Rules for Adulting

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. 

Getting Grit with Caroline Miller

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

Talking Long Swims

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. 

The Wild Man

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.

How to Solve All The World's Problems

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.  

Personalized Goggles and Long Term Development

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. 

TheMagic5 on instagram

TheMagic5 on kickstarter

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.

World Champs Redux with Garrett McCaffrey

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.

Lets Nerd Out About Some Swim Workouts With Nico Messer

This week is the first of many podcasts to come with Nico Messer, where we're going to talk about workouts! NIco runs Professional Swim Workouts, a site where you can share and see other workouts submitted by coaches. You can read more about our partnership here. 

In this opening episode, Nico and I get to introducing ourselves, why we want to have better conversations about swimming, and even tease some of the topics that are coming down the line.