Nighttime Snack: Swim Beginnings

An approximation of my freestyle for the first 5 years of my swimming career

Over the next couple days, we're going to be posting some stories about beginnings in the sport of swimming. One will be long form by Lisa Stephens tomorrow, the rest of the Swim Brief crew will be checking in by these Nighttime Snacks. As executive omnipotent editor in chief, I thought I'd post mine first. Take that, everybody else!

MIdnight Snack: Death Race 2011. You May Die.

Think you’re a bad ass?  Then, go ahead… sign up for this year’s Death Race.  It’s this Saturday in Pittsfield, VT.  What are you waiting for?  If you don’t know what I am talking about, please check it out at youmaydie.com.  My friend Andy Weinberg, a former distance record holder at Missouri State, is one of the people who organizes this race-- if you want to call it a race.  The time does not matter.  It is all about survival. This race will test you, no matter who you are. Please watch the video made by the New York Times.  It will blow your mind.

Late Night Snack: The Smell of Fear and Sprinting

In case you missed it, the other day I posted this on facebook and twitter:  "Love coaching club again!  This am warm-up:  10x "sit on the gutter, stare at the floor, feel sorry for yourself bc last pm practice was so hard" on 1:05.

The funny part is that it really went pretty close to that way.  They were moping on the gutter and stalling as much as they could (which is typical when it is so early) so I made that joke and a couple of them started watching the clock and acting like they were taking short breaks between rounds of sad-faced self-pity.  It was downright hilarious.

I am starting to find that with this group of athletes morning practice is turning into an awkward sort of comedy gold and i really am enjoying seeing their not-quite smiling faces at 5:45am.

This is another example of a true conversation from practice this morning:

Late Night Snack: It's already been done? Swim Team: The Movie

Quite possibly the best and worst movie of all time.

I have dreamed for years that some day the ultimate swimming movie will be made and that I will be a part of it's production somehow.  I nearly went to film school just to pursue this.  Gus and I have joked about sharing this dream of making the movie that will finally make everyone in the world love swimming as much as we do.  It would simply be called "Swim Team: The Movie" and it would appeal to sports fans, comedy lovers and romantics alike.

But wait... there already is a Swim Team: The Movie?  How did I not know this?

Apparently, in 1979 writer/director James Polakof tried to capitalize on the success of Meatballs with a similar raunchy, coming-of-age story of a community swim team on a 7 year losing streak that turns it all around with a passionate coach.  It even featured Buster Crabbe and Stephen Furst, who played Flounder in Animal House.  How could it go wrong?