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.
Kyle Johnson: The Uncoach
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.
Sarah Asks the Questions
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.
Joel Shinofield
Today the long awaited and teased podcast with the Managing Director of Sport Development for USA Swimming, Joel Shinofield. We trace Joel’s history in the sport, back to his earliest days teaching and coaching up to the present day.
We get into what motivated some of the twists and turns in his career, before finally pivoting to a conversation of his current role and what he’s trying to accomplish right now. Joel even turns the tables on me at the last minute. Enjoy:
What Investigation?
In the wake of the OC Register’s reporting earlier in the week that an FBI Veteran, hired to investigate Sean Hutchison, was very much not allowed to investigate, I called up Sarah Ehekircher.
We go through the article and give context to the names and players involved, and what some of the facts suggest about the broader Olympic sport culture:
A New NBOR For Sarah Ehekircher
A conversation with Sarah Ehekircher about the possibility of a second NBOR (National Board of Review) after the botched one in 2010. We talk about the process of even getting to the point where USA Swimming would consider another one.
All of this takes place with the backdrop of USA Swimming’s biennial “Safe Sport Leadership Conference”, leading me to speculate whether the two are connected. Enjoy:
Change is Coming: John Bradley
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.
Diversity, Inclusion and More with MJ Truex
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.