Terrence James Laughlin (25 March 1951 – 20 October 2017), was an American swimming coach and founder of Total Immersion, a popular swimming technique that emphasizes form before speed. He also became a best-selling author and the producer of swimming videos that drew millions of views. Birth and education Laughlin (pronounced LOCK-lin) was born March 25, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York to electrician John Laughlin and the former Patricia O’Toole, who worked in a doctor's office. The oldest of six children, he grew up on Long Island, in Williston Park. He graduated from a Roman Catholic high school and then St. John's University in Queens. He majored in political science and graduated in 1972. Student swimmer His swimming abilities as a young student growing up on Long Island were not impressive. He was cut from his grammar school swim team, but still aspired to race competitively. After swimming two summers in pursuit of his Red Cross 50-Mile swim badge, he landed a spot in his high school swim team. "At age 13, I discovered I really enjoyed the solitude of doing laps," Laughlin told author Tim Ferriss. "Just through doing the laps to earn my 50-Mile badge, I turned myself into an OK swimmer, certainly not one with any sort of efficient technique, but one who could swim a mile a day." "After a modest high school swimming career in which he never qualified for the New York City Catholic High School Athletics Association championships and swimming four years at St. John’s University without winning any major honors, Laughlin accepted a job coaching at USMMA in 1972," wrote Bob Herzog in Newsday. Coach and founder Laughlin started coaching in the early 1970s at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. His coaching of college and club teams produced 24 national champions. He then founded the Total Immersion swim program in 1989 to work with what he termed “adult-onset swimmers,” who took up the sport in adulthood, often as triathletes with little swimming experience. His teaching emphasized efficiency in the water through balance, streamlining, drag reduction and energy conservation. He targeted Masters swimmers and triathletes, stressing the benefits of finishing the swimming leg of competition with a low heart rate. Many coaches of age group, collegiate and elite swimmers adopted his approach. “His teaching methods opened up a whole new world to runners and cyclists who wanted to