James Barber
	Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 3rd Season Alma Mater: Auburn-Montgomery

The distance group has continued to excel and is swimming faster than ever before. The man responsible for a great deal of the success is third-year assistant coach James Barber. Last season marked the second year in a row that Florida State had at least two student-athletes swim in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events at the men's NCAA Championships, after eight years without a single distance representative.

Under Barber's guidance, Steve Roof set new school records in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle. Roof also earned Honorable Mention All-American honors for his 15th-place finish in the 1,650 free at the NCAA Championships, which was the first time in school history that a student-athlete had achieved that honor in that event. Kyle Young, who also qualified for the NCAA Championships, moved into second-place in 1,650 free and fifth-place in the 500 free on FSU's all-time list. Young also earned All-ACC honors with his third-place finish in the 1,650 free at the ACC Championships. On the women's side Meredith Martelle moved into second-place in the 1650 free and seventh-place in the 500 free on FSU's all-time lists.

During the 2004-05 season, the results of Barber's work were first evident at the men's ACC Championships as not one, but three swimmers got under the old 1,650 record. Young and Roof both broke the mark and Thomas Bishop did them one better as he earned All-ACC honors with his third-place 15:08.47. In the process, he broke his own 1,000 record during the opening split and his award was the first for an FSU distance swimmer since 1994. The men's distance trio supplanted the top three spots on the school's all-time 1,650 free list and also held three of the top five slots on the 500 freestyle as well. On the women's side, Golda Marcus broke into the top five in both the 500 and 1,650 freestyle with three more swimmers cracking the top ten in the 500.

The 33-year-old Barber joined the Seminoles in 2004 after a six year run as the head coach at Club Makos in Gulf Breeze, FL, where he produced national caliber swimmers. Included in this group were former Seminole Loren Hansen and Kyle Cormier who both participated at the US Nationals and US Junior Nationals. Hansen earned NCAA Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2003, participated on two record-setting relays and is ranked in the FSU all-time top five in three different events.

All told, Barber has had 18 Junior National qualifiers in over 40 events, 20 national age group top 16 performers and 21 titles at the Southeastern Swimming Championships, a Local Swim Committee of USA Swimming. In addition to his coaching duties, the last two years Barber served as the Aquatics Director at The Club, home to Club Makos.

Some of Barber's most valuable coaching experience came prior to the completion of his master's degree in exercise physiology at the University of South Alabama. For one year he served as an assistant coach with the United States Resident National Team. While in Colorado Springs, CO, he worked with several world class athletes, including Amy Van Dyken and B.J. Bedford. Van Dyken - the first American female athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics (Atlanta, 1996) - took home the gold in the 50 freestyle at the 1998 World Championships. Prior to the World Championships, Bedford won the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke at the national championships.

Coaching has been a part of Barber's life dating back to his undergrad days at Auburn University at Montgomery, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in exercise science in 1996. He got his first coaching job as the head age group coach for the Montgomery YMCA Barracudas in Montgomery, AL. In his three years there he coached more than a dozen LSC champions with countless other LSC finalists.

From there he moved to Mobile, AL, where he served as Senior Coach for the City of Mobile Swim Association while pursing his master's degree. Taking over a rather inexperienced program, he built the team up to the point where they were regular finalists at the LSC meet. His next coaching stint had him in the same position for the Colorado Spring Swim Team while also coaching the US National Team.

A native of Prattville, AL, Barber is married to the former Angie Bixler.

General Information

2011-12 Almanac 

School Records 

All Time Top 10 

All Time ACC Champions 

All Time All-Americans 

FSU Athletics Fast Facts 

FSU Fast Facts 

Seminole Improvements 

Diving Camp Brochure 

Weekend Update

Twelve Named to All-ACC Academic Team

2011-2012 Season Awards

Noles Up Top

Seven's Wonders

Day Three Update

Day Two