100 Minutes With Chuck Part 4: The Future

This is the last blog in a four part series after a meeting last week with Chuck Wielgus. I had thought we would have the meeting, Chuck and Susan would have time to respond, and things might continue slowly from there. I was mistaken.

100 Minutes with Chuck Part 3: Why?

I want to make something very clear from the beginning of this post.  I am about to give my best attempt at explaining why not just Chuck but our board of directors and others failed to do the right thing. I think it's an important endeavor to understand, but not excuse why bad things happen. I'll repeat it simply for emphasis: I want to explain but not excuse.

100 Minutes with Chuck Part 2: My Bias

The following is the second part in a series of blogs about my meeting on Saturday, December 17th with USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus. Click here for part 1.

I spent nearly all of Saturday processing. I was lucky that Kate was with me. Not only did she ask all the questions I would have kicked myself for not asking afterwards, but she was somebody else I could talk to about what had happened. She also probed me to think more about my own motivations than I had before. That afternoon I told her a secret.

100 Minutes with Chuck: Part 1

On the Tuesday before my meeting with Chuck Wielgus, I couldn't sleep. Saturday morning brought back a lot of bad memories I would rather not relive. There were four of us in the lounge of the Marriot Marquis: Chuck and I with Susan Woessner and my wife Kate. We spoke for roughly an hour and forty minutes, far longer than I expected. If my thoughts before the meeting were tortured, afterwards I almost had too much to process. My opinions about Chuck's actions and leadership are unchanged. In a series of blogs this week, I hope to explain everything as I saw it.

Meeting Internet Friends

Bjarnason during Tuesday's warmup

One of the pleasures of writing this blog is that I get to talk to people from all across the country and the world about swimming. One of the hazards is that many of my friends are people I have never met "in real life", whatever that means in 2011. Duel in the Pool this weekend is going to feature some crazy fast swimming in an awesome format. It's also a chance to meet a couple characters I've written a lot about, Jon Bjarnason and Pal Joensen.

Coffee with Chuck

Lest I bury the lead of this post, I'll start with this: next weekend I'm meeting with USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus. If that sounds unbelievable. Rest assured that I am just as surprised.

All are invited to the /r/swimmer party!

Lately I have become a Redditor.  If you don't know what I am talking about, you are missing out.  Reddit.com is a news site where anyone can post text, photos or links and they are ranked with up/down votes by readers. Those posts grabbing the highest number land on the front page.  One of the best things about it is that the comments, like floswimming back in the day, are a free for all.

Nighttime Snack: Just in Time

In a post earlier this week, I bemoaned the lack of track blocks at the Winter Nationals recently held at our home pool. So imagine my surprise when I came to practice on Monday and saw this:




It's here! We couldn't have gotten them a few days earlier? But that wasn't the only thing that was dramatically different. Where our west pool once was the floor has been raised and USA Swimming is building an ambitious set of stands that will put fans right on top of the turn end of the pool:




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Heading to the Chesapeake Pro-Am

Since I am back to club coaching again, I am thrilled to have the chance to go back to Oklahoma City for one of the coolest meets in the midwest.  What is not to like about the Chesapeake Elite Meet?  They offer prize money with bonuses for setting records; they attract some pretty big name national team swimmers along with great clubs and college teams from around the country; and they offer the tournament style "50 free shoot-out" that has proven to be a lot of fun over the years.

Call and Response: The War of Words Between USAS and "Splash"

I had a funny "encounter" with USA Swimming President Bruce Stratton while at Nationals. As he was making the rounds on the pool deck, I made eye contact with him while standing alone. He quickly looked away, as if he was on his way to talk to someone behind me. I followed him with my gaze: no one there. He made eye contact with me again and averted his eyes to something past me a second time. He walked across me a second time. Again, no one there. He made eye contact a third time, then stared out at the pool and smiled for a while, before walking away.

Late Night Snack: Swim Brief on NBC (sorta....not really....)

Makes you tear up a little, no?

 
So this afternoon while the kids were at school I turned on NBC's coverage of ATT Nationals as I sat and folded an endless barrage of towels (because that's what swim moms do) when....lo-and-behold...who shows up in the background of a Brendan Hansen interview but our very own Mike Gustafson wandering around with nothing but a camera, a USA Swimming All Access Pass and a dream.

Goodbye Nationals!

Is Brendan Hansen all the way back? Is it fair to have seven out of ten finalists at US Nationals be from another country? Is Ed Moses' promotional rap video the worst or best thing to happen in the history of swimming? I answer these questions and more as I look back at Nationals here in my home pool.

My Team Doesn't Take Bathroom Breaks...

we take smoke breaks.

I am all about reading up on the latest science to help me become a better coach.  Of course, there are a lot of off-the-wall coaches out there spouting some really ridiculous stuff, so I don't buy into everything I read on the internets.  Have you seen those Boomer Chronicles videos?!  Yeah, right!  What a bunch of hooey.  I only  pay attention to articles that use big sciency-sounding words and cite sources and stuff, because that means I can believe every word they are saying.  I like to think I am somewhat of an innovator, and that is why I love it when I stumble upon a gem like this one, in a scientific journal, written by someone like me who really thinks outside the box.

The FS3 Combo Pack

It's been a couple of years now since polyurethane was banned from suits and length restrictions freed our calves, forearms and man-boobs from captivity, but I am starting to worry that we might be opening that door again with the new Speedo gear.  I fear that this new tech could set off a chain of events that could have us all arguing once again about technology cheapening the sport as we head into the 2012 Olympics.

View From the Stands: Swim Fans Rejoice!

                                                   Hip Hip Hooray!


Okay swim fans, is everyone here?  There's A LOT going on, good stuff.  How 'bout Urban Meyer going to Ohio State?  Wait, wrong sport........ sorry.

First up, Speedo is about to unleash it's big secret today, the Speedo Fastskin 3.  Guaranteed to make all you swimmers faster than Michael Phelps during the last 50 of a 200 fly.  It's FINA-approved so it must "look" normal.  I'll never forget everyone sitting around the Today Show in '08 looking like crosses between Aqua Man and extras from some rubber fettish film.   I noticed there's not a lot of media yet (as of midnight the night before) but there's this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/swimming/8919972/Speedo-hope-revolutionary-Fastskin3-swim-suit-will-see-records-tumble-at-London-2012-Olympics.html


Secondly, Ryan "Jeah" Lochte has been nominated by Kelli Anderson as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.  It's a great article.  As a swim fan it makes me proud of "our" athletes who work so hard....usually not for the nearly the same fortune, fame and glory as say, an NFL or NBA player who is always on the cover.  This is great for the sport.  Kelli's article is here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/magazine/sportsman/11/22/anderson.lochte/


Lastly, 2011 AT&T Winter National Championships begin on Thursday in Atlanta.  Our very own Chris Desantis and Michael Gustafson will be there so, if not for any other reason, check it out.  They've worked really hard on their mash-up and they've got some some really hot dance moves.  The psych sheet can be found here:

 http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/8c51328f-caef-46ab-bb60-0e4b77e69110/psych%20sheet.pdf

Good stuff!  Yippee!!

Contacted by Ben Sheppard (UPDATED)

Back in September, I wrote a post concerning the an article about Ben Sheppard, an Oakland area swim coach who was accused of sending inappropriate messages to his swimmers. Since then, very little has happened- by all accounts Sheppard lost both of his jobs. One was with the Oakland Community Pools and another with USA Swimming. So, needless to say, I was pretty surprised when he contacted me via facebook.

MSU Bears Men take the Northwestern TYR Invitational

Yeah... I know what you're thinking.  Who cares about the Bears.  Right?  I understand that this blog isn't supposed to be my MSU Bears showscase or anything, but as Supreme 2nd Assistant Editor in Chief of The Swim Brief blog, I wanted to take this special chance to rub the win in Mike Gustafson's grubby little face in the hopes of starting an annual MSU vs Northwestern blog fight.

A totally informal interview with Susan Woessner

Yesterday I talked on the phone with Susan Woessner for 50 minutes. I had planned to record the conversation, not to establish a record of everything that Susan had said, but so that I didn't misquote her on anything. Unfortunately, I discovered after the call that my recording had totally failed. In an effort to not let time skew what I remember about the call, I endeavored to write this blog right away so I didn't forget.

Late Night Snack: A Feel Good Post

Sheeeeeesh.  When did things get so serious around here?  I thought I'd throw up a small warm-fuzzy for everyone to say, "WE'RE BACK!"  Happy 2011-2012 season, everyone.

This lovely little story comes to us from Howard County, Maryland.  The Columbia Association has announced a blocked-off time for "Women Only Swimming."  The need for this comes from Howard County's growing Muslim population and the fact that many Muslim women felt uncomfortable swimming in a co-ed situation but they very much wanted to swim.   The Columbia Association felt that not only Muslim women had a need for a "women's only" swim time but other women might also feel more comfortable swimming at these times for other personal reasons.  The reserved times are scheduled during "slower" parts of the day.

New York City Parks and Recreation also has "women only" swim times at the Metropolitan Recreation Center and some universities are also implementing a blocked-off time for women only.  At George Washington, some complained citing concerns over the program "infringing on other's civil liberties."

Personally, I think this is nice.  It brings a population to the pool that would otherwise be excluded.  I have always found the swimming community to be especially inclusive and this is yet another example.  There will be arguments against this, I'm sure.  I just like how the swimming community opens itself up to people from all walks of life.  Water is universal.  So throw on those "burqinis" ladies and get in the pool!!

A Talk With Susan Woessner

After my last blog, I received a fairly surprising e-mail. It was from Susan Woessner, USA Swimming's athlete protection officer. Susan didn't reference the blog that I had just written drawing parallels between what's going on at Penn State right now and USA Swimming. I assumed that had to do with why she was writing. I was surprised that Susan contacted me because I had the impression that USA Swimming was walling itself off from the outside. Susan disagrees pretty strongly with that contention, and I think that her willingness to reach out is a direct attempt to change that perception. She's already started to do that.

Bears in Briefs: or "Why I Can't keep My Mouth Shut Anymore."

This is the proof that I was there.

Fine. I have been awakened from my stress-induced blog-hibernation. I can't keep my big fat trap shut anymore. Last month I wrote up a blog out of frustration but I didn't post it. Upon re-reading it I decided that I was being petty and I was letting the distant past taint my typically fair and balanced view of collegiate swimming.

The blog I wrote was about my beloved alma mater, the Missouri State Bears, winning the Men's side of the Show-Me Showdown, an early season meet between every college swim team, at every level, in the state of Missouri. My Bears pulled off the upset and beat the nationally ranked Missouri Tigers. Hells yeah!

Sound familiar?

There's so much going on today, I struggled to pick one topic. Maryland Swimming is under serious threat, a prospect that is completely terrifying. The first set of College dual meet rankings is set to be released later in the day. But you won't hear about either of those things if you turn on sports center. The sports world's gaze is firmly fixed on State College, PA. But this is a swimming blog! And still it might be the most important swimming topic of the day.

Ian Thorpe Comeback a Total Failure

The following is a guest blog from Tom Duke. For full bios of our guest bloggers, click here

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Today, the illustrious Ian Thorpe made his comeback to swimming. Thorpe, formerly the undisputed greatest swimmer in the Commonwealth (and by default, the world) once dazzled us with his middle distance freestyle virtuosity. Then a large eared american blowhard named Michael Phelps, tempered only by the coaching genius of Bob Bowman, unseated the king. Thorpe retired to a life of tabloid speculation over his waist line and sexuality. As fun as that sounds, he decided to make a comeback, if for no other reason than to get people talking about his swimming for a little. His first meet was today, and I am already declaring his comeback a total failure.

About those deadlines...

"If you hang up this phone, the offer is gone"

That's the line that many college prospects are facing and have faced over the last few weeks. In the cutthroat world of college recruiting, deadlines are an effective way for schools to get commitments. While the above is perhaps the most extreme example, most scholarship schools use deadlines to varying degrees. If you're a prospect or parent (or even a college coach) you may be wondering why.

Are SCM World Records Easier?

This woman has a SCM world record. Do you know who she is?

Before we begin- let me assure you all that I will resume posting in earnest in approximately two weeks. Why? Because the fall signing period will arrive and I will have my life back again. Until then, please feel free to do exactly what I'm doing and head on over to www.theswimmerscircle.com. Also, forgive them for their overly long URL. Today, I'm rousing myself up to post because of something I read there. Something that I disagree with.

A Brief Conversation About The Michael Phelps Video Game

Friend: "Turn on the TV."

Me: "Why?"

Friend: "Michael Phelps is on."

Me: "What's he doing?"

Friend: "Flailing his arms."

These Hands

Nothing has ever come easy for my girls.  Born more than 10 weeks prematurely they weighed 2lbs each when they were born.  They spent their first few months in the hospital;  tubes, needles, wires.  Monitors  incessantly beeping.  Sometimes the monitors became frenzied, a baby was crashing.  Doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists.  Hand washing, the smell of disinfectant.   All my girls have scars from their time in the NICU on their hands and feet.  Their physical tolerance from pain is unusual and I've been told it's due to the "programming" their little nervous systems endured from their first couple of months.  Sometimes I'm like, "seriously, that had to hurt."  It's made them tough.  Tough in many ways.

Gus Needs Help

Of course I do. That's not the issue.

What I really need are YOUR resources. I'm starting a column over at USA Swimming which follows the experiences of four Olympic Trials qualifiers. Please check out my "Open Letter to USA Swimming Members" here. 

Do you know anyone who's got a great story, and has also qualified for the Olympic Trials? GIVE ME THEIR NAMES. NUMBERS. EMAILS. AND A LIST OF THEIR PERSONAL FEARS.

Kidding about the fears. But the rest, please forward on to me. I've set up an email for this project -- Trials.Tribulations.2012[at]gmail.com. Any help or leads or pointing in the right direction would be of great benefit to me. Hopefully this can be a cool project. And if it's not, I will blame all of you. Personally.

Thanks for reading this. Now get back to work, people.

Headcases: Does Swim Training Make You Crazy?

If you've been involved with swimming, you probably know one or more swimmers that has been labeled a "headcase". It's possible that term hasn't been used, that they've been described as someone who crumbles under pressure at the end of the season, or doesn't race up to the potential of their training. Their coach might say "if only he/she could get out of his/her own way she would do well". I've been playing around with a theory regarding this for the last few weeks. I think, in many cases, describing a swimmer as a "headcase" belies a total misunderstanding of how they got that way. Let me explain

Technology and the Swim Coach

Sarah Connor was totally over-reacting about the whole "skynet" thing.  The machines ain't taking over squat.

Really?  Some day we are all going to be replaced by fancy micro-chip powered robots?  That's funny.  In my experience, technology seems to do nothing but fail.  I ain't worried about the machines taking over...  half the time they can't even run a darn swim meet.

Praise for USA Swimming's Education Program

If you've read the title, I can understand how you'll be a little startled. Over the course of writing this blog I've been very critical of USA Swimming in regards to their attitude towards child protection. Yesterday, as is now required of me to be a USA Swimming coach, I completed an education program regarding child protection that USA Swimming has set up with it's partner, Praesidium. And guess what? I thought it was pretty good.

Oh, Hey Pitt!

I was enjoying a brief respite this weekend from what has been a far busier fall than I anticipated. Of course, when you have a smart phone you are always sort of at work. An e-mail flashed into my inbox. Pitt and Syracuse were joining the ACC.

You'll notice that I left Syracuse out of the title. It's not a snub at their recently departed swimming program. It's more at their University for shamefully dropping swimming. Although the details have yet to be hammered out, it appears that Pitt will be the newest ACC team.

Could the PAC-12 TV Deal Bring Back Husky Swimming?

Do they have a chance to get back in the race?

 
I just wanted to point out a link today from the Seattle PI in which the author, who plainly states that he doesn't give a rip about swimming, speaks up to support bringing our beloved Husky swim programs back.  He states that since the University of Washington blamed hard financial times as the culprit forcing them to cut the mens and womens swimming programs for a whopping 1.2 million in savings, they really don't have any reason to not bring them back.  They just landed a sweet tv deal in which they will bring in about 12 million annually over what they previously received.

From the article:

British Comedy, Swimming and Charity. What's Not To Love Here?

David Wallliams swimming past my brother's house this past weekend for Sport Relief

David Walliams, actor and comedian best known for the BBC show "Little Britain" (and Little Britain USA on HBO) swam the length of the Thames, about 135 miles total, for the British charity Sport Relief.  The swim took him 8 days to complete.  He said he was in tremendous pain and he and was  warned by the health authorities he'd be swimming through sewage.  Sure 'nuff, on day 3 it resulted in a bad case of "Thames Tummy" and yet kept calm and carried on (get it?  get it?)   He raised over $2 million.

Nighttime Snack: Top Ten Public Pools in the World!

This one's in Denmark so even DeSantis can enjoy!

I have a new bucket list.  Yahoo has come out with a list of the "Top Ten Pools Even Nobodies And Losers Can Use" and every single one looks amazing.  The link is here http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-40677568 and if you click on it you'll never want to go to the Y ever again.  

Can We Please Admit We Have a Problem?

When I read yesterday that Ben Sheppard, USA Swimming's (now former) Diversity Consultant and club coach in the Oakland area, had been fired, I have to admit I wasn't that shocked. I wasn't shocked because I know that there are far more coaches that have inappropriate sexual interactions with their swimmers than have been "caught" That is pretty depressing. Sheppard wasn't someone I knew well, or at all, but he was a facebook friend. In this weird new era, Ben Sheppard and I were "friends" although I never recall having a conversation with him.

View From the Stands: A Swim Fan's Survival Guide to "Off Season"

The Minnesota Grand Prix is 64 days away

The other night I found myself watching swimming on You Tube.   At one point I said to myself, "this must have been what it was like during the Great Depression when people ate rutabagas they grew in their front yard and made clothes out of potato sacks."  I wondered if there were Hoovervilles for swim fans where we could all go, get a hot meal and re-watch Worlds or irrelevant NCAA races from 2003.    I really don't want to get heavily involved in another sport so I've been coping with enormous handfuls of chocolate chips and large blocks of cheese.  Desperate times require desperate measures.

Scared of Realignment

Gratuitous headline photo loosely tied to Texas A&M

Is college swimming staring down it's Ragnarok?

It Finally Boiled Over

The Viking is gonna be typing a little slower than usual for a while...

I have hardly blogged all summer. I have just been too busy. Renovations, teaching, high school swim, summer league, USA coaching, swim lessons... in a small town the swim program can often seem like a one horse show. I have tried a few times to write about it all, but have abandoned the post every time. The frustrations I have are aimed in too many directions, and none of it is really anyone's fault. It just all adds up to being more than one person can handle.

Nighttime Snack: The Athlete Coach Relationship

I seem to be the new go-to for stupid swim related *&%# on the internet.  Yay!  Keep it coming, people!

****WARNING*******Use of the "F" word at the end of the clip.******WARNING*******

Why Season Planning is For Dopes

Hopefully by now you've realized that the title's of my posts are far more inflammatory then what's inside. I'm going to argue in this space against what seems to be a universally accepted part of coaching swimming: the season plan. I was reminded to write this yesterday as I listened to the president of Georgia Tech discuss his 25 year plan for the University. He asked us to look into the past 25 years, and in doing so  inadvertently pointed out the folly in such long term planning. The future is just too unpredictable.

Nighttime Snack: Hurricane Irene Edition

The Hair!  The Satin!  The Rippin' Guitar Solos!

Since no one else is posting anything I'm taking matters into my own hands and doing whatever I want.   (Actually, Gus knows about this.)  So this is for everyone on the east coast staring down the eye of Hurricane Irene.  Here's your soundtrack.  Stay safe!

Magic in Water

 I'm dreading the end of the outdoor pool season.  Indoor pool season just isn't the same.  Where I live indoor pool season means it's gray, cold and dreary outside.  Everything dies;  leaves on trees, grass, flowers, and especially my happiness.  My happiness is inextricably tied to my daughter's happiness.  That happens when you become a parent.  The fact that I have 3 daughters and they're all 8 years old and one is on the autism spectrum means someone (at any given point) is not happy.  Therefore my happiness quotient is usually leveled as well.  But something happens in the summer...something magic.....especially for my daughter, Kate.  You see, there is no "cure" for autism.  But in my house, for Kate especially, there is a magic in water.

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects a person's ability to communicate and be social.  Most people with autism have issues with their sensory system;  things are often too loud, too crowded and generally "too much" to handle. They may not know exactly where their body is in space which is disorienting.  There's a "spectrum" so some people with autism are "high functioning,"  they may seem unusual or quirky.  Some people are "low functioning" so they may not speak at all and have distruptive behaviors.  Kate is somewhere in the middle, I guess.  She speaks but she's not really conversational.  Simple back and forth is about it.  She's learning to play with others and she's giving us much more eye contact.  Things are improving but like the saying goes, it's a marathon not a sprint. 

During the summer, in the sunshine, in the reflection of a clear blue pool, Kate comes alive.  She lives at the pool, she cannot get enough.  It's incredible to see the transformation.  It very much is like a caterpillar emerging from it's cocoon and blossoming into a butterfly.  In the water Kate is much more talkative.  She uses more words to form sentences and she describes things in much more detail.  She looks right at us and she's also extremely playful.  Instead of keeping to herself she commands our attention;  ring around the rosie, jumping into our arms, dunking games and singing songs together....it goes on for hours.  She's connected to us, she's with us, she is a part of us.  

Kate has also learned to swim this summer.  Missy Franklin she's not but she's able to be safe in all depths of water and she can easily swim to the side of the pool.  Her favorite thing to do is float...the poor lifeguards...she floats facing downward and can hold her breath for a really long period of time.  It looks scary if you don't know what she's doing.  She can do that forever.  She taught herself a breaststroke kick this summer.  I don't know how-she must have seen her sisters do it since they were working on it all summer.  Drowning is the number one cause of accidents/death for children with autism so her safety was paramount.  I don't care if she doesn't know who George Washington is...the kid's gonna swim. 

There's something about the warm sun on her face and the water.  As fall approaches I'll take her to the indoor pool and even have her splash around in the tub (which has always been calming for her) but it's not the same.  Over the next few years we're looking at moving somewhere warm again.  As beautiful as it is to watch her emerge during the spring and summer it's heart breaking to watch her fade away in the fall and winter.  We get used to "having her around" not just in body but in spirit.   It's the greatest gift.  I treasure every moment.  I take hundreds of pictures and probably hours of video of her "alive," happy, connected, laughing, looking right at us, asking us to play, giggling with glee and precious moments.  Because there's magic in water.

Nighttime Snack: Man Steals Swimming Pool

Yup, that's where the fun used to be

 Some guy in Massachusetts stole a family's 24 ft diameter/52 inch deep above-ground swimming pool and sold it for scrap metal.  It took him 3.5 hours to disassemble it while the family was at work.  

Steal a kid's pool?  Why don't you just run over their puppy?  That's just mean.  My kids would need years and years of therapy to recover from this.  They caught the guy;  charged him with trespassing, larceny and being a grade A schmuck.                                                                                  

Craig Lord: Never Afraid to be Ignorant or Closeminded

It's been a while since I've commented on the articles of the foremost (outside of our own Tom Duke) swimming writer in jolly old England, Craig Lord. Yesterday, he posted something that I just couldn't ignore. It's one of the articles that reminds you that Lord's primary sources of information are an ever aging and conservative cadre of coaches and officials. He is the official mouthpiece of their grumbling. Yesterday's complaint? There are too many high level meets. Let's address his points:

Afternoon Coffee with an Illustrious Member of The Faroese Delegation

Two Vikings Meet on the Field of Battle

If you've been following my blog, you know that my obsession with the Faroe Islands is reaching borderline insane proportions. So when my (online) friend Rókur Í Jákupsstovu told me that he would be in the vicinity at the same time as my Danish vacation, needless to say I didn't hesitate. For those of you who don't know, Rókur is the author of by far the best swim blog in the Faroes, www.svimjing.com. He also travelled to Shanghai with Pal, his coach Jon Bjarnason and the President of Faroese swimming, Jon Hestoy. Over a beer, and the subsequent coffee we drank to stay awake that you see in the picture above, we talked about anything and everything in the swimming world.

Nighttime Snack: Werk it at your next practice, ladies!

But do They Come in Black?

No longer do you have to choose between fashion and athleticism!  Bored with the same ol' flip flops?  Some designer in Sweden or somewhere with too much time on their hands has solved the problem.  I have no idea where you buy these but the first person to buy them, take a picture and send it to us gets an autographed photo of the Swim Viking in his Speedo.  So hurry!

Yet Another Unreasonable Firing! Sue Everyone!

Maybe he has a chance as a beach lifeguard. Or a contractor.

It's ridiculous! Somebody call the lawyers! Burger King didn't just fire their King... according to Yahoo! News they decapitated him!

No Morning Workouts

What if my alarm clock is stuck?

So I realize I posted yesterday and promised grand blogs to come. This is not one of the blogs I promised. Instead, I am posting right off the top of my head in a stream of consciousness like I usually do. My thoughts are consumed with the coming season. The campus is flush with incoming freshmen. I'm trying something different this year, not without trepidation. Depending on how you look at it, I'm either catching the wave of the future, already way behind or destroying our future. I'll let you decide

Another Lawsuit-- This Guy was Fired Over a Swim Brief!

If Roy Lester worked for this website he would be fired.  Even Lisa has to wear a brief on the job with us.

 
I know people are scared to wear the brief.  You have to be pretty comfortable with your manhood.  I get it.  I swam with my high school kids during practice yesterday at a rival team pool (because we are still in renovations) and I wore my brief; big old belly hanging over it and all.  Awkward.  Intimidating.  Creepy.  Whatever.  I am being true to myself.

I Missed You Too!

Little known fact: Denmark has BEAUTIFUL palm trees

Hey everybody, I'm back! I know that all of you have been worried sick these past couple weeks, with me not posting and all. You probably thought I had a mental breakdown after blogging 359 times a day during Worlds and then from the pool deck at Nationals. I'm here to tell you that everything is fine. I just went on vacation, ok, so you can stop worrying. (Scanning posts and comments). Wait, no one noticed? Seriously?

Rivalry Gone Too Far

It's all in fun until someone gets sued.

Missouri State and Drury have a traditionally strong swimming rivalry between them in Springfield, MO.  The thing that is great about it is that after all the trash talk and incidents, at the end of the day the kids are all still friends.  I am not going to say that there has never been bad blood between the coaches or the kids-- there is a great history there.  Drury's Brian Reynolds actually swam for Missouri State's Jack Steck back when Jack was leading the Panthers to some of their first national championships.  As a matter of fact, there was a twenty year gap where the two schools were not allowed to dual each other because the administration worried it would just be too much for Springfield to handle.  It was pretty heated between the two programs.

Nighttime Snack: A Big Bag of Gus

Mike Gustafson!  Healthy Yet Satisfying! 

Texas A&M moving to the SEC?  What does that mean for college swimming?  According to Gus, it should be a rallying cry for swim fans throughout the country.  Read his article for USA Swimming here:

http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&itemid=3629&mid=8712

A Tribute to a Beloved Coach and Within it; A Message

Joy of Competition

Meaning of Effort

Worth of Character

Power of Kindness

Wisdom of Honesty

Influence by Example

Rewards of Cooperation

Virtues of Patience

It seems that Coach Greg House possessed all the qualities of a "good coach."  The Swim and Dive coach at Blue Valley North High School in Kansas City was one of the winningest high school coaches (in terms of state titles) in Kansas history- leading his team to 20 state swim and dive championships during his 30 year career. When Coach House died last week of lung cancer not only did he leave behind a lot of trophies locked up in glass cabinets he also left behind something much more important;  the hundreds of lives he impacted.  A friend of mine sent me a link to a blog from one of his former swimmers.  She swam for Coach House years ago but the news of his death moved her greatly.  She channeled her grief into her art and she was gracious enough to let me repost some of her illustrations here.  I think they convey a tremendous love for her sport and for her coach.

Let's Talk About Jewelry!

If he stops to take off his jewelry they are just gonna DQ him for 'delay of meet' anyway.

 
I have never understood why the high school swimming rule-makers have such an obsession with jewelry.  Kids can't wear any, even if it is just a hair band that a girl put on her wrist and forgot to take it off.  Every Olympic year my swimmers come to me and say "Hey!  Every girl they interviewed in the Olympics was wearing earrings!?  What gives?"

Emmert's NCAA Retreat Wrap-up

Mark Emmert, about to scrape the charred remains of the Husky swimming program from the bottom of his frying pan in 2009.

So, Mark Emmert wrapped up his NCAA retreat and is being applauded for actually making a decision without doing the standard NCAA "let's form a committee and a task force and come talk about this again in five years."  Well,  from the sound of it, they talked about a lot of stuff and ended up moving on just one decision.  They plan to hold some teams out of post-season play if they don't meet grade standards, which I guess would have taken some heavy hitters out of the basketball tournament this year according to the scores that will now be required... but of course those schools will find a way to pay for whatever necessary tutors and bribes they need to be in compliance.  That's how it works. Apparently they have to have a record of half of their students on track to graduate.  That shouldn't be too hard to get around, right?

Big whoop.

Jump in for Joplin!

Because swimmers are the coolest people on Earth.

After the May 22nd tornado hit Joplin, there was an outpouring of support from swim teams from all over the nation hoping to help swim families get on their feet.  Joplin was crawling with volunteers from all over the country and it is amazing how much has been done in the months since the storm.  We all knew though, that after the initial surge of volunteers came and went, there would still be many families with needs that would not have been met for various reasons.

One of the emails I got that offered help went a little above and beyond what I had seen.  A coach in Wisconsin who I had become friends with over email, Vicki Terlap, sent me a message saying that she was organizing a fundraising event called Jump in for Joplin.  How cool is that?  She got a few swim teams together and made a truly inspiring event of it.  They raised $1159.00 and it looks like they had a lot of fun doing it!  They had all sorts of games and races and it looks like they made it the best kind of party-- the kind that helps a group of total strangers who are friends through swimming.

Morning Bowl of Gustafson

I think last time we had a Morning Bowl of Gustafson the US Stock Market and the global economy did pretty well.  Maybe it was coincidence....maybe it wasn't.  Therefore, I'm posting a link to his latest masterpiece he wrote for USA Swimming.  Not only is it an interesting article about Brendan Hansen's comeback, my 401K may recover.  No pressure, Gus.

http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=0&itemid=3594&mid=8712

The End is Nigh: Emmert's NCAA Retreat

The NCAA booted this guy out of their meeting for speaking up on behalf of non-revenue sports.  Then they made a rule stating that new pools built at universities must now have a lazy river for football players to play in instead of lap lanes.

The Viking's summarization of day one of Mark Emmert's NCAA Reform Retreat and all of the self-contradictions therein:

Olympic Numbers Game

Since I caught a bunch of grief for not sharing some of my "other" "swim" "writing" here's an article I wrote yesterday for USA Swimming. My numbers might be off, and perhaps the rest of you can come up with some better/funnier/edgier/sexier numbers (like the sheer number of condoms used at each Olympics), but here are some pretty fun facts I discovered during my morning research (performed while sipping coffee and listening to my 25 lb. cat wail and moan for more food, the fat piece of fat):

Nighttime Snack: One Year Out, Just Not What We Expected

Unfortunately, this is not the Olympic Torch 

                                                                            
My official "Olympic Glow" has taken a bit of a tarnishing lately.  For the 3rd night in a row there have been riots in the streets of London, starting in Tottenham in the north of the city, now moving throughout London and even to other cities like Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.

Not **exactly** great PR for London as it looks to host the Olympics 353 days from now.  On twitter, the usual tweets of excitement were replaced by tweets like, "Looting:  The New Olympic Sport" and "Can't wait for the Olympics.....should be a riot!"  There was also my favorite, "Good luck with the Olympics, London.  I'm outta here."  Scotland Yard has made it a point all along to assure the millions of tourists it will be sure to welcome next summer they are safe and they have everything under control.  The events this week have made some question whether or not that is actually the truth.

Snack: Swim-Life- Should Senior Swimming in the US Take a Step Back?

Take that Stone Cold Button! Ha!

I want to draw attention to another blogger out there, not just because he is Alaskan and that automatically makes him awesome, but because he is putting some ideas out there that deserve to be heard. Cliff Murray, Head Coach of Northern Lights Swim Club in Anchorage, Alaska has a blog called Swim Life. It is a collection of workouts and random thoughts about swimming. Recently Coach Murray has put a few posts out there that question the progression of Senior qualifying meets from the LSC level up to the Olympic Trials. Cliff seems to think that the old system with Regionals, three Junior National sites and the US Open made a lot more sense than the current system of Sectionals, Junior Nats, then Nationals. Cliff also is also able to give a lot of the dynamics that come into play that differ between large and small clubs.

Nighttime Snack: Tech Suits and the Anonymous Voice of a Pro.

I know that Spidey's black costume turned out to be an alien symbiote that tried to kill him and all... but I couldn't help drawing a parallel between this picture and the tech suit issue. 

In case you haven't been following along, Tony at the SCAQ Blog is a Masters Swimmer and has always loved his tech suits.  At his blog though, no matter how vocal he has been about wanting tech back, he has allowed anyone and everyone to voice their opinion even if it disagrees.  Apparently a professional swimmer decided to "school" Tony and the rest of us on what tech suits really did to professional swimming and the suit sponsor system that they count on, and this seems to be the voice that was missing from the argument the first time around.  It is worth the read.

Keeping it in Perspective

Before this National meet started, I stated unequivocally what I would be watching for- the young swimmers that would replace the current generation of US stars. Depending on who you ask, we have just seen it. I remain more doubtful. While we did see a legendary NAG record go down over the course of this meet, the swims are not keeping pace with international competition. Why do I keep hammering on this point?  Let me explain:

Nighttime Snack: Jeanette Ottesen to marry an American

Occasionally here on the Swim Brief, I like to bring your attention to the very important work done by the Faroese swimming blog, www.svimjing.com. It has a lot of good stuff. Unfortunately, there are probably upwards of 50,000 people in the entire world who speak Faroese, so much of it's content is lost to the abyss. This will not be one of those times.

Morning Bowl of Gustafson

Mmmmmm, Gustafson

Every now and then, Mike Gustafson writes for another website. Then he tries to conceal the article so that none of us can find it. Mike, listen to me. We accept you for who you are. Don't keep living in shame. We love your writing very much and we just want you to be happy. Luckily for us, we have trained internet lackies that discover whenever Mike has written something and send it to us. This is Mike's latest for USA Swimming:

Lifeless Crowds

When's the A Final? It already happened????

All week I've been bringing you observations from the pool deck at US Senior Nationals out in Palo Alto. By the way I know that's not the official name but I don't want to type out the long drawn out name. Today I'm bringing a more downbeat one. As I probably mentioned, there are a ton of people at this meet. Upwards of 1800 swimmers. Throw in coaches, parents and other various spectators and you have enough people to create the atmosphere. Still, yesterday during the "A" final of the women's 200 free, one of my swimmers turned to me and said "when are they starting?". The swimmers were already a 50 into the race. That is both part of the problem and revealing.