The Swim Brief: Recent Episodes
Chris DeSantis
A swimming podcast featuring natural conversations about the sport. Chris DeSantis brings the poolside conversation to the podcast form.
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Don Wagner spent more than fifty years coaching swimmers at every level of the sport—from developing young athletes to coaching Olympic champion Janet Evans during the most dominant stretch of her career.
In this conversation, Don reflects on the moments that defined his coaching journey, how training philosophy has changed over five decades, what he believes today's coaches get right (and wrong), and the lessons that mattered most after a lifetime on deck.
We discuss:
• Coaching Janet Evans during her world-record years
• Why today's swimmers may need more rest—not more work
• The evolution of coach-athlete relationships
• Building a coaching philosophy over fifty years
• The future of swimming and what Don hopes changes
• Small lessons from legendary coaches that stayed with him forever
Whether you're a swim coach, athlete, or simply interested in leadership and high performance, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom.
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Todd DeSorbo has built one of the most dominant programs in college swimming history—but he says there was never a master plan.
In this conversation we explore what it actually takes to sustain excellence year after year, why coaching elite athletes is more about what you do with the data than long term planning. Listen for how he thinks about recruiting, athlete development, emotional control, and building a culture that keeps producing world-class performances.
Todd also shares why he believes plateaus are often a sign that an athlete is about to break through, how he coaches Olympic champions differently (and not differently), and what surprised him most about leading a dynasty.
Topics include:
- Building a championship program without a fixed blueprint
- Why planning matters—but flexibility matters more
- Coaching world-record holders
- Why female athletes continue improving at Virginia
- Recruiting beyond times
- Managing emotion as a coach
- Creating a culture where athletes compete with each other rather than against each other
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What can The Odyssey teach us about leadership when every available choice carries consequences?
Chris is joined by Juliet Seuss for a different kind of episode: a conversation about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the questions it raises about responsibility, power, guilt, and shame. They examine whether Odysseus accepts responsibility for the people who follow him, how Penelope exercises power within an unjust system, and what Sinon’s story reveals about the shame society places on marginalized people.
Along the way, they explore one of leadership’s hardest realities: sometimes there is no good decision—only the least-bad one. What matters is not whether a leader can prevent every bad outcome, but how they respond to circumstances they cannot fully control.
This conversation contains major spoilers for The Odyssey.
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For years, conversations about athlete welfare have rightly transformed the way we think about coaching. But there's another side of the equation that receives far less attention:
Who protects coaches?
This week I'm joined by coach Sophia Parr (@swim.coach.sophie) for one of the most vulnerable conversations we've ever had on The Swim Brief.
Sophie shares the story of being removed from a high school coaching position after months of conflict, isolation, and feeling unsupported by leadership. Rather than focusing on a single moment, we explore the culture that can push good coaches to their breaking point—and why so many talented coaches quietly leave the profession.
Together we discuss:
• The emotional toll of coaching under constant scrutiny
• Parent dynamics and organizational support
• Why female coaches often face a different standard than men
• The unintended consequences of well-intentioned safeguarding systems
• How coaches can establish healthy boundaries without losing compassion
• What schools, clubs, and parents can do to create healthier coaching environments
This isn't a conversation about avoiding accountability. It's about recognizing that healthy coaching environments require healthy support systems for everyone involved.
Whether you're a coach, parent, athletic director, or athlete, I hope this episode encourages you to think differently about the people who dedicate themselves to developing others.
If you enjoy conversations like this and would like to support The Swim Brief, you can do so at ChrisDCoach.com.
Want to tell your story to Sophie? Click below
https://storiesfromthedeck.base44.app/
Follow Sophie:
Instagram: @swim.coach.sophie
Follow Chris:
Instagram: @chrisd_coach
Website: ChrisDCoach.com
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Why do parents keep intervening in coaching decisions—and why does giving in usually make the problem worse?
In this solo brief, I describe the fear underneath parent pressure: the belief that failing to secure every possible opportunity means failing their child. I explore how coaches unintentionally reinforce that anxiety, why concessions invite more intervention, and how proactive communication can prevent conflict before it begins.
The episode offers a practical framework for defining the roles of coach, parent, and athlete—allowing parents to support their child meaningfully without feeling they need to control coaching decisions.
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Dave Salo has coached at every level of the sport—from NCAA championships to Olympic medals—but this conversation isn't about workouts or sets.
Instead, we explore the decisions that define great coaching.
We discuss why process matters more than outcomes, how a single sentence can change the way an athlete experiences failure, the transition from assistant coach to head coach, what it means to lead people instead of simply managing performance, and the lessons Dave has learned from both success and adversity throughout his career.
Whether you coach swimming, another sport, or simply lead people, this episode is a reminder that the impact of coaching extends far beyond results.
In this episode we discuss:
- Why athletes remember what coaches say long after races are over
- The language that changes how athletes process failure
- The difference between being an assistant coach and leading a program
- How coaching philosophy evolves over decades
- Navigating criticism, setbacks, and career transitions
- What separates great coaching from great instruction
If you're interested in becoming a better coach—not just producing better performances—this conversation is for you.
More episodes, resources, and coaching:
https://www.chrisdcoach.com
About The Swim Brief
The Swim Brief explores the thinking behind great coaching through conversations with world-class coaches, sport scientists, and leaders in swimming and beyond. Each episode is designed to help coaches improve the quality of their thinking so they can improve the quality of their coaching.
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The head coach of Swimming and Diving at the University of Illinois Jeana Kempe joins to talk influences and the path of her coaching career.
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David Marsh tells all about what his retirement actually looks like, and what he had planned if he was National Team Director.
Debrief: David Marsh Chris DeSantis Download
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Tracy Menzel joins to talk GAIN, Diversity and why she’s back coaching in her hometown.
Debrief: Tracy Menzel Chris DeSantis Download
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Recapping the day I spent following around USA Swimming National Team Director Greg Meehan at last week’s Indy Pro Series event.
Bonus Pod: A Day with Greg Meehan Chris DeSantis
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Dave Durden joins to discuss how he approaches his unconventional start at Cal and his approaches to recruiting and hiring.
Debrief: Dave Durden Chris DeSantis
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Megan Devito, a high school swim coach and performance mindset coach, joins to talk shop on the value of coaching.
Debrief: Megan Devito
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The CEO of USA Swimming joins to share what he’s learned in his nine months on the job and what he thinks is possible for the future.
Debrief: Kevin Ring
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Former National Team and World Champion rower Cara Stawicki joins to talk shop and even turns the tables on me.
Links for Cara:
Website: https://carastawicki.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carastawicki/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-stawicki-6059196/
Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/carastawicki/discovery?month=2026-04
Debrief: Cara Stawicki
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Organizing my big picture reflections on the stupidest event in swimming history, and all the losers who tried to make it work.
riverside_christopher_swim_brief (1)
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Big shout out to the IDGI Podcast with Nate McKay and Kyle Johnson for helping me out with this week’s pod. Listen to hear me get interviewed by the guys, plus some thoughts on the top about the Loser Olympics.
riverside_christopher_swim_brief
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Glenn Mills, the owner and founder of Goswim, 1980 Olympian and all around man about the sport, joins to talk about what he sees in the swimming world.
Debrief: Glenn Mills Chris DeSantis
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An old friend of the podcast, Kyle Johnson, returns to share his wisdom. Kyle also has a podcast, which you can follow for me to be on soon.
Debrief: Kyle Johnson Returns Chris DeSantis
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James Marshall of GAIN and Excelsior Athletic Club joins to talk how he came to coach three sports, knowledge sharing and the athletic insights of Nassim Taleb.
Check out his website: https://excelsiorgroup.co.uk/
Link to James’ substack newsletter.
Debrief: James Marshall Chris DeSantis
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First podcast of the book club, featuring USA Swimming’s Corey Manley. We discuss previous guest Kristoffer Henriksen’s book All You Need to Know About Talent Development. The book was co-authored with Carsten Hvid Larsen and Louise Kamuk Storm.
Book Club: All You Need to Know About Talent Development w/Corey Manley Chris DeSantis
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In preparation for book clubbing with Corey Manley, I break down how I communicate about talent with coaches and athletes.
Solobrief: How to Talk About Talent Chris DeSantis
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Celebrating 1000 followers on instagram by taking listener questions. Want to have your question answered on the pod? Listen to the end of the pod for instructions!
Special 1000 Follower Solobrief Chris DeSantis
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The recently named CSCAA Division III Coach of the year, Peter Casares of Bates College, joins to recap the year and talk about getting a walk on to a National Championship. Plus, a bonus at the end for all D3 Swimming nerds.
Debrief: Peter Casares Chris DeSantis
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Northwestern Swimming and Diving Head Coach and College Swim Coaches Association President Rachel Stratton-Mills to share her approach to coaching.
Debrief: Rachel Stratton-Mills Chris DeSantis
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Dr. Randy Wilber is a Senior Sport Physiologist at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He has worked with numerous Olympic medalists across multiple sports. I press him for insight on overtraining and blood analysis.
Debrief: Dr. Randy Wilber Chris DeSantis
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Renowned Danish sports psychologist Kristoffer Henriksen joins to discuss his life’s work on athlete development and changing the narrative around what it means to be competitive.
Debrief: Kristoffer Henriksen Chris DeSantis
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The head coach of Women’s Swimming and Diving at UCLA joins to talk about single gender coaching, making her way to UCLA and sharing knowledge.
Debrief: Jordan Cordry Chris DeSantis
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Adrian Radulescu is the two-time Olympic coach of Romania, best known for his guidance of phenom David Popovici. In this podcast we talk about how he came to be a coach and how he approaches several common coaching problems systematically.
Debrief: Adrian Raduelscu Chris DeSantis
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On the eve of the B1G Championship, Brian Schrader went off on the new format and qualification for the NCAA Division I Championship. I respond to what he said and try to put it in context that I don’t see as it was reported out by other outlets.
Solobrief: Respond to Brian Schrader's NCAA Criticism Chris DeSantis
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Dominique Diezi joins with stories of swimming and coaching both in Switzerland and the US.
Debrief: Dominique Diezi Chris DeSantis
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My former colleague and the Head of Knowledge and Innovation for Danish Swimming Christine Eilertsen joins to talk about her outlook on talent development.
Debrief: Christine Eilertsen Chris DeSantis
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Fresh off his team setting yet another NCAA DII record, Nova Southeastern’s Ben Hewitt joins to discuss how he ended up at the top program in DIi and the lessons he has learned along the way.
Debrief: Ben Hewitt Chris DeSantis Permalink
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Niklas Brix joins to discuss trying out for the Danish Frogmen, leadership and dealing with peer pressure from other coaches.
Debrief: Niklas Brix Chris DeSantis
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Musings on why we train swimmers in the groups that we do, and how much specificity is enough.
Solobrief: The Psychology of Group Size Chris DeSantis
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Matt Sprang has been a coach, owned a swim club and now he’s moving on to the next chapter of his professional live. We get together to discuss what he’s up to and the vexing environment around coach wellness.
Debrief: Matt Sprang Chris DeSantis
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“Debriefing” the Aqua Clinic in Nyborg Denmark, with highlights from a USOPC Sport Scientist and David Popovici’s coach Adrian Radulescu.
Debrief: Aqua Clinic 2026 Chris DeSantis
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Coach and author Chris Da Sie joins to talk about his recently published book, from Pressure to Podium.
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G5PW4HSR
BN.com - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pressure-to-podium-chris-da-sie/1148919655
IG - https://instagram.com/betweenlaps
YouTube - https://youtube.com/betweenthelaps
Debrief: Chris Da Sie, From Pressure to Podium Chris DeSantis Permalink
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Summing up the year that was Swim Brief in 2025- thoughts on gratitude, the future and all the amazing things I got to be a part of this past year.
The State of Swim Brief 2025 Chris DeSantis
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Breaking out the all caps for the return of Joel Rollings. We discuss his new position at Marquette and get his takes on NCAA, Enhanced Games and more.
Debrief: Joel Rollings Chris DeSantis
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Susie Johnson, coach and author of not-your-average-mom.com joins to discuss her blog and life lessons from raising five kids in the sport.
You can read her full blog here or follow on facebook.
Debrief: Susie Johnson Chris DeSantis
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Samantha Livingstone joins to discuss her new podcast, evaluating coaches on more than performance and more.
Debrief: Samantha Livingstone Chris DeSantis
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Greg Meehan returns in his new role to talk about what he’s actually doing to change the direction of USA Swimming.
Debrief: Greg Meehan (Now as National Team Director) Chris DeSantis
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This Thanksgiving, we talk to somebody with a nearly 60 year history of coaching in the sport. Come for the wisdom of coaching 8 and unders and stay for the story of what Mark Spitz dad was like when he was an age grouper.
Debrief: Kathy Shoemaker Chris DeSantis
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What can a coach do to prepare for mid-season? I work through my checklist for coaches.
Solo Brief: Mid Season Checklist Chris DeSantis
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Eric Anderson joins me to talk about a coaching adventure that has taken him from Canada to Denmark and now in Malaysia.
Debrief: Eric Anderson Chris DeSantis
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ASCA Board Member, past president and Albany Academy Assistant AD Mike Murray and I survey the youth sports landscape. Mike makes a stunning admission about himself as a sports parent.
Debrief: Mike Murray Chris DeSantis
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Ray Looze joins to talk about taking risks, how to train athletes for international competition, training the Shackell siblings and handling the disappointment of being left off the 2024 Olympic Staff.
Debrief: Ray Looze Chris DeSantis
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Glenn Neufeld joins to talk Mental Dryland clinics and some of the gaps it aims to address. No David Arlucks were actually harmed in the production of this podcast.
Are We Coming for Fitter and Faster Chris DeSantis
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Chris Webb of GAIN and the Sarasota Sharks joins to talk about my participation in an upcoming event with GAIN and share coaching wisdom.
For more information on GAIN and the Master Path, go to www.gainswim.com/
Debrief: Chris Webb Chris DeSantis
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I sit down with Dave Rolling of FGCU and Princeton’s Matt Crispino to talk about the recent changes to the NCAA format that have the swimming world abuzz.
Nerd Alert: NCAA Changes Chris DeSantis
Jake Gibbons is more than just a coach at Bolles. We address his recent viral post on Instagram, team culture and how to present yourself responsibly on social media.
Coaching legend George Kennedy, seven-time NCAA Division III Coach of the year, joins to talk about kindness, his legacy and more.
Longtime friend of the podcast Jenn Verser joins to talk all things coaching, especially focused on disordered eating, perfectionism and finding your why.
David Guthrie is one of the greatest masters swimmers of all time, and he joins to share his journey across three decades.
I answer listener questions about goals and tell you how I approach goal setting with individuals.
Dave Rollins joins with newcomer Graham Carpenter to talk about how to make a career in college swimming. We share perspectives from our first ways into the business along with what’s changing.
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Mitch Lyons, lawyer and basketball coach, joins to discuss creating a curriculum for coaches to break from from harmful historical norms. You can find his guide here. If you want to donate to the podcast, follow this link.
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Trever Gray drops by to give free advice on nutrition and more. For access to Trever’s coaching go to https://www.streamlinednutrition.com/. To donate to the podcast click on the following link.
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In the midst of some of the sport luminaries fighting online, I try to offer something proactive into the mix. Posted before I went on vacation, but don’t worry more podcasts to come!
Susan Sotir has a PHD in Sports and Exercise Psychology, has coached swimming (including me) and is currently a USA Triathlon Level III coach. We reminisce about the old days and trade coaching knowledge. Support the podcast at the following link.
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The United States Team was #1 on the medal table- so why does it feel like everyone thinks the world is falling? I react to the dominant narratives around Team USA, high performance psychology and what insight Rowdy Gaines, Michael Phelps, and Ryan Lochte have to add to the conversation.
Matt Hurst joins to discuss our adoptive father, movies, covid and Ted Lasson. Yes, you read the description correctly.
Click here or follow this link to support the podcast: https://chrisdcoach.com/checkout/donate?donatePageId=67bb3eedee44bf75a726ca51
Brian Barnes is the head coach of Duke Swimming and Diving. We talk about letting go of being a perfect parent, having a vision and maintaining positivity.
Stefanie Williams Moreno is the head coach of Women’s Swimming and Diving at the University of Georgia.
Click here to support the podcast with a one time donation.
Nancy Hogshead is the founder and CEO of Champion Women, and she joins to discuss sexual abuse reforms in the sporting world and transgender participation in women’s sports.
NC State Swimming and Diving head coach and Singapore World Championships head coach for Team USA Braden Holloway joins to discuss the big summer meets, how to build a team from the ground up and the process of investing in your family.
Trever Gray joins to talk about my blog post on Positive Masculinity, and then about Streamlined Nutrition and his pursuit of golf greatness.
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Dave Rollins joins to swap stories about he we met our wives, and how to navigate partnership with coaching.
I respond to listener questions and comments, as well as the ongoing developments around Brett Hawke and the Enhanced Games.
I bring on fellow podcaster Ahmad Zeid to talk about his foray into podcasting and his thoughts on the way that swimming is covered.
Mark Bernardino recently announced his retirement from coaching, so I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about what he’s learned over 50 years.
Brett Hawke things going all in on performance enhancing drugs is the path forward for sports. My thoughts on his move.
Chapman University Head Coach Juliet Suess joins me to talk about the history of swimming, inclusion and integrating psychological practices into your daily.
What does a coach do with the oddball schedule and random pockets of time to complete their life?
Dave Rollins joins to troubleshoot the profession of coaching and the life that happens outside and with it.
The man with a bio a mile long joins the podcast for a wide ranging discussion coaching and personal development.
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Dave Dow checks in from The College of New Jersey, a special place within the college swimming eco system.
Dave Rollins joins to talk about what’s going on at Florida Gulf Coast and the potential the school sees in the current collegiate landscape.
Dave Denniston, the head coach of University of Wyoming, joins to share some good news from the world of college swimming.
I go solo to give my take on the most recent USA Swimming CEO debacle and the ongoing developments in college swimming.
Mike Peyrebrune joins once again to share sports science insights from training three Olympic gold medalists.
I’m speaking at the CSCAA annual meeting! I brought on Sam Barany to discuss the event and all the major issues facing college swimming.
Kim Dietrichsen, Head of Coaching in Danish Swimming, joins to talk how he became a “coach of coaches” and trade knowledge.
In Sweden I spent three hours talking to a guy I’d just met, then I invited him to come on the podcast. Listen and find out why I found Misja Klevstig so interesting.
Jakub Maly, former international competitor for Austria, Minnesota student-athlete and fellow recovering coach, joins the podcast to discuss life, family, and coaching.
Mike Peyrebrune, sport scientist and high performance coach at Loughborough University, joins to talk about applying sport science.
My wife and Chairman of the Board joins to discuss some concepts of Positive Psychology in the workplace.
Hot off an awesome weekend with coaches, I give my review of the weekend for posterity.
The coach of the defending Men’s Division 1 National Champions joins to talk about Short Course Worlds, team culture and his process for constant learning.
Neil Yost, the coach of the Men’s and Women’s teams at Mount Saint Mary’s. He shares his unique perspective on coaching in what he calls the “Mid-House” era.
Nico Messer returns to talk juggling coaching a team and working with Swiss Army athletes and share insights on AI from his recently completed computer science degree. Sign up for proswimworkouts with the promo code cdswimcoach.
Ricki Clausen joins to talk about the development of Scandinavian Athletes, a model for directly funding elite swimmers.
The Head Coach of Swimming and Diving from THE Ohio State University joins me for a wide ranging conversation.
In the spirit of the season, thank you to all the readers of this blog (and those that listen to my podcast as well). To claim that I write or record purely out of a desire to give wouldn’t be correct. The truth is, doing both helps me as least as much as it helps my audience.
In the vein of gratitude, I want to highlight a few things about the blog (and podcast) that I am grateful for in those that choose to read and listen. I do not claim to have the biggest audience in the sport of swimming, far from it. I do, however, have the best audience. In thanking all of you, I am once again being slightly self-serving. Saying thank you reminds me of why I do these things in the first place.
Deep WatersI’ve been producing “content” online since before the term “content” even existed. As such, I’ve witnessed an inexorable march of what is available to consume. There is far more out there than there used to be. To all of you, thank you for understanding a simple truth:
Though there is more to look at than ever before, the volume of valuable information remains virtually constant.
What has driven popularity in most of these spaces is consistency and the ability to generate hype (negative better than positive). That is, if you can be a high volume “content creator” for a platform, you will generally be rewarded, and if you can trigger people with what you post that also works.
The feedback I get from you, the reader, betrays a depth of thought that I never see in high volume online content. High volume content is designed to be thought provoking in only the most superficial sense. Content that generates the kind of long form, thoughtful responses that I get is not popular.
I’m grateful because the level of satisfaction I get from one reader of this blog reaching out to me outweighs millions of “likes” or one sentence comments on a post. That’s not hyperbole, it’s like decide what outputs more heat, the sun or a match. One burns out quickly, the other one is almost beyond measure.
In a world where it can be easy to chase false success, I’m grateful for you supporting me taking a slower route.
A respect for CoachingWhile most of my audience is coaches, I know that some of you are, well, not coaches. There are athletes and parents in the mix.
What I see as a common theme through all is a respect for the profession of coaching, something that is all too limited in supply these days. While I find myself always wanting to improve the culture of the sport, at it’s core coaching is a noble profession filled with wildly overqualified people.
Thank you for understanding that coaching goes way beyond wins, losses and your best time in the 200 free. More than anything it’s about a process of personal development. We all achieve our best when someone else is willing to challenge our assumptions and offer us a different path forward.
Simple ThanksThank you for the simple act of reading, or listening. I gather I would enjoy writing regardless of whether anyone read what I wrote. But whenever I run into someone who has read something, somewhere, it makes my day.
The fact that I can walk into a random meet and someone feels that, on some level, they know me is not something I take for granted. The people that I meet in this context are only a small fraction of those that read. I know for myself, I’m incredible at lurking in spaces online, just silently taking it all in and never would reach out to the person on the other side.
But just knowing that there are people out there means I always feel the potential interaction.
Thank you to everyone, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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The director of swimming at Poseidon Swim Club in Lund, Sweden joins to discuss the upcoming WADC conference, the Swedish Center for Aquatic Research, and inviting himself onto the pool deck at UCLA.
Eternal friend of the podcast Glenn Neufeld to talks about another way to classify the skills of coaches.
Ashley Eckermann of Maximize the Mind gets invited back to talk ego, confrontation and mental skills that go beyond sports performance.
Katie Davis, an accountant for athletic departments through her work at James Moore & Co, gives insight into the post-House settlement landscape.
Greg Meehan talks Olympic coaching, Torri Huske’s magical year and harmonizing your coaching and personal life.
Nathan Lavery and I talk Georgia Tech job opening, dogs and Brett Hawke’s Sprint Revolution.
Coach Trever drops by to coach my wife, Kate, to prepare for her ultra marathon and to help me improve my over all fitness.
You can sign up for coaching at his website
Joel Shinofield joins from USA Swimming’s annual business meeting to answer listener submitted questions.
Kate Lundsten is one of the top coaches in America. She joins to discuss goal setting, autonomy and staff development.
Straight off coaching Rylee Erismann to the Junior Pan-Pac record in the 100m free, Kyle Goller takes us to the fundamentals that led there at Windermere Laker Aquatics.
There are young coaches in the game worth taking notice of. Here’s one I had the pleasure of coaching.
Alessio De Rosi of NASA Wildcat Aquatics talks three decades of coaching at all levels from learn to swim to elite performance.
I’m joined by ASCA Hall of Fame coach Charlie Kennedy, who’s spent over 40 years developing talent at Suburban Swim Club.
Ever found yourself curious as to how a small team in Massachusetts is consistently one of the best clubs in America?
Talking all things coaching with JP, the US Coach for the Paris Paralympics and Associate Head Coach of TAC Titans.
Eric Burns, father of Brendan Burns and Delaney Burns, talks all aspects of supporting your kid through the sport.
What’s the state of swim coaching, starting in college and working our way “back” to the club ranks.
Garrett McCaffrey joins me to reminisce, talk sports media and why we’re not as successful as Bob Bowman.
How I proposed working with Lars Jorgensen and what I think we should all consider now.
I’m joined by Attorney Jon Little, who’s been involved with a number of prominent cases involving sexual abuse of athletes. We discuss what needs to change in the culture of sports and sporting organizations.
Here it is, finally. Part 1 of 2 on my journey to figure out where I should actually go for advice when it comes to nutrition.
I bring on Corey Manley, USA Swimming Data Scientist, to discuss his research into club excellence.
More than you ever thought you wanted to know about homework and time spent training. Plus a meet update and thoughts on shaving.
Bringing the most influential behind the scenes person in Chris DeSantis Coaching to the forefront.
My coach Sherri Fisher comes to review a half year of finding the opportunity in executive function.
Nikki Kett is back to help me review the past year. What did I learn or re-learn from our work together? Listen to the end to hear what we don’t necessarily see eye to eye on.
Announcing a new, at least temporary, direction for the podcast. There will be guests and more discussion coming off the end of the year.
Strap in for a very personal discussion of perfectionism and it’s role in exponential growth and then ultimately bottlenecking it.
We react to the recent news developments regarding USA Swimming and what we see from the organization and it’s effect on American swimming.
Somewhere along it became “not tough enough” to accept that defeat was possible. Does that actually make any sense, and what do I do?
There’s no such thing and light without darkness, and being nice is meaningless if you’re always nice.
Joel and I talk about how much swimming performance is overvalued in recruiting and the opportunity in valuing other qualifications.
Jennifer Spencer Dutton, my high school swim coach, joins to talk high school swimming, long distance swims and more.
Joel and I talk about what it means to be a trusted adult in 2023, and then turn our minds to hazing and “team building”
Joel and I address a hypothetical situations and then turn to whether coaches can save themselves.
Joel and I talk through recent congressional hearings regarding the mission of sport National Governing bodies.
A rare guest on the Swim Brief podcast. Lindsey Wilson calls in to talk shop about mental performance training and coaching coaches.
Lindsey is a mindset & mental performance coach and the founder of Positive Performance Training.
For more information about the Mindset Coach Academy click here or follow this link: https://www.positiveperformancetraining.com/a/2147501865/y55ozLTh
For the free guide on becoming a mental performance coach, click here or follow this link:
https://www.positiveperformancetraining.com/a/2147564556/y55ozLTh
https://www.instagram.com/lindseypositiveperform/
A couple of bonus thoughts that come up in my coaching for you to enjoy while I’m on vacation.
I break down a historic swim to put Kliment Kolesnikov’s 50 back in context while the World Championship goes on.
Joel and I talk observations about the college hiring process and it’s implications for swim coaches everywhere.
Trever and I go to the well one more time for stuff we couldn’t fit into our other podcasts.
Joel and I discuss the bizarre career developments of Michael Andrew, and then take a look at his breaststroke.
Trever and I go over our thoughts about conventional and unconventional ways to improve your mental health.
Joel and I talk through strategies and supplementation we’ve used to address perhaps our most important topic of all: sleep.
Joel’s big announcement is here! Find out what he’s up to next and how he plans to go about it.
Chris and Trever talk about how they actually decide what to eat and what strategies that actually work versus the typical advice.
I'm joined by world class masters swimmer, coach and professor Trever Gray. On this podcast we discuss our goals that we have and the formal training that we do on a weekly basis to achieve those goals, as well as some obstacles we face.
Over the course of this series we're going to go into every area that goes into trying to be your best.
If there’s a revolution going on that will change the gender equity in coaching, you could have fooled me.
Joel and I respond to the pressures that we see on coaches, particularly at the collegiate level.
Caeleb Dressel is back on the comeback trail- what do we owe the top athletes in our sport that are talking openly and honestly about some of the challenges we face?
We talk about the difficult moments when you’re coaching and you’re inbox sends you reeling.
A training update on all the things I’m working through as my creativity threatens to undermine my next meet.
It doesn’t have to be like this. My heart goes out to Adam reading his interview with Craig Lord, and what I see in some of his answers.
Bob Bowman’s pro group was the story of the week. Joel and I talk about the best swimmers we ever coached and the challenges it presents for you.
Joel and I break down what we think propelled Summer McIntosh to a world record. Plus, how to set up positive communication ahead of time.
I ran into Dr. Megan Cannon while I was at the Gulf Coaches Clinic in Galveston, Texas.
The importance of a good backstroke, Leon Marchand, more Leon Marchand and never counting out Texas.
www.themagic5.com/theswimbrief
I expand upon my argument about the experience of women in swimming, why we should look at it as more of an opportunity than a problem.
Joel and I react to the first day of NCAAs.
Thank you to all listeners for bearing with us, there have been some serious technical issues with our recording platform. riverside.fm recently.
Leon Marchand shocked the world with his 1:47, this is the best analysis you will find on how he actually did it.
Coach Jake Shackelford and I give a preview of what it's actually going to look like to be in my upcoming Positive Psychology class. Sign up here:
https://chrisdcoach.com/pos-psych-certificate/positive-psychology-coaching-1
I talk to coaches every day, and I hear the same things over and over. One of those is the overwhelming pressure to communicate "positively". But what does that actually mean? And do you have to sacrifice the stuff that makes you a great coach to achieve it?
https://chrisdcoach.com/pos-psych-certificate/positive-psychology-coaching-1
Whoever you are, you have a goal for your body. What you want it to do, or be able to do. I’ve returned to competitive swimming, and here are a few things I’m learning from putting a new goal back on my body.
We muse about the possible replacement of swim coaches by advanced artificial intelligence.
Sign up for my Positive Psychology Course: https://chrisdcoach.com/pos-psych-certificate
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To sign up for the course, go to the page below, you can also find it easily by going to my website chrisdcoach.com and clicking on “Positive Psychology Education)
https://chrisdcoach.com/pos-psych-certificate
Today Joel and I break down Leon Marchand's swim heard 'round the world, and follow up on a listener question about what to do when you see a train wreck coming from a mile away.
This week I'm delighted to be joined by Queens University swimmer Jan Delsekamp. Jan is a multiple time NCAA All-American, CSCAA Scholar All-American, and NCAA Elite 90 award winner in 2022.
Jan talks about his journey from learning to swim for family vacations to an NCAA program like no other. Then we discuss some of the key insights from my visit to Queens in early January 2023.
Joel and I discuss Damar Hamlin’s on-field collapse and the reaction of players, soccer’s giant parent drama, and field a question from a coach.
On this very cold December day, enjoying a podcast about warming up. And a bit about a career change for one of our hosts.
This week, we tackle the US Open, a couple of articles about the investigation into Teri McKeever, and the new NCAA transfer rule.
Steve Mellor joins to talk shocking the world, using coaching skills outside of sport, and a lot more.
Erik and I join to give our thoughts from the first set of college invites.
Chris of course knows that Texas beat UVA in that dual meet.
Erik can tell the difference between Jake Magahey and Jake Mitchell.
Also, what does it mean to be a pro swimmer?
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Nikki Kett joins for a big discussion about her work in the field of coaching. We discuss her experience coming through several high performing institutions and how that informs her perspective as she now works outside of those institutions.
www.instagram.com/nikkikettcoaching
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0:00-4:10 Self Congratulation
4:11-31:29 UVA Dual Meet and Culture Change
31:30-47:04 Heels on a turn
47:05-53:09 Michael Phelps, Pernille Blume and finish.
Releasing this as a bonus pod, recorded this story about myself as part of ADHD Awareness Month. Enjoy!
A discussion of leaving coaching jobs, when is it bad to try to achieve perfection in your technique, and a discussion of “accountability”.
0:00-26:23- When is the right time to leave a coaching job?
26:24-38:02- Perfect Form in Dryland Training, what's the right line?
38:03-50:13- Challenging popular notions of "Accountability"
Where would you coach if you could coach on any college team? My answer is in the title. Listen and find out the guys answers, and some discussion of PEDs and recruiting.
We discuss a future e-learning course that could help coaches save their jobs.
https://www.instagram.com/chrisd_coach/
I start off with a rant on what it was like to attend a third grade soccer game, then we delve into USA Swimming’s State of the Sport.
Joel takes me on a journey to ask a simple question: why do really committed athletes grow to resent and dread the thing they have put so much work and dedication into?
This week Joel unburdens himself of his true feelings for David Popovici's stroke, Erik tries it out for himself and Chris describes hanging out with Mike Murray at Futures
This week we dive deep on Bob Bowman’s coordinated pro group announcements, before turning to USA Swimming’s latest development in their “Safe Sport” program.
Erik Wiken joins me to discuss some of the most painful parts of taking part in the sport of swimming in the US.
I’m joined by Chris Webb to ask him about GAIN, criticize him about GAIN, and then both of try unsuccessfully to reign in our ADHD.
Pondering the answer to a million dollar question, and talking about my little league baseball career.
Is it ok to exaggerate in your marketing if you’re giving a good product at a good value?
This week we take on another Swimswam podcast with an incoherent theory about gender equity and do job talk about some high profile Canadian positions.
This week Erik and Joel join me to take a deeper look at the aftermath of the OC Register article published earlier this week on Teri McKeever.
Emergency podcast where i react to Scott Reid’s May 24th, 2022 article on Teri McKeever
Erik Wiken joins me to talk about Mike Murray’s Swimswam podcast, Trenton Julian’s addition to the Safesport Database and Zac Stubblety-Cook’s world record.
A little snippet of something I recorded on the eve of presenting to a group of Danish coaches this past week.
This week we have the man from Rovaniemi, Finland himself on to discuss his research into movement.
This week we have a brief follow up to our Rules of the Game podcast and then we break down some jobs.
This week we break down Jukka Shemeikka’s “Rules of The Game” published on Swimswam, which has fixated us for weeks.
This week the CSCAA does not propose any changes to NCAA qualification and we discuss the troubled hiring process of University of Illinois-Chicago.
This is perhaps our longest podcast. We discuss a lot of stuff, including jobs, NCAA jobs and more.
This week we make the case for several candidates to replace Jeremy Kipp at USC, and more.
Trever Gray joins to look at the difference in conference results for teams that changed coaches in the off-season.
This week we discuss the change in where Worlds is, conferences barring teams from competing and the uproar in Minnesota over a homemade swimsuit. Check for bonus content about the best facebook groups on the internet for swim coaches.
This week we discuss the NY Breakers twitter page, the recent USA Swimming “inclusion” policy change, and and Simone Manuel training in Knoxville, TN.
We talk about the Coley Stickels pro group, and then break down a Race Club “Technique’ video.
This week I am joined by Peter Verhoef, the Head Swimming and Diving Coach of Bolles School. We talk about how he came to be a coach, and his life in and out of the pool. Listen to the end for a discussion of David Marsh at Cal.
This week on the pod we take on two hot button issues: Michael Andrew's interview with Brett Hawke and the NCAA Board of Governors massive punt on trans athletes competing. Then finally, the feel good story out of Cal.
I'm joined by Ricki Clausen to discuss the centralization era of Danish Swimming and his critique of it. We also discuss Danish Olympic results and what he sees as a path forward.
Today on this solocast I talk Sakci's 50 breast world record, the cancellation of Pro Series due to covid concerns, mid season psych sheet scoring and a personal story.
Today I talk to Uncle Trever Gray about his new coaching gig, and how he’s trying something different. This interview includes two athletes from his team sharing their own input on the start of this new project.
We recap the recent Junior Nationals, two days of Short Course Worlds and play “where are they training now?”.
This week I’m joined to talk with Trever Gray (Power Trever) to discuss his recent dip under the American Masters record in the 45-49 age group. We follow that up with some coaching talk as he finishes up a high school season and embarks on coaching a club.
This week on the podcast, Katie Ledecky forces my co-hosts to eat crow, Texas is paying some athletes and whats up with “Coaches Watch?”
Joel and Erik come on to discuss the giant Caeleb Dressel news, as well as Dave Salo dropping in on the Brett Hawke podcast and Kieran Smith’s god mode first day of the Georgia Tech Invite:
In this edition we discuss the departure of Russell Mark from USA Swimming before mourning the loss of the coachless UWGB and dissecting a Race Club "Technique" video.
This week on the pod the whole gang is back and we’re celebrating the coachless horse-people of University of Wisconsin Green Bay, as well as a host of other stories from around the swimming world.
Sharing an update on what I see as the various features of different kinds of swim training.
This week on the Swim Brief, Erik Wiken and a late arriving Joel Rollings commit to discuss more topics but none of them in depth.
This week I am joined by my colleague Jake Shackelford to talk all things USA Swimming: his trip to the National Select Camp, club excellence, and the selection of Maddie Waggoner to the National Junior Team.
This week on the pod Erik Wiken joins me so that I can react to him reacting to Caeleb Dressel reacting to his 100 freestyle. Then we solve world peace, before gossiping about high level athletes changing teams, concluding with rants about Global Supply Chains, and what’s up with swimming in the city of Austin, Texas.
Abi Liu joins me fresh off the USA Swimming National Select Camp. We review the camp as well as her massive change of job in the offseason.
I’m joined by Erik Wiken and Joel Rollings to discuss Shaine Casas going pro as well as Brett Hawke’s 100 minute interview with Eddie Reese.
In a referendum on USA Swimming leadership, two new board members were elected from outside of the vetting process. What does it mean? I’m joined by John Bradley and Julie Bachman to discuss. Plus, Mike Unger is leaving USA Swimming!
This week on the podcast, the actual big new secret training location. Plus, Joel apologizes for his past behavior.
Just kidding. This week I’m joined by Gulf Swimming Executive Director Julie Bachman to discuss communication strategies for teams and coaches. We talk about what you can expect to benefit from having a communication strategy and how to use different tools to achieve that strategy.
Joel Rollings is on this week to discuss the Swimswam article that detailed accusations and the subsequent firing of an AD at Southern Illinois University. We discuss the substance of the accusations, and how such a situation can escalate in a University setting.
This week John Bradley comes on to discuss Anne Helen Petersen’s essay “Against Kids’ Sports”. We discuss the true cost of youth sports and how youth sports organizations can responsibly address the negative side effects of sports professionalization.
https://annehelen.substack.com/p/against-kids-sports?fbclid=IwAR2zDCqMxibSzZjAV5fGhw4Gri3u_DyRNSycGVO9BWVLIgeWceX73nSrAdg
This week Julie Bachman and John Bradley join to discuss the pending election for two new board members at USA Swimming. How does it work? Can we even explain it? What should you do to encourage good governance at your local level?
I recorded this podcast with Joel and Erik in early August. Then didn’t post it. What does it contain? You’ll just have to listen to find out.
Another pod with Julie Bachman, Executive Director of Gulf Swimming and John Bradley, Aquatics Director of the Minnetonka School District. We talk about three ways under a coaches control that they can reduce their own stress on the job:
This week I am joined by Julie Bachman and John Bradley to discuss some big ticket issues. We talk about customer service in swimming, coaches mental health, and of course Michael Andrew:
This week on the pod, Joel, Erik and I discuss our future looking predictions for people coming out of the Olympics. Erik posits changes of pace for Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel, Joel creates new bureaucracy and say something that led to the titling of this pod.
Garrett McCaffrey joins me, this time from Seattle to discuss his new career and what he thought of the Tokyo Games. We give a little love to races that we both thought could use it.
Erik and Joel join me to go over Ledecky vs Titmus part two, Bobby Finke’s “what the schubert” moment and Caeleb Dressel’s big moment. Finally, we conclude with a rant about doping and the Olympics.
“The Water is My Sky” Director Brian Tremml comes on the Brief to talk Olympics, followed by sharing some insight from his documentary film “The Water is My Sky”. We talk about some of the highlights so far, and the longtime dream made reality of his film.
What races are we looking forward to? What does the Russian Rowdy Gaines sound like? These questions and more answered on today’s podcast.
Julie Bachman and John Bradley join to discuss a proposal that fell flat at USA Swimming for short, low official count meets for 14 and under swimmers. We discuss why it’s important to innovate in the swim meet space and find a way to bring new swimmers to the sport.
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Here’s an audio response to some comments that were made regarding me in the Swimswam comment section. I address why I’m not responding on Swimswam, why I write and say the things I do, and what I think of Swimswam’s comments in general.
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This week I tackle the comments that Michael Andrew made about not getting vaccinated before turning to Sha’Carri Richardson being left off the Olympic team. Finally, what are the implications of no spectators at the Tokyo Olympics.
Joel Rollings comes on to look at grainy footage of David Popovici swimming 47.5 in the 100 free. We discuss the swimming skill that produced such a time, as well as comparing it to one of the greatest teenage boy swims ever: Ian Thorpe’s world title at 15 years old.
Today I’m joined by the coach of Templeogue Swim Club Brian Sweeney. We discuss the qualification of Ellen Walshe to the Olympics at the 11th hour. We go all the way back to her beginning in the club, and further than that to the dream passed down from one coach to another to coach an Olympian.
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Erik and Joel join to discuss what the heck is going on in the ISL and the NCAA, before turning to memories of Olympic years past and remembering some of the guys who are worth remembering.
This week I talk about the allegations made by Maddie Groves that have expanded to include more former elite athletes within Australian swimming. Then, I address the resurfacing of Sean Hutchison to allege that he is the victim of a wild conspiracy:
Joel and Erik join me to make bold predictions about what is next both this summer and beyond.
Looking back on US Olympic Swimming Trials to deliver some takes on what happened. I talk about how Caeleb Dressel dealt with the weight of expectations, made some obligatory mentions of Michael Andrew, and got into the coaching staff selection:
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My thoughts through two days of trials. What I thought of all the qualifiers so far, and why I so strongly disagree with Michael Andrew contesting the 100 back.
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I’m joined by Jersey Wahoos Head Coach Paul Donovan to discuss his experience at Wave 1 Olympic Trials. We talk about the way USA Swimming pulled off a great experience, what they held onto despite Covid, and the positives of having a split meet.
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This week Erik and Joel join me to discuss two upcoming/current swimming documentaries. We follow that by taking on Dave Geyer’s resignation from LSU and why 32 year old Ari Pekka Liukkonen only does one dolphin kick.
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This week I bring my old friend Trever Gray to talk about some of the things he is doing to stay fit, as well as what kind of advice he is giving me to improve:
Erik and Joel join to talk about the way Michael Andrew swims and why it makes people so upset. Then I force the guys to watch European Championship and attempt to say names they can’t pronounce.
This week I am reposting my conversation with Ryan Wochomurka in the hopes that ITunes will remember to scrape it this time. Since that pod is nearly two weeks old, I follow it with some up to date thoughts from this past weekend of swimming and the state of the sport.
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We dive into this amazing article written in Outside magazine featuring Russian gangsters, Chechen gangsters, Dale Neuberger acting like a gangster and everyone’s favorite FINA gangster, Cornel Marculescu.
Afterwards we try to scrap the surface of what makes Abbey Weitzel’s start so amazing.
My friend Hannah Burand, Head Coach of Cleveland State Swimming and Diving, drops by to talk about the "miracle baby" of a season they had and how she tackles leading a program and mental health together.
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This week on the Swim Brief I have the brand new coach of Auburn Swimming and Diving, Ryan Wochomurka. We talk about his own experience swimming at Auburn and how he plans on getting off to a good start down in Alabama.
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Erik and Joel are back to discuss the potential of Sun Yang swimming in Tokyo. Then we talk about the NCAA transfer portal and share some of our workouts:
Joel’s Set
400 Free IM
4 x 100
1) fly
2) 75 fly 25 back
3) 50 fly 50 back
4) 25 fly 75 back
4 x 25 fly kick out fast flat three cycles focus on breakout
200 Recovery
300 IM as str-fr-str by 25
4 x 100 same as fly round as back breast
4 x 25 back kick out smooth transition to surface tempo for 2 cycles
200 recovery
200 IM
4 x 100 same as breast free
4 x 25 breast pullout focus on break out and three cycles high hips
200 recovery
100 IM fast
4 x 100 free set interval to be able to do as all free at last 100 of 400 Im pace
4 x 25 fast free no breath first three hand hits. Focus on breakout
200 recovery
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This week with Joel and Erik we get into the article about Jeremy Kipp purportedly kicking a water bottle into a USC Swimmer. We follow that with the wild Brazilian Olympic 4x100 relay selection, before using this article as a jumping off for touching on the red hot third rail of sports and politics.
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This week, I take some time to reflect after a meet weekend on the relationship between training and performance. What does it mean to create a training effect? How do you make sure your training is holistic? Finally, how can and should you evaluate performance?
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Today with Erik and Joel we break down Jeff Poppell’s big contract to coach the University of South Carolina. Then we discuss the story of a kid going from high school swimmer to Tennessee commit in just two years. Finally, after promising not to, I officially hit the panic button on the 2021 US Olympic Team.
This week I address Gary Taylor no longer coaching at Auburn, and the articles and comments left in their wake. At the end I grade SwimSwam’s article about who will take over for Gary.
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This week Erik and Joel drop in to discuss the recent coaching moves within the SEC. We then go over some highlights of the Mission Viejo meet. Finally, we talk about the top reasons we’ve heard to get out of swimming at practice.
Listen to the end where I address the pathetic way Swimming World covered the departure of Garrett McCaffrey from Phoenix Swim Club.
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Hot off a season where he coached the program’s first ever PAC-12 Champion, I talk to Washington State Swimming Head Coach Matt Leach.
We cover the ups and downs of the finished season, how someone goes from 23.5 to 22.1 in the 50 free in college. We also talk about quality of life in coaching and some of the recent movement around the coaching landscape.
In this one, we address the decision by Nikki Kett to leave coaching at the University of Michigan before turning to our own suggestions for taking care of yourself in a coaching career.
Stick around for the end where we go through the following workouts:
Erik’s Workout:
Joel’s set:Whitewater Pain Train
16 x 100 on 1:05.
Four in a lane. 1st person leaves on 60 second and third five a part
Four stays on side.
On the next 60 1st person dives in, the original leader is now second leaving on the interval (:05) 2nd person goes on :10, third is :15 and last person hops out.
Keeps repeating. Interval can change to whatever - math gets harder on those
So more people in a lane less breaks
My Workout:
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Brett Hawke says that Texas’ 26 NCAA qualifiers with 9.9 scholarships is a riddle, but doesn’t he know the answer? Why were NCAA interviews by Bobby Finke and Shaine Casas so awesome? What is ipsedixitism?
That and more questions answered on this week’s podcast with Joel and Erik:
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Signe Bro is a swimmer who has made an Olympic qualifying standard for Denmark and hopes to compete in Tokyo 2021.
We talk about the role her parents have played for her over her career as well as some of the ways she has learned to handle with nerves at big meets. We also talk about how she's learned to deal with more people giving her opinions on what she should do as she rises in the ranks, and pro swimming in the ISL:
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Joel and Erik are here once again for the Thursday pod where we talk NCAA swimming. We start by giving our snapshot analysis of the men’s meet, and then look back at the women’s meet the week before.
Finally, we discuss the morality of how much pressure is appropriate to put on kids at 16-17 years old in the recruiting process.
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Fresh off the 2021 NCAA Championships, I’m joined by Cal Associate Head Coach Dani Korman. Dani talks about the team’s performance at the meet, as well as what obstacles Cal had to overcome to have a successful season.
Finally, we turn to some talk of recruiting and what Cal’s doing differently than some of its rivals. Enjoy:
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This week on the Swim Brief I’m joined by Joel and Erik to react to one event of the Women’s NCAA Division 1 Championship.
We then turn to the story of a swimmer transferring from D1 Arkansas to D3 Hendrix College, before giving our thoughts on James Fike crushing personal bests in his late 30s.
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This week I wanted to take state of a couple of really important topics in Positive Psychology and where we are the moment.
Things have been rough for a lot of us. That has necessitated a lot of pessimism to grind through some of the worst parts of the last year. Right now, however, is a big opportunity to start to turn some of that boat around ourselves:
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This week I’m joined by Joel and Erik as we discuss the upcoming Men’s NCAA Championship. Then we pivot to explaining what the heck is going on in at University of Arizona.
Finally, we debut. a new segment “Explain Your Hate” where we all talk about the way we don’t like the way the concept of “Early Vertical Forearm” has made it’s way into swimming:
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This week on the podcast I’m joined by Jamie Fowler. Jamie is the host of the wonderful podcast “The Poolside Pass” where he has interviewed many of the biggest names in coaching.
We discuss key insights from his interviews with Eddie Reese and Teri McKeever, as well as his most recent podcast with USRPT guru Brent Rushall:
The Poolside Pass
The Poolside Pass Twitter
The Poolside Pass Instagram
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Today on the Swim Brief we make our official NCAA Women’s meet predictions. Surprise, there was a lot of buzz about Virginia.
Before that, we revisited Bob Bowman’s decision to redshirt his entire ASU team: was it a good move or did his competitors get a leg up by going ahead this year?
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Hi, this week on the podcast I decided fresh off a meet to go through how I set up my practices. I go into the history of why I had a strong bias towards race pace training way back to my own swimming career, and why I now run practice in what I would consider “high volume”:
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This week I’m joined by Joel and Erik to about the ongoing college conference meets, as well as the changes to the upcoming NCAA Division 1 Championships meet.
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This week on the Swim Brief I am going solo to talk about a few topics that are front of mind for me at this moment.
I talk about the lack of movement within college coaching ranks due to the pandemic. Then I turn to say “tilykke” to great Danish American swim coach Lars Jorgensen, before pivoting to naming the all-time Danish-American team.
Finally, I discuss the chances for David Curtiss to make the US Olympic Team:
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Joel and Erik and I get together to discuss the return of Iowa swimming, and why it’s alumni base are so upset about it.
Later we get into ACCs and check back later for a video breakdown of UVA’s record breaking 200 Medley Relay:
Today on the Swim Brief I'm joined by English swim coach Rick Hall. Rick has most recently coached with Hackney Swim Club in London.
Rick and I discuss his upbringing in the coaching world, and how a lockdown both at home and abroad gave him the opportunity to put some ideas about how to teach swimming down on the page.
You can find Rick via his twitter or instagram
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Today on the podcast I am joined by Joel Rollings and Erik Wiken to discuss the news. We talk about the recent news that Sarah Sjoestrom broke her arm, the cancellation of multiple college national championship meets.
Finally, we talk about the cost of club swimming and drinking coffee.
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This week on the podcast I am joined by the Head Coach of Men's Swimming and Diving at Princeton University Matt Crispino. We talk about his time both as a swimmer and a coach at William and Mary, the fight to bring that program back, and his decision to step into a leadership position at Princeton.
We also discuss coaching trees and stick around for the end where I unveil my most devious lightning round yet.
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This week on the news, Joel Rollings and Erik Wiken join once again to talk through the biggest stories of the week.
We talk about the announcement of a split Olympic Trials, and the implications for swimmers, coaches and clubs.
Then we turn to Greg Earhart’s letter about the possibility of an NCAA championship at the end of the year.
Finally, we discuss Austin Surhoff’s recent podcast where he talks about the 45 minute workouts that have propelled him to lifetime bests in the 50 and 100 free:
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This week on the podcast I talk to BJ Kraemer. BJ is a veteran, a West Point grad, an entrepreneur, and he's also the President of the Jersey Wahoos Swim Club Board
We talk BJ growing up in South Jersey, swimming at Wahoos, his experiences at West Point and in the military. We also talk about Positive Psychology and the role of a successful board in a swim club. I think there's a lot in here, particularly for coaches who are on a board run team.
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This week to do the news I’m joined by my friends Erik Wiken and Joel Rollings to bring our group text to life. We talk TYR Pro Series, Swimswam’s coverage of a swimmer leaving Auburn, and what Masters swimmers can learn from the great Tom Brady:
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This week on the podcast I talk to my boss Paul Donovan. A lot of people have been asking about this interview and I think if you like this podcast, you're really going to like this one.
We talk about some of the reasons he's gone beyond Ireland to pursue coaching, as well as some nitty gritty about season and workout planning. Finally, stick around for the lightning round at the end where we compare Irish and Danish soccer players.
Also if you prefer watch the youtube version:
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Swim Brief News Roundup Trying a new non-guest show where I comment on some stuff in the swimming news. This week the revelations about Bill Wadley, ASCA's response, Klete Keller and the people bothering you about it and some compliments to Swimswam.
Plus, that Danish TV show everyone is talking about.
https://swimswam.com/olympic-gold-medalist-in-us-capitol-during-clashes-video-appears-to-show/
https://swimswam.com/bill-wadley-resigns-as-asca-ceo/
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Steve Schaffer is the Head Swimming and Diving Coach at Grand Canyon University. He joined me before the Christmas holiday to talk about what’s been going on at GCU through covid and some of the tough decisions.
We also touch on some personal changes he’s made. In the time since this podcast recorded, Steve celebrated losing 100 lbs since he started swimming again at the beginning of the pandemic:
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This week on the podcast I talk to Ricki Clausen. If that name is unfamiliar to you, I really hope you listen. Ricki is a coach I met during my time in Denmark, but we didn't really hit it off until I had one foot out the door back to the US
If you want to know what swimming is like in another country, if you're interested in hearing the strengths and weaknesses of another system, if you're interested in a discussion of professionalism in coaching, this is a podcast for you. Enjoy:
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This week on the podcast I got a really impressive guest. Megan Oesting is the brand new head coach of Swim MAC Carolina
Megan and I talk about the quick move from Iowa to North Carolina, Vinegar based barbeque and failing at our first big jobs. Enjoy:
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This week on the podcast I am pleased to welcome Katie Hoff Anderson and her husband Todd Anderson. Katie has a new book out called Blueprint, and she gets pretty personal about some of the ups and downs of her swimming career.
Todd was an elite athlete in his own right, and the two of them have launched a joint venture in the dryland/strength and conditioning space that takes a really holistic look at athletes.
Through Synergy, they are launching a virtual dryland program today! Listen here or subscribe on ITunes:
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Garrett McCaffrey joins for the second series. We talk covid, cookies and cream and wrestle with the consequences of having a disgraced mentor:
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Hey all, we’re back! Listen to the first podcast back with Nico Messer here or on ITunes:
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This week on the Swimbrief, Swimlikeafish’ Abbie Fish joins me to break down a couple of great swims from this past couple weeks conference action. We talk through Kieran Smith’s excellent 500 free and Erika Brown’s standout 100 freestyle:
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What was it like to be at Indiana at the dawn of the Ray Looze era? Where did I eat the best Danish æbleskiver of my life?
Those questions and more on this edition of the Swim Brief with Matt Leach, head coach of Washington State Swimming.
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Happy holidays, enjoy this podcast with Hannah Burandt. Hannah and I met last year, and since i’ve become a huge fan of what she’s doing. We talk about her journey to becoming the head coach of Cleveland State University, who mentored her and how along the way, and how she learned that too much was good enough:
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Today I’m joined by Trever Gray, who serves as a foil for conversation around feedback. What does it mean to give positive or negative feedback? What are some considerations for giving such feedback?
Why do coaches often find themselves trapped within a narrow band of acceptable feedback? Also, a discussion of Pete Buttigieg (just kidding):
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Happy Thanksgiving! Last week I called up Abbie Fish of Swim Like A. Fish. We talked about how her own experience as an athlete turned her away from the sport before pulling her back in as a coach.
We also talk about inventing a job that doesn’t exist and cover a couple of technique hot topics. Enjoy:
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This week on the Swim Brief I am joined by Kim Foster Carlson. She’s authored a new book with a great theme that I think really resonates with a lot of people in the swimming world and beyond.
The book is called “Good Enough: How to Overcome Fear of Failure and Perfectionism to Lead Your Best Life” and through the podcast we chart a course through her own life growing up a competitive swimmer to being the mother of two high level swimming athletes as well as a child with special needs:
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Kyle Johnson is a swim coach, I guess. I called him up and tried to get to the bottom of it. Listen to find out how I ended up interviewing who said that his big goal when he got into coaching was to be like Mark Schubert.
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Have you ever listened to one of my many podcasts with Sarah Ehekircher and wished that she could ask me the questions? Well then I have the podcast for you. After many times getting her to bare her soul for all of you, this time she is the one probing.
We go all the way back to 2008, the first interactions I had with USA Swimming and what motivated me to pursue the topics I pursue.
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Trever Gray asks a two part question that we take most of the runtime to discuss. What was one of my most-read books as a kid? Why were Duke Kahanamoku and Doc Counsilman ahead of their times? Was a John Naber interview the first time I felt the heat online?
That and more on this 100th episode with Trever Gray asking the questions. Plus, Olympic Darkhorse.
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As part of celebrating the 100th episode of the Swim Brief, I allowed former guests to come on and essentially turn the tables. They guided the conversation, they asked the questions and I was on the hot seat.
In this edition, Nico Messer asks me about my recent trip to ISCA and what the whole point of this podcast is. Enjoy:
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This week I am joined by Matt Sprang. Matt and I go about a decade back, and we reconnected in Florida last month. He was there to talk about coaching wellness, and I thought that he had a message worth amplifying.
We talk about his own journey to prioritizing his own mental and physical health while dealing with a pretty tough situation in his club:
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