West Point's Out Triathlon Coach Writes Book

After being denied formal support from the Army, a gay U.S. Military Academy swim coach, Louis Tharp, is publishing a book this fall containing a compilation of his emails, thoughts and travels with the team detailing Army Tri's journey to becoming national collegiate contenders and age group medalists.

The book, Overachiever's Diary, is published by Total Immersion, with an introduction by its founder, Terry Laughlin who is Tharp's coach and mentor and a former coach for the Army swim team. The book also has essays by Dr. Laurie Ferguson, PdD on the psychology of training and competing.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the tri-team, and when the services allow GLBT soldiers to serve openly, Tharp says he will increase the percentage. In addition, Tharp and Dr. Ferguson will be on the speaker's circuit at corporate and civic events talking about training and motivation as well as his experiences at the Division 1 school.

Tharp, a very out gay man involved in community affairs and politics in his home state of New York and at his alma mater, Butler University in Indianapolis, has been in a very public relationship for the past 24 years. "West Point knew I was gay when I took the job and it was never an issue with either the officer corps or the cadets," he says.

"Jim, my partner, and I attend team parties. I've always experienced acceptance. Being a gay coach involved some education with a few people who hadn't been around homosexuals, where discussion of conduct vs. orientation took place, but I never felt uncomfortable," he says. "Cadet acceptance of my sexual orientation was 'so what.' Most have had GLBT friends in high school."

The book, approximately 200 pages with about 100 photos -- taken by cadets and their families and donated for the book -- is scheduled to be published this fall. It is written for triathletes, as well as those who enjoy reading about sports and understanding coach/team relationships.

"We've got Overachiever's Diary on the swim caps at the August 19 West Point Triathlon where we'll be promoting the book and giving people the chance to sign up for pre-publication information. The team and officer corps has been very supportive," Tharp says.

Tharp began swimming in 1996, at age 45, when he decided to lose more than 75 pounds and become the athlete he was never comfortable being in high school or college.

"When I was in school, homosexuality was a mental defect and a felony. Sports was all about homophobia" he says.

"We know now that we can't cede sports to straight jocks. The GLBT community deserves the same benefits of sport that heterosexuals enjoy -- the emotional, physical and intellectual challenge necessary to learn how to exceed perceived limits and stay balanced."

Since learning to swim, a skill he attributes to Total Immersion, Tharp has medaled in World Masters events, local, regional and international meets, and most recently won two gold and two silver medals at the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. He has trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs which was not the most gay-friendly place on the planet, he says, as well as at Stanford, which he describes as much more gay-friendly. Last spring he and the two other West Point tri coaches entered the Devilman, a southern New Jersey half-ironman, as a relay team and took first
place.

"It's important that the cadets know the coaching staff practices what it teaches," Tharp said of the half ironman win.

Overachiever's Diary soon will be available online at overachieversdiary.com, totalimmersion.net, or amazon.com. A profile of Tharp, a synopsis, and a sample chapter is available at online here.