Sarah Ehekircher joins me once again for a podcast about the overwhelming amount of things going on in the sport of swimming, and beyond. We talk about reporting, or lack thereof, on the recently added names to Safe Sport's publicly searchable database.
From there we jump to comment moderation, I go on a rant about Brent Rutemiller, and finally I make an appeal to all the people fired up about the WADA/RUSADA mess to team up.
We are coming up on the one year anniversary of when I met today's guest, Dirk Marshall. Since then, we've embarked on a project together to bring Positive Psychology education to the team that he co-owns and coaches, the Bridge Bats.
I talk to him about what he expected and then what has actually happened as we have gone through the year together. What has changed, what has stayed the same and how some of the experiences we’ve had together have helped both of us over the last year:
Today a podcast I promised earlier week with everybody's favorite Swiss Swim coach Nico Messer. Nico has been all around the US for the second year in a row and we talk about what he's learned on his trip, but also get in deep with some listener questions about swimming clinics and continuing education.
Today a three person pod with both Sarah Ehekircher and Eva Rodansky.
Sarah you should know from my her numerous recent appearances. Eva is a new face- someone that Sarah and I both have started to get to know. She tells some of her story of coming up in the speed skating world when it was in the grips of the infamous Michael Crow.
We talk about the recent Sports Illustrated article that came out on the Lopez Brothers, as well as the recent resignation of Kerry Perry from gymnastics. Finally, we have advice for National Governing Bodies if they want to stop repeating the vicious cycle they are in. Enjoy.
Here is a way to catch up with some of Eva's story.
After posting, Eva did want to let me and everyone else know that she endorses the "Darkness to Light" training that is also endorsed by Champion Women and Aly Raisman.
Today I am joined once again by Trever Gray. Trever schools me on a topic that I don't that much about, but should know more: supplements.
We go through the Madisyn Cox case and talk about some of the reasons people take supplements, as well as some of the free resources that are out there for making more informed decisions.
Today on the Swim Brief I am joined Susan Teeter. Susan capped off a very successful career as coach of Princeton University a year ago, and since then she's been working with organizations big and small through her company S.S Teeter Associates
I wanted to talk to Susan specifically because of the report that was reported on last week, coming out of the University of Minnesota's Tucker Center that gave NCAA Swimming an "F" grade for gender equity. We both noticed the way the conversation was going online and wanted to see if we could steer it in a better direction. Enjoy.
Three new patrons signed up this past week for my Patreon account, thank you to them! If you want to join the cause go here.
Today on the Swim Brief I am joined once again by Sarah Ehekircher. We talk all things related to the abuse in sports, hitting some of the big topics that have been in the news these past few weeks.
Just a preface before you listen- Sarah is someone that I met several months ago. She was sexually abused by her swim coach and I really value having her voice on this podcast. If we're ever going to truly move forward with this problem, I think we need to continue listening to people like Sarah.
Today on the Swim Brief I welcome back for the second time Shawn Klosterman. We talk about race pace, and what led him to partner with Strive Swim to create an app to track practice performance. We also get into Michael Andrew and his breakout senior summer.
This week I also made a big announcement about the future of this podcast and this blog. For more information on that click here, or go directly to my patreon page to become a patron today.
For more information about the app, go here.
This week, Trever Gray returns with a nerd alert, where we discussion motivation. Specifically, we go through Deci and Ryan's well known Self Determination Theory.
Trever's written some blogs on the subject (links below), and it's a great discussion to have in the off-season or as you look to the new year:
This week, Sarah Ehekircher joins me to discuss Bob Bowman in the wake of Scott Reid's reporting that Bowman sent "aggressive" text messages (along with his friend Sean Hutchison) to Caroline Burckle in 2011. We also talk about what wasn't included in the reporting- the actual content of the texts.
Sarah and I get into a lot of the nuance, including Bowman's statement and what USA Swimming had to say on the matter. We also respond to some of the lines of attack that have been used to attack Burckle since she came forward.
This week, another solo-cast where I talk about Empathy. I get into several of the false definitions of empathy that I see out there, as well as some talk about practicing empathy inwardly as well as outwardly. In the end, I think empathy is only going to become more important as a skill for both coaches, athletes and people in the future:
This week, we return to our normal schedule and interview somebody very close by. David Rodriguez is the head coach of Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics, also known as AGUA, a club that operates on the island of Manhattan.
David and I talk about his journey and some of the bumps along the way, as well as the #skillskill, having no morning practice during the school year and the other unique aspects of running a big team in the biggest city. Enjoy.
This week I welcome back Trever Gray. Trever is still an active free agent and he brought me some really cool research on periodization that I want to share with all of you. We start with some definitions and history.
From there, we try to get into all kinds of considerations you might have when periodizing the coaching that you are doing. Enjoy:
Yet another new concept this week on the Swim Brief. This week, we're doing something called "NERD ALERT":
On nerd alert, I'll be talking with the kind of nerdy people I talk to every week, only this time we'll be recording it. These are people that are doing the work to test out what might actually help you coach better, and what might not. I bring them on, we have a nice discussion about a topic that brings some of these ideas to the fore.
This week, I'm talking to Charles Bachand and Trever Gray. Charles you may remember from my podcast where we talked about Stockholm Syndrome in sports. This week, he shared with me some of the data he is seeing in regards to ethics and coaching.
Trever Gray is somebody I'm really excited to share with everybody. He is a coach's coach and somebody that, as you'll see, is doing the hard work to get an understanding of how to coach better. He makes me better every week with the stuff he sends me and I am going to start sharing some of that with you. Enjoy
The topic of this week's Swim Brief is one that I have spent a good deal of time talking to coaches, swimmers and parents about around the country.
Optimism: what is it? What is it not? How can you use that definition to enhance what you do as a coach, based on what i've learned from studying Positive Psychology and coaching. Enjoy:
This week on the Swim Brief I talk to Charles Bachand, a doctoral candidate at the University of Central Florida. His research topic involves a domain expansion of Stockholm Syndrome into athletics
We talk about what exactly Stockholm Syndrome is and what Bachand sees as the ways it manifests itself in sports. We also discuss the congressional hearings and his thoughts on what we need in terms of governmental structure in sport. Enjoy.
Gary Taylor has made it to the big time. After spending the past six years as part of a dramatic revival of the North Carolina State Swimming and Diving program, he has been named the head coach of Auburn.
Gary and I go back to the decision to coach at NC State in the first place, as well as what motivated him to make the big move to a head coaching position in the SEC. Gary also talks about changes to the recruiting landscape, responding to interest in coaching at Auburn, and more. Enjoy:
The National Board of Review. This is the process that USA Swimming has used to adjudicate complaints of sexual abuse that they receive. It's a process that most USA Swimming members know next to nothing about.
In this podcast, Sarah Ehekircher and I discuss her NBOR in 2010, what motivated her to start the process, and the nasty surprises she found when the kangaroo court was actually convened:
In the second of three parts with Sarah Ehekircher, we go a lot of directions. Be sure to check back with Part 1 so you can hear the beginning of her story. Sarah talks about her years living with (and periodically away from Scott MacFarland)
The story is sad, for sure, but there are a lot of things here that resonate for people regardless of their experience. Sarah how her perception of her body got distorted, something all too common among athletes. She also has some interesting things to say about people that were in the position to help her and what they did and didn't do. Enjoy:
Today the first of three parts with Sarah Ehekircher. Sarah is a swim coach who I've been writing about, alongside Irvin Muchnick with whom she first shared her story. On May 1st she has a private meeting with Tim Hinchey, the CEO and President of USA Swimming.
Over these podcasts I want to give listeners a chance to hear from Sarah herself and get a deeper look at her story. In this first part, we talk about her early childhood, when she started swimming, and then the sequence of events that led to her moving in with her swim coach, Scott MacFarland, towards the end of her junior year of high school. A warning for listeners, Sarah does mention MacFarland's first sexual advance on her towards the end of the podcast.