award for significant contributions to the sport of diving. His list of accomplishments are extensive, with his divers winning medals at international competitions including the Olympics. He is a published author of eight books and three videos with YMCA Aquatics. He is certified by American Red Cross, YMCA, and AAHPERD. Wingfield has served as a consultant to various school boards on pool construction, hazard identification, and risk management. Besides being published, he has presented at numerous colleges, schools, community organizations and coaches organizations. He served as Assistant Diving Coach at Indiana University in 2012-13. Since 2013, he has been the Chief Executive Officer and Head Coach of the Indiana Diving Academy in Fishers, Indiana. He is responsible for developing the curriculum, marketing, promoting and hiring staff for summer and winter break diving camps, continuing to develop divers in the state of Indiana. John lives in Fishers with his wife Tania. They have a daughter named Ciara.