The Legend of 100x100s with Nico Messer

Following up on last week's introduction, Nico Messer and I have it out about 100x100 and sets like it. We take both sides of the debate and discuss some of the things we look for when considering a swim practice like this.

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. 

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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.

Uncomfortable Conversations with Harmilee Cousin III

This week i called Harmilee Cousin III, the head junior and associate head coach of Y Spartaquatics Swim Club. Harmilee is in his second year with the club, and he's got an interesting story about how he decided that being a swim coach was what he wanted to make a life out of.  

Harmilee also has a really important coaching skill that I want to talk about, as well as get into some parts of conversation we don't typically have in swimming.

One Way To Make Swimming Better for Everyone

In this video, I continue talking about how coaches can impact the culture around the teams that they work with by advocating for themselves and their own families. It's really important that we as coaches realize the value we have and leverage that for a better situations for everybody:

Steve Schaffer on Relationships and Coaching

This week's edition of the Swim Brief features a conversation with Steve Scheffer, the head coach of Grand Canyon University. Steve offers a lot of personal insight into how he came to value relationships and family a lot more through his coaching career.

He also breaks down some "myths" of the sport that can keep coaches trapped in a cycle of overwork, just to stay competitive with others.

Where is Swimming's "4 Hour Work Week"? Masters!

In this video, I talk about a story that is all too common but somehow ignored when a lot of practices are made. Why is it that so many older swimmers are able to maintain and even gain in performance after their "real" competitive careers are over?

I truly believe that these older swimmers (masters) are where a lot of the innovation is coming from in training swimmers, and I would like to see more of it trickle down to younger swimmers.

When Great Parents Go Wrong: Jenn Verser on College Recruiting

Jenn Verser is the founder of Maverick Athletic Consulting, which offers personalized guidance to prospective student athletes looking to continue swimming in college.

Jenn and I go way back to our days coaching against each other. We talk about some of the pitfalls that people often fall into in the college recruiting process, as well as some parts of the landscape that are changing.

Coaching and Relationships

Coaching swimming and relationships. It's a big deal that isn't discussed enough. Privately, many elite swim coaches will tell you that it's just a "fact of life" that your relationships come second to your job.

If you're lucky, you find someone who will put up with that (should they have to?). I got sad reading about the reasons that Denis Cotterell will no longer be coaching full time. I was sad because he had foregone committing himself to another person for so long so that he could pursue coaching success.

Isn't this something we need to change? Can swim coaches stop the mutually assured destruction of each other's relationships?

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Swim Brief: Garrett McCaffrey on Olympic Trials and Swimming Media

Seven years ago, in the ancient days of podcasting, I gave it a try. There were basically no swimming podcasts out there. Today, there are swimming podcasts, but I couldn't find any featuring what I love in podcasts- people that know each other having a real life conversation, the kind of conversation I have on the phone nearly every day with other people in the swimming world.

For the first podcast, I called up my friend Garrett McCaffrey, the head coach of Phoenix Swim Club. Garrett is more than a coach though, he's been on the media side of the sport for some of the biggest events, and we get into that over the course of our conversation. 

Why Omaha 2020 is A Good Thing

The Olympic trials are headed back to Omaha, and not everyone is happy about it. I talk about the positive experiences I have had with Omaha and why I think it is a great location for our Olympic trials. 

I also talk about how the meet is far from perfect, and what the profile of a host city for Olympic trials should be.