Herman Koehler
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|
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
December 14, 1859 Wisconsin |
| Died | July 1, 1927 (aged 67) West Point, New York |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1897–1900 | Army |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 19–11–3 |
Herman John Koehler (December 14, 1859 – July 1, 1927) was an American football coach, athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy from 1897 to 1900, compiling a record of 19–11–3.
Koehler was also the Master of the Sword from 1885 to 1923 and director of West Point's first program of physical education instruction. Due to his long-serving tenure and his impact on the Department of Physical Education, he is held in high regard and is considered the "father of the Department of Physical Education" at West Point. He is buried in the West Point Cemetery.
A second generation German-American, Koehler was an 1882 graduate of the Milwaukee Normal School of Physical Training (a Turnvereine school) and worked as Director of School Gymnastics for the Oshkosh, Wisconsin city schools from 1882 to 1885. He had also become well known for competing on the national and international level in gymnastics, finishing first against a field of 300 at an event in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1881. On February 1, 1885 Superintendent of the United States Military Academy Col. Wesley Merritt appointed him as a civilian to the position of Master of the Sword. Professor Koehler implemented a systematic program of physical education, compulsory for cadets of the fourth class, and became the driving force in-house for a new gymnasium, which was completed in 1892.
His first program included strength tests and anthropometric measurements of cadets. The physical education curriculum he instituted included not just fencing, but also gymnastics, swimming, dancing, and equestrian arts. Swimming in particular was a welcomed inclusion by the cadets and became a rite of passage. The calisthenics program, mandatory for plebes, was grounded in the Turnvereine philosophy, conducted in mass formation stressing precise execution, good posture, and energetic flair, but never performed to the point of exhaustion. Based on his initial experiences, in 1887 he authored a text, A System of Calisthenic Exercises for Use in the School of the Soldier, whose provisions were adopted Army-wide in 1892 as The Manual of Calisthenic Exercises. His system of "setting up" exercises (later termed "Disciplinary Physical Training") concentrated on strengthening a soldier's shoulders, chest, arms, and legs.
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