Chris DeSantis Coaching
The Blog

Notes on mindset, coaching, and the craft of sport.

Essays on Positive Psychology, talent development, and what it really takes to perform at your best.

Mindset

The First Step of Many

in what seems like a year ago, two high ranking USA Swimming staff members, Susan Woessner and Pat Hogan, resigned last Thursday.. Many...

February 26, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Petition to USA Swimming Board

Scroll down if you want to read the original petition. Updated 3/2/18: I have sent the letter individually to every USA Swimming...

February 21, 2018 · 1 min read
Mindset

An Open Letter to the USA Swimming Board

Dear Members of the USA Swimming Board, The time for secrets is over. In the past days and weeks, greater and greater...

February 20, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Mark Schubert Has Plenty of Lies

One of the strangest parts of the last week has been the bizarre "interviews" Mark Schubert has given in relation to initial...

February 16, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Grooming, Bravery, and Boundaries

Ariana Kukors has given us an amazing opportunity. I reflected on that yesterday as I field another phone call, criticizing me for...

February 15, 2018 · 3 min read
Mindset

Coaches: Lets Demand Action

Yesterday, I spelled out a couple steps that anyone, anywhere in swimming could do to help change swimming as we know it....

February 13, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Michael Brooks Has Questions to Answer

Since last week, there has been a rush to focus on the problem of Sean Hutchison. This is understandable, Hutchison stands accused...

February 13, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Enough With the Victim Blaming

It's not even been a week since Ariana Kukors bravely told the story of what happened to her at the hands of her swim...

February 12, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Silence is Complicity

Yesterday was a whirlwind. I spoke to more people than I can properly remember, all about the topic of the day. This day there...

February 11, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Hold Their Feet to The Fire

I'll be honest: I'm mad. I don't know where to start. In the days since Ariana Kukors publicly revealed not only the...

February 10, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Coaches Can Do Better for Athletes Like Kukors

Yesterday, the axe finally fell on Sean Hutchison. For the first time, publicly at least, Ariana Kukors spoke about how he groomed her for...

February 8, 2018 · 2 min read
Mindset

Why I’m Ditching the Word “Performance”

Over the weekend, I was talking to a teenage swimmer about optimism. Like most of us, pessimism came naturally to him. I...

February 6, 2018 · 2 min read