Bio
Bill Brenner built the system that trains Masters coaches in this country. He developed the four levels of the U.S. Masters Swimming coach certification, taught thousands of the coaches who hold it, and, on the foundation of Bill Meier’s adult learn-to-swim curriculum, built the USMS Adult Learn-to-Swim instructor certification. At SwimWise he and Meier have created a new curriculum and teach every swimmer clinic, coaching workshop, and instructor training course together — two instructors in the classroom or on deck for every session.
“Over the years, he has been the driving force behind our coach certification program, USMS’s Adult Learn-to-Swim curriculum, and a leader in club development, helping to shape how we support coaches and clubs nationwide.”
— U.S. Masters Swimming, on his retirement from USMS, 2026
In 2025 the New England LMSC gave Brenner its Lifetime Appreciation Award for that work and for the coaches and swimmers he has educated across the country.
At USMS
Brenner joined the USMS staff in 2011 and retired in 2026 as Senior Director of Club and Coach Services, having also served as chief operating officer and interim chief executive officer. He ran 20 to 30 clinics a year, and from them wrote the USMS Clinic Course for Coaches, which shows coaches how to conceptualize, organize, market, and deliver a stroke development clinic of their own. For more than a decade he and Meier taught USMS courses and clinics across the country, until USMS suspended in-person coach and instructor education in 2026.
Few people in the sport know more clubs, coaches, and swimmers firsthand. Brenner supported more than 1,500 USMS-registered clubs and workout groups, helped start programs in underserved markets, and kept up the relationships with USA Swimming, USA Triathlon, YMCA of the USA, Life Time Fitness, and the Kroc Centers that connected Masters Swimming to the wider aquatics world. He ran his own business before joining USMS, and he believes a Masters program should be a thriving business as well as a team.
Coaching
Brenner has coached age-group, college, and Masters swimmers for more than 40 years and is a USMS Level 4 certified and ASCA Level 3 coach. He has competed too: a six-time USMS relay All-American with 159 Top 10 performances. Before joining USMS he was a volunteer at the local and national levels — meet director, support team member, and coach with the Sarasota YMCA Sharks Masters.
He and his wife, Pam, split their time between Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Tucson, Arizona. They are University of North Carolina alumni, have four grown children, and endow the William E. Brenner Jr. Swimming Scholarship at their alma mater. After all his travels and everything he has accomplished, Brenner still finds joy in celebrating the adult who just learned how to swim.
Contact Bill Brenner