On part two with Craig Lord, we continue our conversation from the first part. We discuss the European Short Course meet in Copenhagen and branch into a broader conversation about the the institutions that surround our sport.
I tried (and mostly failed) to find some points of disagreement, including former British Para coach Rob Greenwood's dismissal and yes, THE SUITS. Enjoy and listen to part 1 if you haven't already.
Craig Lord is the preeminent journalist in the sport of swimming. He has been writing about swimming since 1989, attending countless major international championship meets, speaking out doping in the sport from the very beginning, and generally being unafraid to speak his mind. Craig is currently the editor and writer for Swimvortex. He also writes for the Times of London and the Sunday Times.
We talked for so long that I had to split the podcast into two parts. In part one, Craig and I dive right in to discuss how he came to be a "swimming" journalist as well as what he's seen change over the course of his career covering swimming from the media side. Then we turn to discuss the IOC's recent decision to ban Russia from the Winter Games and what the state of governance at all levels that affect swimming. Enjoy and watch for part 2 this upcoming Friday.
On the brief this week, we're talking to the guy who is relentless about two things: that #workworks and a general positivity about swimming: Mike Murray. Mike talks all about his swimming roots, including some harsh reflections on himself as an athlete. We talk about sharing what you learn online and I even ask Mike to coach me a little bit.
You can follow Mike on twitter, as well as facebook where he's an administrator for the Swim Coaches Idea Exchange Group.
Putting out the podcast early this week for everybody traveling. This week's guest is Nico Messer. Nico and I talked about longer interval training a few weeks back.
Today we tackle shorter intervals and all the stuff associated with it, whether it's speed work or USRPT.
We also discuss Nico's Thanksgiving plans, how to avoid talking politics with your right wing uncle (Jay Chambers) and how rec swimmers in Switzerland react to a few seconds delay. Also enjoy a cameo from my landlord and a plumber trying to fix the heat in my apartment.
This week Sherri Fisher takes us outside of the swimming bubble and we talk about words like "smart" and "talented" and how they actually play out educational and athletic environments. Sherri has some really cool rules for how to get people who have not been marked as "talented" to really up their game. We also talk about the flip side: kids that have been marked as capable but aren't "performing" up to expectations
For those of you who want to learn more about Sherri and what she does, go to http://www.learnandflourish.com/. If you want to check out her journal go to positiveedgejournal.com. Check back and I'll let you know when her journal becomes available.
On the brief this week, Caroline Miller. Caroline is a published author and renowned speaker, with her latest book "Getting Grit" being named by Live Happy as one of the ten books that will change your life.
Caroline and I go all the way back to the beginning to her experience swimming as a kid and a young woman, and how she re-found the sport fifteen years ago. We talk about some of the growth of Positive Psychology and some of the ways it can be dangerous if you apply knowledge without deeper knowledge of the concepts. Caroline also talks about some really crucial concepts in goal setting, there is so much you can get out of this listen. Enjoy
Another pod with my number one guest and curious swim coach Nico Messer.. Nico and I start talking about long distance training, especially longer repeats. What is it exactly? How do we define it? Then we go through some of the best arguments we've heard for longer repeats but also some of the worst, including a discuss of long term development models.
Coley Stickels is currently an associate head coach at Indiana University, who's teams vaulted to high rankings, including #1 for the men, after some big dual meet victories over the weekend. We talk about some of the different ways he looks at training swimmers and his perspectives from both the college and club world.
We also have a discussion of the unique legacy of Doc Councilman at Indiana University and some of the ways a coach can leverage that working there.
This week on the Swim Brief: Sue Chen. Sue is an incredible coach that currently works for Nations Capital Swim Club in their Georgetown site alongside Bruce Gemmell. We talk a lot about how she's navigated a successful career up to this point, her partnership with Bruce, how to be an ally to women in coaching, and more.
Have your goggles ever leaked? Do you care about the long term development of athletes in the sport of swimming? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, you should listen to this podcast.
On the brief this week, Niklas Hedegaard. Niklas is a swimmer I've coached who continues to swim at age 27, and we talk about his journey through swimming up to this point and what keeps him motivated to keep pushing forward. We also talk about his new venture with his friend Rasmus Barfoed in Denmark, TheMagic5, which makes personalized fit goggles using facial mapping.
On the brief this week, Rick Madge. Madge is a swim coach, yes, and he's got some opinions on that. We also talk about some of the long form articles that he's written, getting into the data of what is going on the swimming world. Inclusiveness is a big theme of what he has looked into, and we talk a bit about how family life fits into being a competitor.
If you want to read the articles that we referenced in the blog, go here.
The return of friend of the brief Nico Messer! Nico has just criss-crossed the country in search of swimming knowledge, attending clinics and looking in on one of the top swimming environments in America. Nico and I talk about- what makes a good clinic or learning opportunity for coaches.
We also talk about some non-clinic resources for continuing education and preview some of what may be to come in that area.
Is it time to reconsider the streamline? Joel Rollings thinks so. We cover that and other topics, including: is your dryland accomplishing anything? What athletic things do we unlearn as we get older? What is the meaning of life? Ok we don't quite get there, but we do talk about how there are no "big time" swim coaches.
This conversation is free-wheeling but ultimately we get to a really good place. Enjoy:
Welcome back to my partner in Briefs, Nico Messer. Nico and I talk taper- that's right, we're talking taper in September, which is probably the least likely month to taper in. That's why its the best time to discuss it! We talk about the ways in which the word "taper" itself has become a dirty word, make some book recommendations and share some taper time stories of our own. Enjoy!
This podcast is sponsored by ProSwimWorkouts. As part of that sponsorship you can get 20% off a premium subscription to PSW by entering the coupon code "CRDESANTIS". By doing so you will support this podcast, the blog and everything Chris DeSantis Coaching.
This week I am joined by my John Bradley, the head senior coach of the Rochester Swim Club Orcas. John educates me on what it's like to get involved volunteer governance on all levels of USA Swimming, from your local team all the way up to the National board.
John also shares a few takeaways from a recent conversation with new USA Swimming Executive Director Tim Hinchey. Finally, we talk about how to make swim meets a little bit more fun.
This week I am joined by my Jay Chambers, a long time club swimming coach who has taken on a new role in USA Swimming. Jay has a very different coaching philosophy from me, and we talk a bit about that. We also talk about interacting with people online, the role of consultants for swim teams.
Finally, we nerd out about National Age Group records from the 90s and how it's hard to compare what Mark Spitz did in 1972 to the stuff we see today.
This week, Erik Wiken brings homespun, midwestern values to the Swimbrief podcast. We talk about what it's like to be a swim coach in Lincoln, Nebraska. We talk about hiring, socializing as a coach and the pitfalls and advantages of new online communities.
Of course, we also talk Omaha, Nebraska as a loyal Olympic Trials host and why people should be excited to come back in 2020.
MJ Truex, who leads USA Swimming's Diversity and Inclusion team, joined me from Colorado Springs to discuss her life in swimming and how she got to that role. I learned a lot in the process and I hope you do too.
We discuss some of the issues that I've brought up in the blog, especially when it comes to gender diversity in coaching, and what USA Swimming sees as its role in tackling a range of issues.
This week there will be two Swim Briefs! In addition to the regular Friday podcast, I called up Garrett McCaffrey for a special bonus pod to discuss the World Championships in Budapest.
Garrett and I talk all the big stories, including the Larry Bird of Swimming and what kind of comparison you can make to other sports with Ledecky's 200 free.
In a far reaching conversation with Kathleen Klein Prindle, Nico Messer and I got a lot of answers from the head coach of Performance Aquatics and Vice President of the American Swim Coaches Association.
This podcast is sponsored by ProSwimWorkouts. As part of that sponsorship you can get 20% off a premium subscription to PSW by entering the coupon code "CRDESANTIS". By doing so you will support this podcast, the blog and everything Chris DeSantis Coaching.