O’Halloran was born January 25, 1951, graduating from Pittsburgh North Hills High School in 1969.
He earned his BS in education (K-8th grade) degree from Westminster College in 1973 and in 1983, earned his MA in education curriculum from Youngstown State University.
For 38 years he taught fourth grade at Stadium Drive Elementary School in the Boardman School District.
He gains induction into the Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame this year as one of the most-respected scholastic swimming coaches in the state, having spent 54 years guiding and grooming both existing and incoming talent.
The driving force behind the creation of the Boardman Spartan boy’s and girls’ swimming and diving teams – that came to fruition in 1985 – he was their head coach for 33 years until his retirement in 2018.
Under his direction, the BHS swimming and diving squads have historically been highly-regard as one of the most successful in the school’s storied athletic history and throughout the state.
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He guided his teams to eight All-American Conference championships and coached 88 state qualifiers .
He helped mold four individuals into state champions with three of those titles won by his son, Tyler.
Among his many notable accomplishments was coaching 74 athletes selected as Academic All-Americans while 18 of his swimmers earned All-American time standards.
For his efforts, his teams posted a 597-251-8 overall record, a sparkling .700 (.6997) percentage in 856 meets.
He started his coaching career at the age of 16 at Village Manor Swim Club in the Pittsburgh-area, holding that position for three years.
After his stint at Village Manor, he coached at the New Castle Swim Club then coached and managed the Boardman Tennis and Swim Club for 40 years.
He also coached the Youngstown YMCA Neptunes Swim Team for six years.
Among the various honors and tributes that he received, he was selected Northeast Ohio Athletic Conference “Coach of the Year” on six occasions, garnering “Northeast Ohio District Coach of the Year” laurels three different seasons as well.
In 2005-2006, he was awarded the OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) “Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award” and in 2018, was selected as OHSAA Division I boys swimming “Coach of the Year.”
In 2022, his coaching career came full circle when he was inducted into the Ohio High School Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
He and his wife, Jan, are the proud parents of three standout swimming sons, Ryan, a 2000 BHS graduate, Tyler, who graduated in 2003 and Conner, a 2007 Boardman High grad.
They reside in Boardman.
