Swimming & Diving
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- jbarber@ia.ua.edu
- Phone:
- 205-348-0977
James Barber joined the Crimson Tide coaching staff in 2007 and was elevated to associate head coach in 2017.
"They say home is where the heart is, and my heart has always been with The University of Alabama," Barber said. "It is incredible being a member of the Alabama family, to be in a place that puts such high value in excellence at every level and provides their athletes and coaches with every resource necessary to succeed. This is every coach's and athlete's dream."
The Tide enjoyed another transcendent year in 2020, during which Alabama qualified 24 student-athletes for the NCAA Championships, the most in more than 20 years, saw 22 swimmers and divers earn 57 All-America honors, won a league-best nine SEC titles, set SEC records in four different events and broke 23 school records over the five days of the SEC Championships.
During the 2013-14 season, Barber's group broke three school records – including rookie Connor Oslin becoming the first UA swimmer under 47 seconds in the 100 backstroke, clocking a 46.33 at the NCAA Championships and shaving more than a second and a half off the old mark.
Oslin only got better throughout his career, winning a trio of SEC 100 backstroke titles and smashing the 12-year-old SEC Championship 100 backstroke record formerly held by Ryan Lochte in 2017, becoming the first swimmer under 45 seconds at the SEC Championships in the process.
At the 2017 NCAA Championships Oslin lowered the school mark again, clocking a 44.56, making him one of the five fastest 100 backstrokers in the history of swimming. In all, the six fastest 100 backstrokers in school history were on the 2016-17 roster.
In 2020, Barber worked with Rhyan White who kept Alabama's reputation in the backstrokes on high after winning the 100 and 200 at the SEC Championships while setting the league record in both. Her prelims and finals swims in the 200 backstroke are among the top-10 fastest in the history of the event. She was also the No. 1 seed in the 200 backstroke heading into the Covid-19 canceled NCAA Championships.
In addition to almost two decades of collegiate and age-group coaching, Barber worked as an assistant coach with the U.S. Resident National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo. While there, he worked with several world class athletes, including Amy Van Dyken and B.J. Bedford. Van Dyken was the first American female athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympiad (Atlanta, 1996).
Prior to joining the Crimson Tide, Barber was in charge of the distance group at Florida State for three seasons, coaching athletes to school record marks in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyles as well as coaching the Seminoles' first All-American in the mile. One of his athletes was named ACC Swimmer of the Meet at the conference championships. He was also nominated for Teacher of the Year for teaching undergraduate anatomy and physiology courses at FSU.
As an age-group coach, Barber mentored 18 Junior National qualifiers in over 40 events and 20 national age-group top-16 performers. His athletes also earned 21 titles at the Southeastern Swimming Championships.
Barber joined the Seminoles in 2004 after a six-year run as the head coach at Club Makos in Gulf Breeze, Fla., where he produced national caliber swimmers.
Since 2005 Barber has mentored five different athletes who qualified/represented Team USA in international competitions, in addition to five international athletes who have represented their respective countries, with many finalists and semi-finalists.
Barber received his first coaching job as the head age-group coach for the Montgomery YMCA Barracudas in Montgomery, Ala. From there he moved to Mobile, Ala., where he served as Senior Coach for the City of Mobile Swim Association while pursuing his master's degree. His next coaching stint had him in the same position for the Colorado Spring Swim Team while also coaching the USA National Team.
A 1996 Auburn University at Montgomery graduate with a bachelor's degree in exercise science, Barber earned a master's degree in exercise physiology from the University of South Alabama.
A native of Prattville, Ala., Barber is married to the former Angie Bixler. The couple has two sons, Benjamin Paul and Samuel James.
