NZ Swimming Legend and former coach Pic Parkhouse. Photo: Simon Watts/PHOTOSPORT
NZ Swimming Legend and former coach Pic Parkhouse. Photo: Simon Watts/PHOTOSPORT
Vincent Temple ''Pic'' Parkhouse 1924-2017
One of the elite of New Zealand's swimming coaches who pioneered distance training techniques has died in Tauranga, aged 92.
Vincent Temple Parkhouse, known universally as Pic, died in Tauranga Hospital last Friday, almost 43 years after that remarkable day in Christchurch when his swimmers won all of New Zealand'sCommonwealth Games swimming medals.
Mr Parkhouse's huge contribution to the sport saw him awarded the highest accolade of Master Coach by the New Zealand Swim Coaches and Teachers Association.
The 1974 Christchurch Games became an international stage for the success of his coaching methods, inspired by the techniques of New Zealand middle distance running coach Arthur Lydiard.
Mr Parkhouse's swimmers from Christchurch's Wharenui Club won seven medals, with Mark Treffers winning gold and silver, his daughter Jaynie gold and bronze, Sue Hunter two bronzes and John Coutts a bronze.
New Zealand swimmer Jaynie Parkhouse (centre) winning the women's 800m freestyle at the British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, 30th January 1974. Photo/Getty archive
It was the culmination of 14 years of never letting an opportunity slip to talk to the world's top swimming coaches, research swim training and read everything available on the subject.
Born in Hamilton, Mr Parkhouse began coaching in Cambridge after the engineer stepped in to fix some of the machinery in the town's swimming pool. He chalked up some success in Cambridge, notably Alison McMillan, a national freestyle champion.
In 1965 the Wharenui Club recruited him to head their programme and he quickly established a strong team. He was a great admirer of the work of Lydiard and applied his over-distances philosophy to swimming.
Daughter Jaynie Hudgell said her father pioneered distance training in New Zealand so that his swimmers finished a race as fast as they went out. He always felt that swimmers needed a lot of work behind them in order to come back hard in a race.
They were different times but great times. It was very amateur, we were in it for the love of the sport.
His training techniques tried to teach swimmers to keep an even pace throughout a race and never drop off or die at the end.
She said that Pic was an encouraging and uplifting coach who never yelled at his swimmers, was always the first at the pool in the morning and the last to leave at night. In between times he would be busy fixing air conditioning and pool filtration systems or whatever needed doing at Wharenui.
"They were different times but great times. It was very amateur, we were in it for the love of the sport."
Mrs Hudgell said he was a No. 8 wire kind of guy who could fix anything. "He never liked the limelight, he was so humble."
Mr Parkhouse's 1974 Commonwealth Games success led to an offer to coach in Canada for five successful years. Famous coaches who he counted as his contemporaries and counsellors in Canada included Cliff Barry who coached Victor Davis to Olympic and World titles and Jeno Tihanyi who coached Alex Baumann.
He returned to New Zealand in 1981 and settled in Tauranga with wife Betty - they originally met camping at Mount Maunganui in 1947 and married in 1952. He coached a learn-to-swim programmes at Greerton Pool, including a young Moss Burmester.
Mr Parkhouse trained Masters swimmers and competed successfully in Masters with the Durham Light team. He later did some coaching for Clive Power who had moved to Tauranga.
His last international campaign was the 1994 Commonwealth Games, retiring from coaching a year later. He continued swimming until several years ago.
Mr Parkhouse is survived by Betty, his wife of 64 years, son Paul, daughters Megan and Jaynie, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. His funeral service takes place at 11am on Friday at Tauranga's St Mary Immaculate Catholic Church.
