The SwimSwam Podcast

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In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.

Episodes

Tuesday Feb 02, 2021

Todd DeSorbo Breaks Down Epic Dual Meet Finishes for UVA Men's & Women's Teams

Tuesday Feb 02, 2021

We sat down with University of Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo, whose Cavaliers are coming off of some exciting dual meets in the last couple of weeks. For the men's team, it was a tight battle with UNC that came down to the last relay, a trend that DeSorbo says has been unusually common for the men since he's arrived in Charlottesville. For the women's team, it was the next day versus NC State that came down to the final relay after UVA's 1-2 finishers in the 1,000 were both DQ'ed for being in the wrong lanes.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Tuesday Feb 02, 2021

McKeown's Coaching Staff Explains Methodology of 17-on, 4-off Training Cycles

Tuesday Feb 02, 2021

We sat down with Chris Mooney (head coach of University of Sunshine Coast in Australia) and Dave McKean (head of physical performance at University of Sunshine Coast) to talk about their 21-day training cycles that we covered in our interview with 2020 Swimmer of the Year Kaylee McKeown. They each give their perspectives on why they wanted to try this method out and how it's worked so far, McKean coming from a heavily scientific background and Mooney wanting to push the boundaries of innovation within coaching and the sport of swimming.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Monday Feb 01, 2021

SSPC: Florent Manaudou Reveals the Downside of Being a Superhero

Monday Feb 01, 2021

We sat down with Olympic champion Florent Manaudou, who is coming off of his second ISL season with Energy Standard. Manaudou hits on a myriad of topics, including why he will be training in France for the Olympic lead-up, how he spends his free time outside of the water, and what he gained by taking a break after the 2016 Olympic Games. Florent is extremely personable and it's refreshing to hear his perspective on things in and outside of the pool

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Sunday Jan 31, 2021

SSPC: Morgan Scroggy on Making an Olympic Trials Final as the 41st Seed

Sunday Jan 31, 2021

We sat down with Morgan Scroggy, the Pan Pacific and World University Games champion who is the lowest-seeded athlete (41st, 200 back) to have made a final at the US Olympic Trials in the last 20 years. This is significant as it was the line USA Swimming decided to make for the Wave II Olympic Trials meet, basing the cuts on the times of the 41st seeded athlete in each event as of the day they came out (January 26, 2021).

Scroggy competed in 3 different Olympic Trials (04, 08, 12) and candidly shares her experience from each of them, highs and lows. She details what the Olympic dream meant to her as an athlete, and what the process of chasing it did for her 10 years removed from her swimming career.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Saturday Jan 30, 2021

SSPC: Emily Escobedo Explains Pros and Cons of Unexpectedly Making the National Team

Saturday Jan 30, 2021

We sat down with Emily Escobedo, the breaststroking machine that has been on fire this past year. Escobedo had a successful season in the ISL Budapest Bubble, helping a rebuilt New York Breakers team to a semi-final appearance. Less than a month after that, Escobedo suited up in practice and came within .2 of a lifetime best in the 200-yard breaststroke. But she wasn't done there. At the January Pro Swim in Richmond, she topped the field in both the 100 (1:07.11) and 200 (2:23.46) breast, going even faster than the likes of Lilly King, who competed in San Antonio.

Escobedo talks about all of these swims as well as her breakout into the pro swimming scene, making the national team in 2018 after not expecting to. Escobedo walks us through the process of trying to make things work as a pro swimmer without having a ton of resources readily available to her at that time.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Friday Jan 29, 2021

SSPC: International Swimmers' Alliance Launches With World’s Top 120 Elites

Friday Jan 29, 2021

Matt Biondi, an 11-time Olympic medalist, details his progress to further athletes’ rights as the manager of the International Swimmers’ Alliance. The Alliance, an association of the world’s top 120 elite swimmers, is ready to officially get down to business after 20 months of development. For Matt, a three-time Olympian, this journey has been far, far longer. The Olympic icon has been a pioneer in this effort going back to the 1980s when Olympians were not allowed to earn endorsement dollars until after they officially retired from competition. Matt fought the system ultimately winning the right to earn endorsement revenue as an active swimmer, but not until the twilight of his career. His efforts really benefited the stars who followed him, like Janet Evans, Michael Phelps and Caeleb Dressel.

While the Alliance is not a union, it is an association of elite swimmers and a potentially powerful voice in negotiating improved economic conditions. In this SwimSwam Podcast Matt shines light on the Alliance’s first steps, the baby steps in his words, toward a new future of improved athletes’ rights.

B-roll video is courtesy of ISL (https://isl.global)

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Thursday Jan 28, 2021

SSPC: Breaking Down the Decision to Have 2 Olympic Trials Meets in the US

Thursday Jan 28, 2021

We sat down with 2 of SwimSwam's Co-Founders, Braden Keith and Mel Stewart, to discuss the recent news that the 2021 US Olympic Trials will now be 2 meets. We discuss whether this was the right decision, what led to this choice behind the scenes, and if there may be a better solution out there. Braden and Mel also dive into what this means for Olympic Trials moving forward, with the potential for this "2-meet system" being a recurring theme for trial meets to come.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Thursday Jan 28, 2021

SSPC: David Curtiss Explains 21.8 50m Free PR on Only 2 1/2 Weeks of Training

Thursday Jan 28, 2021

We sat down with David Curtiss, the 18-year-old national team member that logged a PR in the 50m free at the Richmond Pro Swim. Curtiss revealed that he had only been in the water for 2 1/2 weeks before the Pro Swim, being forced out of the pool for a month prior due to COVID restrictions. Curtiss explains that he's focused a lot on power and strength work outside of the pool, which he's been able to translate into the pool.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Wednesday Jan 27, 2021

SSPC: Grant Shoults Breaks Down 2nd Shoulder Surgery, 1000 free PR in Practice

Wednesday Jan 27, 2021

We sat down with Grant Shoults, the NCAA All-American who recently took to twitter to give a personal update. After recovering from shoulder surgery a year ago, Shoults was back in the pool training toward the beginning of quarantine. However, he started having shoulder pain and realized he would need a 2nd surgery on his other shoulder. We go into the details of how it went and what recovery looked like. Shoults also explains the environment that has been created within the Stanford men throughout the COVID pandemic, saying everyone is just happy to be at practice every day because it may very well be their last.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Tuesday Jan 26, 2021

CEO Swim Series: SwimSmart Entrepreneurs Explain Their Success

Tuesday Jan 26, 2021

SwimSmart (https://www.swimsmarttoday.com) co-founders Karl Hamouche and Mike Peterson drop-in on the SwimSwam Podcast explaining how they've flexed their entrepreneurial muscle, building one of the fastest growing companies in our sport.

Karl Hamouche is the founder of Swim Smart and co-inventor of the Squeezline. He moved to Iowa from Lebanon when he was 12 years old, joined the local swim team, and instantly was part of a family in a place 8,000 miles away from home. Years later, he ended up coaching for that same team, expanding it by starting a new satellite, and helping them win their first club state title.

Karl studied biology and exercise science at Iowa State University and received his medical degree at the University of Iowa. With his coaching and swimming background, Karl is the intersection of theory and practice, the book and the real world.

Karl still swims almost everyday and competes multiple times a year. His daily interaction with the water gives him new ideas and insights into how we can all help to improve our swimming.

Michael Peterson is currently the head coach of ACAC in Iowa, and prior to that he was the top assistant coach with the Colorado Stars. While with the Stars he helped in the development of Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin and Olympian Kara Lynn Joyce. As the head age group coach Michael was a major contributor to the Colorado Stars winning 6 consecutive Colorado state titles and 2 Junior National Championship team titles.

As an athlete, Michael was a standout prep swimmer at Ames High School where he earned 9 high school All-American certificates. He continued his swimming career at the Denver University where he not only served as team captain, but also set 4 school records.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com