Swim Talk A2B - Episode 66: George Block

We begin this episode with a lengthy recitation of achievements by this noted coach and educator, but here are some highlights, courtesy of ASCA: Coaching Since: 1977Northside Aquatics Developed 52 Texas high school State (UIL) gold medalists. Coached over 285 high school All-Americans. USA Olympic Trials qualifiers in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. Produced 6 Olympians in three different sports (swimming, triathlon and pentathlon). Olympic swimmers from 3 different countries (USA, Nicaragua and Algeria)   Coach George Block retired from the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas at the end of June 2009, where he served as the Director of Aquatics since 1977 and Assistant Director of Athletics since 1993. In that time, he developed the Northside Aquatic Center into an internationally recognized center for athlete development. Email us at: [email protected] Timeline for this episode: 00:01 – Disclaimer 00:21 – George Block bio 02:10 – San Antonio drownings 05:28 – Benefits of the sport 07:07 – Cell phone vs. swim lessons 08:03 – Introducing George Block 08:33 – Long course water 10:20 – AAAA 14:40 – The “D” word 15:15 – Northside Swim Center 16:11 – Acronym overload 20:13 – Limited Texas options 24:38 – WSCA & anti-doping 30:32 – New testing technology 33:44 – Long-term consequences 34:55 – Pan Zhanle 35:35 – Team USA issues 39:22 – Mike Unger 44:48 – Training the world 47:55 – What hasn’t changed? 50:13 – Flunking retirement 54:59 – Wrapping it up

SARASOTA SWIM ACADEMY Head Coach Ira Klein, has coached 6 OLYMPIANS and over 40 USA, YMCA and COLLEGIATE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. He is an ASCA-certified Level 5 Coach, the highest level attainable with the American Swim Coaches Association. He was the first coach in the country to attain that level as a Senior, Age Group, and YMCA coach. He has more than four decades of teaching experience and coaching excellence. Coach Ira Klein is from New York, graduating in 1975 from Queens College with a BA in Physical Education. He then did his graduate study in Exercise Science at the Univ. of Massachusetts. At Queens College Coach Ira lettered in both swimming and water polo. Coaching has taken him around the country, including four years in Colorado at the Olympic Training Center creating a new Club Services department for USA Swimming. When he was ready to return to the coaching deck he decided to turn down all offers and return to Sarasota where he earlier headed the YMCA program for five years. AMONG HIS COACHING CREDENTIALS ARE: 100% of all program graduating athletes have entered and attended college 65% of all program graduates attending college have received scholarships Five time USA National Team Coach Two time past President of the American Swim Coaches Association [ASCA] Past Vice President of USA Swimming ASCA Coach 'Gold Medal' Level; received for more than 20 years, as a National ‘Coaching Excellence’ award recipient. Coached over 100 USA Swimming National, NCAA Collegiate, YMCA National, National Age Group and Junior Olympic; individual and team champions! When asked what he enjoys most in swimming, the singular answer is "the ability to watch a young person achieve something, at any level, that they had never done before and learn that all is possible if they are willing to work for it." Coach Ira can be reached at 941-928-SWIM (7946) [email protected] ========== Email us: ⁠[email protected]⁠ Timeline for this episode 00:01 – Disclaimer 00:24 – How to be a Great Swim Parent 01:23 – Ira Klein on swim parenting 03:48 – Eddie Reese book 04:18 – Introducing Ira Klein 04:43 – Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team 08:35 – Cindy’s Sue Nami Swims 09:07 – Hurricanes 11:00 – USAS Club Services 13:15 – Coaching up the parents 17:25 – USAS staffing 22:47 – Team USA trials & camps 27:35 – Looking within for a CEO? 28:33 – Going coach-owned? 31:24 – AAU to USAS w/ASCA 32:33 – Professional attire 33:50 – What isn’t new? 36:36 – Terry Laughlin 40:20 – Ira’s coaching journey 43:55 – Create the best environment 50:04 – Surviving the long haul 54:04 – Wrapping it up

Three- time Canadian Olympian Jon Cleveland has been a swimmer, a coach, and overseer for the installation of Myrtha pools for the USA Olympic Swimming Trials. First representing Canada at the Olympics in 1988 (Seoul), he medaled in the 400 medley relay (Bronze) in 1992 (Barcelona), and returned for his last Olympics as a competitor in 1996 (Atlanta). The son of MLB pitcher Reggie Cleveland, Jon was also a sports anchor and reporter for TV station CFPL in London, Ontario for 5 years. A contemporary and rival of famed Canadian swimmer Victor Davis, Jon's visit with us takes us back to his roots in swimming, his journey to greatness, and his passion for the aquatics industry and competitive swimming, as well as swimming for all. We hear him voice his thoughts and perceptions about lifeguard shortages, learn-to-swim and lesson programs, and why there is a greater need for them now than ever. Join us for another riveting episode! Email us: [email protected] Myrtha Pools: https://www.myrthapools.com Timeline for this episode 00:00:01 – Disclaimer 00:01:08 – Water Safety PSA 00:02:02 – Introducing Jon Cleveland 00:02:28 – Into the swimming world 00:06:25 – Move to Calgary 00:09:08 – Taking on Victor Davis 00:13:00 – Trevor Tiffany connection 00:14:32 – Corner Gas 00:16:01 – Broadcasting in London 00:17:36 – Coaching & teaching in Dallas 00:19:50 – From coaching to Myrtha 00:21:00 – Why multi-pool facilities? 00:26:40 – Myrtha = First Class 00:29:00 – What’s a Myrtha pool? 00:31:18 – Latest options 00:34:22 – Mobile option 00:35:00 – New projects 00:37:30 – Past the roadblocks 00:40:00 – New York initiatives 00:40:49 – Lifeguard shortages 00:42:30 – Race visualization 00:45:35 – Why not more learn-to-swim? 00:51:32 – Private school builds 00:55:50 – Out of the dark ages 01:00:30 – Contractor issues 01:03:23 – David Johnson 01:04:50 – Wrapping it up

Yes, we've finally turned our attention to the unheralded realm of amazing junior colleges, those necessary and beneficial 2-year options for kids wanting to extend their HS careers, hopefully parlaying that experience into a 4-year option. Dale Pearce is not only a great JuCo mentor at a rising program (Men have won 10 Regional Championships, 11 NJCAA Non-Scholarship Team Titles, and the Women 8 Regional and 8 NJCAA Non-Scholarship Team Titles), he is also the Assistant AD at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY. Come listen to him share some great stories and explain why JuCo swimming can be a perfect next-path for a HS swimmer. Email us at: ⁠[email protected]⁠ Interested in swimming for the MCC Tribunes? You can email Coach Dale Pearce at ⁠[email protected]⁠ Check out MCC Swimming here: Men: ⁠https://www.mcctribunes.com/sports/mswimdive/index⁠ Women: ⁠https://www.mcctribunes.com/sports/wswimdive/index⁠ Timeline: 00:01 – Disclaimer & banter 01:08 – Water Safety PSA 02:02 – Introducing Dale Pearce 02:38 – Working w/JUCO athletes 03:58 – Recruiting 08:01 – Beyond the pool 12:43 – Wearing several hats 14:55 – JUCO competition 16:52 – Changes through the years 19:16 – Club swimming 20:10 – Wearing the CPO hat 24:55 – Air quality 29:14 – Season preview 32:58 – International program 36:05 – Dave’s Leap 36:42 – Enjoying the moment 38:43 – Coaching: Then & Now 41:12 – Contact Dale 41:53 – Wrapping it up

Don and Ron Heidary have been in this particular business for over 30 years, and after listening to them explain their strategy and philosophy of CHARACTER FIRST (team culture), you will understand why. Dana is personally enthused from this conversation with a couple of this country's absolute best coaches, and Bob is cheering them, too! Swimming World Magazine has a couple of great articles about the Heidary brothers and team culture, character: "Q&A with the Heidarys": https://tinyurl.com/2eja237d "Build A Wining Culture": https://tinyurl.com/52ufrka6 Email us: [email protected] Have you learned anything or even -enjoyed- any of these mediocre podcasts? Well, then, buy us a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/swimtalka2b TIMELINE for this OUTSTANDING episode: 00:01 – Disclaimer & banter 03:05 – Chuck Warner books 04:25 – Introducing Ron & Don Heidary 05:05 – Making character education work 08:12 – Personal connections 12:35 – From rock pile to cathedral 16:33 – Orinda Aquatics staffing 17:43 – Does culture match mission? 20:52 – Eight reasons why teenagers drink (Link here: https://tinyurl.com/bdmjtv9x) 22:12 – Facility 23:20 – Feeding the program 24:40 – Virtual Club Championships 26:11 – Getting their start 28:32 – Work ethic 31:11 – Trust 34:49 – Developing leaders & coaches 38:02 – Self-discipline 40:00 – Favorites 42:05 – What’s life w/o swimming? 45:28 – Working in some fun 47:20 – Pressure cooker 48:10 – Finding the right fit 48:48 – Culture of caring 51:38 – Wrapping it up 52:38 – Check program notes

One of the most successful collegiate careers in the business! Listen in as we have an engaging conversation with University of Virginia Head Women's and Men's coach Todd DeSorbo. Besides all of the NCAA and Olympic success, did he really say, " if there was one time-frame I would go back to in my life, it would be high school. Partly because... I loved high school, but my math classes were so much fun, and then [my coach] Nikki [Rosenbluth] was so much fun and swimming ... everything that we were doing was fun and I liked it. So it was easy to work hard at it." Yes, he did. HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING. We think you'll really enjoy this peek into the life and career of UVA and USA Olympic Head Coach Todd DeSorbo! Email us: [email protected] Episode timeline: 00:01 - Disclaimer 00:20 – Safety or Convenience? 01:16 – Banter 03:15 – Compensation 04:13 – Introducing Todd DeSorbo 04:51 – Splitting time? 06:21 – Support at UVA 09:32 – Accolades 11:40 – Building the roster 14:01 – The Salisbury Post 15:00 – Contending for titles 16:36 – Sprinter Ryan Held 18:38 – Jaw-dropping workouts 20:50 – The Salisbury Hornets 22:01 – Coaching IM-ers 24:36 – Nicky Rosenbluth 26:46 – Numbers cruncher 32:01 – The new ACC 34:45 – What about the men? 37:02 – Titles to Titleist 40:10 – Powerhouse schedule 41:45 – Alternate meet formats 47:00 – Wrapping it up 47:39 – Looking ahead Photo courtesy of Swimming World Magazine and Photographer Peter H. Bick

From listennotes.com: Jeff is a swim official, former FINA starter and pastor. He has worked with big business brands including Toyota, TBS Brands and Mohawk Industries. He’s also worked with University sports from Auburn, NC State, Denison and Queens, as well as club programs like the Mason Manta Rays, TAC Titans, and NOVA. Email us at: [email protected] Contact Jeff Raker: https://www.levelupleadershipcoach.com/contact-us/ Level Up Leadership on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JARaker5 Timeline for this episode: 00:01 – Disclaimer 01:22 – Water Safety PSA 02:30 – Introducing Jeff Raker 04:00 – Jeff’s road to Doha ‘24 06:46 – Level Up Leadership 08:50 – Question for Today 10:40 – Leaders who listen & learn 12:33 – Now That’s a Great Question 14:35 – L.I.S.T.E.N. 17:44 – Questioning strategies 21:05 – Strengths & weaknesses 22:50 – Fragile athletes 24:49 – Fears: Natural & Learned 28:31 – Compass vs. Calendar 31:35 – Rest, recovery, & reflection 34:38 – Self-care 38:11 – Coaches’ Academies 42:47 – Warming up with Doc 43:33 – Reaching out to Jeff 47:20 – Wrapping it up

In this second part of two content-rich episodes with former Executive Director of the American Swimming Coaches Association, John Leonard, we dive DEEPLY into the problems and history associated with the PED doping scandal in our sport. We hear John's opinion of age-group and high school coaches (high praise indeed!), and who would be on his "Mt. Rushmore of Swimming". Extremely enlightening! Email us: [email protected] Time line for the dynamite episode: 00:01 – Disclaimer 01:06 – How to be a Great Swim Parent 02:30 – Part II Preview 02:58 – PED’s Panel 04:59 – How to “game” the system 08:04 – David Howman 09:00 – Phony testing schemes 10:10 – Performance anomalies 11:33 – Microdosing 13:26 – Systematic failure 14:01 – Losing faith in WADA 15:06 – Athletics Integrity Unit 17:48 – Dr. Lothar Kipke 20:48 – Government-sponsored programs 22:06 – ’96 Atlanta Games 25:51 – From FINA to World Aquatics 28:15 – USADA 30:37 – FINA buying votes 33:15 – What hasn’t changed? 35:24 – Coaching age groupers 38:09 – Mount Rushmore of swim coaching 44:17 – Wrapping it up Music credits: The Whip Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

From 1985 to 2020, "ASCA" and "John Leonard" were unmistakably linked. As Executive Director of the American Swimming Coaches Association for 35 years, Coach Leonard has been inextricably involved with American swimming at almost every level from LTS (Learn-to-Swim) to the US National Team, from local organization to battling athletic doping on an international scale. You ought to really enjoy this first of a two-part conversation with "Mr. ASCA." Email us: [email protected] Timeline for this episode, courtesy of Button: 00:01 – Disclaimer & banter 01:52 – ASCA mentoring 03:41 – Previewing Parts I & II 04:42 – Introducing John Leonard 05:06 – Syracuse Chargers:  Zero to Powerhouse 08:15 – Favorites 09:28 – ASCA Executive Director 11:35 – SwimAmerica 15:35 – Coach-owned clubs 17:08 – Coach certification & Walt Schlueter 22:10 – The Suit Wars 25:49 – Organization growth 30:00 – …but wait!  There’s more! 30:26 – More ASCA mentoring & membership Music Credits: "Private Eye" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Longtime president of the Wisconsin Swimming Coaches Association and the next president of NISCA, Kyle Bedalov wandered into the Swim Talk Zoom Room recently and led us through a vast wonderland of thoughts and ideas. See the timeline below for your own personal roadmap through this audio delight! Email us: [email protected] =========================== Timeline for this above-average episode: 00:00:01 – Disclaimer & banter 00:02:40 – How to be a Great Swim Parent 00:04:01 – Introducing Kyle Bedalov 00:05:01 – Kicking off a new season 00:07:06 – Swimming south of the border 00:08:17 – WISCA site 00:11:58 – Wisconsin high school poll 00:14:24 – Just when I thought I was out… 00:18:03 – Competing through Covid-19 00:21:50 – Private schools into WIA 00:23:07 – Coaching your own 00:29:10 – Swimming at the next level 00:35:11 – Swim lesson PSA 00:36:40 – Social Media 00:42:55 – A day in the life… 00:45:35 – More social media 00:48:17 – The Question Behind the Question 00:51:35 – One Shot Wednesday 00:53:15 – Chop Wood Carry Water 00:54:32 – Future of NISCA leadership 00:59:19 – NISCA convention plans 01:00:36 – Archive, records, & A-A fixes 01:02:37 – NISCA podcast w/Rowdy 01:04:05 – Virtual awards banquet 01:06:16 – A2B guest roster 01:07:33 – Wrapping it up =========================== Music Credits:   [1] Hot Swing Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/   [2] Private Eye Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/