There's a lot of talk in sports circles about family. But we haven't been very good to some members of our family. We're lucky they still talk to us, still love us enough to hang in there and try to help us to get better.
I remember vividly when I first became a “head“coach. In early July of 2013, I was standing on the pool deck of the Danish National Championships. I was embroiled in a bitter “contract dispute” with my current employer. Some time after warmup I was handed an envelope by the club’s board chairman with a contract inside.
Today I woke up to this article on Swimswam. To summarize, a ten-time conference coach of the year, and her assistant coach, is abruptly let go one week ahead of their conference championship. A terse statement from the school says everything and nothing about what actually happened. In the comments section, another career reputation is circling the drains.
Two days ago, bundled up for a frigid run with my wife, I found myself thinking about my upcoming podcast interview with Bob Bowman. There’s definitely not a meme out there where a woman wonders what her silent husband is thinking about, and it turns out it’s chatting up the coach of two of the greatest swimmers in the history of the sport.