The Swim Brief

The Coaching Culture That Pushes Parents Out: Tracy Slusser

Send us Fan Mail Tracy Slusser has coached three NCAA championship teams. She has also experienced a coaching culture that made having children feel incompatible with doing the job at the highest level. We talk about the expectations she absorbed early in her career, what happened when a fellow coach brought her child onto the deck at Nationals, and the changes Tracy wants to see—from emergency deck passes to better coverage when coaches take leave. Today, Tracy works with coaches on leadership, confidence, and the skills needed to build a career they can sustain. We close on a question that connects her past work to what she does now: when coaches want to perform at the highest level, who helps them get better?

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Don't Finish The Athlete

Send us Fan Mail What is a developmental coach actually trying to finish? Longhorn Aquatics head coach Mike Laitala joins Chris DeSantis to discuss why producing fast young swimmers is not the same as preparing athletes for long-term success. They explore the risks of early specialization, the difference between developing strength and simply “lifting,” and why athletes can advance beyond their own developmental awareness. Mike also explains how he prepares swimmers for college, another coach, and eventually the ability to direct their own careers. The goal isn’t to exhaust every tool available—it’s to build the foundation athletes will need for whatever comes next.

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Wisdom Isn’t Taught. It’s Revealed

Send us Fan Mail Jack Roach has spent a lifetime learning from coaches—and helping coaches and athletes learn from one another. In this conversation, Jack reflects on his time leading USA Swimming’s National Junior Team, where he helped create developmental experiences that connected young swimmers with senior athletes and brought coaches into a broader web of relationships. But his philosophy extends well beyond any particular program: coaches shouldn’t simply provide answers. Their job is to ask questions, deepen awareness and help reveal the wisdom already developing within the athlete. We discuss purpose, autonomy, the difference between being unable and unwilling, admitting weakness as a coach, and why genuinely caring about someone sometimes requires walking directly into difficult conversations. Jack also shares lessons from Eddie Reese and his longtime mentor, Jon Urbanchek—including one question that has stayed with him: How much are you willing to care?

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Building Swimmers Who Want To Be There: Jonathan Kaplan

Send us Fan Mail What makes swimmers want to keep showing up—not because an attendance policy requires it, but because they genuinely want to be there? Jonathan Kaplan, head coach and director of SwimRVA, joins Chris to discuss a collaborative approach to coaching built around athlete ownership. Jonathan explains why he has never used an attendance policy, how coaches can teach swimmers to manage the psychological demands of practice, and what happens when an athlete’s entire identity becomes tied to results. They also explore confidence without false modesty, the damage created by praising outcomes while ignoring the process, and why much of championship-meet coaching becomes an attempt to undo lessons athletes learned when they were younger. Jonathan then shares how SwimRVA was designed around the needs of its community—removing barriers while creating space for everyone from seasonal participants to nationally competitive swimmers—and why good leadership requires enough confidence to question your own ideas. The result is not a rejection of performance. It is a different path toward it: build better people, give swimmers meaningful ownership, and create a program they don’t want to leave.

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Building Culture in College Swimming’s Transactional Era

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to build a championship-level program without allowing college swimming to become purely transactional? Stanford men’s swimming head coach Dan Schemmel joins Chris DeSantis to discuss his unlikely path from Hawaii to one of the most prestigious jobs in the sport—and the moment he finally felt that he belonged there. They explore how Stanford is navigating NIL, the transfer era, and the growing pressure to treat the athlete-coach relationship as an exchange of immediate benefits. Dan also explains why recruiting athletes who genuinely love swimming matters, how a strong team culture can sustain people when their individual motivation fades, and why the sport needs to better recognize age-group and club coaches. The conversation closes with a look at leadership, the difference between “learners” and “knowers,” and whether faster performances are necessarily producing better swimmers.

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Building Women's Sports Differently: Ted Lasso Season 4

Send us Fan Mail Ted Lasso returns with a new challenge: building a women’s team inside a sporting structure created for men. Chris DeSantis and Juliet Suess discuss what the opening episodes of season four reveal about coaching, leadership and the systems surrounding women’s sports. They explore Coach Chilton’s technical strengths and relational blind spots, Rebecca’s failure to consider a woman for the head coaching position, the limitations of copying and pasting from the men’s game, and how Emma Hayes has turned a deeper understanding of female athletes into a competitive advantage. They also examine the power of teams to bring different people together—and why sports need more leaders like Keeley, who refuse to diminish themselves to fit an inherited model. Contains spoilers for the first four episodes of Ted Lasso season four.

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Why Swimmers Aren’t Eating Enough | Alicia Glass

Send us Fan Mail Swimmers spend hours in the pool, yet many still aren’t eating enough to support the work they’re doing. Alicia Glass, Sport Dietitian for USA Swimming, joins to explain why swimmers need to think more like endurance athletes—and what happens when training volume and fueling fall out of alignment. We discuss early-morning practices without breakfast, why sugar and sports drinks can be valuable performance tools, and the practical barriers that keep exhausted athletes from eating consistently. The conversation also explores why effective nutrition advice must account for the individual, how restrictive ideas about “healthy” eating can leave athletes less adaptable, and what coaches should look for when bringing nutrition professionals into their programs. Finally, Alicia offers a nuanced approach to one of swimming’s most difficult subjects: body composition.

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To Save Swimming, Start With the Coaches | Doug Cornish

Send us Fan Mail Swimming has spent decades asking coaches to become more professional. But has the profession done enough to support them in return? Doug Cornish is a former swim coach, financial planner, and the creator of the 2025 Swim Coaches Compensation Survey. His findings expose how precarious coaching has become: 38% of respondents reported working without a current contract, while 80% had no cost-of-living adjustment built into their agreements. Doug and I discuss why coaches continue accepting these conditions, how poor financial stewardship limits what clubs can provide, and why coach retention is foundational to athlete development and the future of the sport. We also lay out five practical changes that could begin moving the profession forward—from credible compensation data and honest job ratings to board education, stronger financial structures, and contract templates. This isn’t just a conversation about what’s wrong. It’s about what swimming can actually do next—because if we want to save the sport, we have to start with the coaches. Doug's e-mail: doug@swimpler.com Website: swimpler.com ISCA Email 1: https://mailchi.mp/swimisca/coach-retention-the-future-of-swimming-depends-on-it?e=70a9f8d406 ISCA Email 2: https://mailchi.mp/swimisca/can-great-coaches-afford-to-remain-great 2025 Coach Compensation Survery Data 10 Ways to Value Coaches

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The Making of a Head Coach | Margo Geer

Send us Fan Mail Margo Geer’s path to becoming the head coach at the University of Alabama was anything but conventional. When she took over the program at 28, plenty of people questioned whether she was ready. Six years later, Margo joins me to discuss what prepared her for the opportunity, how her experience as an elite athlete shaped her leadership, and why she was able to deal with the criticism surrounding her hiring. We also talk about protecting the health and performance of coaches, the value of letting athletes experience different environments, and why college swimming may need to reconsider its 365-days-a-year mentality. Margo also shares the coaches who shaped her, what she has learned through six years in charge, and how she continues to balance curiosity, ambition, relationships, and life away from the pool.

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Reflecting on 50 Years of Coaching | Don Wagner

Send us Fan Mail Don Wagner spent more than fifty years coaching swimmers at every level of the sport—from developing young athletes to coaching Olympic champion Janet Evans during the most dominant stretch of her career. In this conversation, Don reflects on the moments that defined his coaching journey, how training philosophy has changed over five decades, what he believes today's coaches get right (and wrong), and the lessons that mattered most after a lifetime on deck. We discuss: • Coaching Janet Evans during her world-record years • Why today's swimmers may need more rest—not more work • The evolution of coach-athlete relationships • Building a coaching philosophy over fifty years • The future of swimming and what Don hopes changes • Small lessons from legendary coaches that stayed with him forever Whether you're a swim coach, athlete, or simply interested in leadership and high performance, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom.

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How Do Great Programs Stay Great? | Todd DeSorbo

Send us Fan Mail Todd DeSorbo has built one of the most dominant programs in college swimming history—but he says there was never a master plan. In this conversation we explore what it actually takes to sustain excellence year after year, why coaching elite athletes is more about what you do with the data than long term planning. Listen for how he thinks about recruiting, athlete development, emotional control, and building a culture that keeps producing world-class performances. Todd also shares why he believes plateaus are often a sign that an athlete is about to break through, how he coaches Olympic champions differently (and not differently), and what surprised him most about leading a dynasty. Topics include: Building a championship program without a fixed blueprint Why planning matters—but flexibility matters more Coaching world-record holders Why female athletes continue improving at Virginia Recruiting beyond times Managing emotion as a coach Creating a culture where athletes compete with each other rather than against each other

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Leadership, Responsibility, and Shame in The Odyssey

Send us Fan Mail What can The Odyssey teach us about leadership when every available choice carries consequences? Chris is joined by Juliet Seuss for a different kind of episode: a conversation about Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the questions it raises about responsibility, power, guilt, and shame. They examine whether Odysseus accepts responsibility for the people who follow him, how Penelope exercises power within an unjust system, and what Sinon’s story reveals about the shame society places on marginalized people. Along the way, they explore one of leadership’s hardest realities: sometimes there is no good decision—only the least-bad one. What matters is not whether a leader can prevent every bad outcome, but how they respond to circumstances they cannot fully control. This conversation contains major spoilers for The Odyssey.

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We Protect Athletes. Who Protects Coaches? | Sophie Parr

Send us Fan Mail For years, conversations about athlete welfare have rightly transformed the way we think about coaching. But there's another side of the equation that receives far less attention: Who protects coaches? This week I'm joined by coach Sophia Parr (@swim.coach.sophie) for one of the most vulnerable conversations we've ever had on The Swim Brief. Sophie shares the story of being removed from a high school coaching position after months of conflict, isolation, and feeling unsupported by leadership. Rather than focusing on a single moment, we explore the culture that can push good coaches to their breaking point—and why so many talented coaches quietly leave the profession. Together we discuss: • The emotional toll of coaching under constant scrutiny • Parent dynamics and organizational support • Why female coaches often face a different standard than men • The unintended consequences of well-intentioned safeguarding systems • How coaches can establish healthy boundaries without losing compassion • What schools, clubs, and parents can do to create healthier coaching environments This isn't a conversation about avoiding accountability. It's about recognizing that healthy coaching environments require healthy support systems for everyone involved. Whether you're a coach, parent, athletic director, or athlete, I hope this episode encourages you to think differently about the people who dedicate themselves to developing others. If you enjoy conversations like this and would like to support The Swim Brief, you can do so at ChrisDCoach.com. Want to tell your story to Sophie? Click below https://storiesfromthedeck.base44.app/ Follow Sophie: Instagram: @swim.coach.sophie Follow Chris: Instagram: @chrisd_coach Website: ChrisDCoach.com

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The Parent Pressure Trap: Why Giving In Makes It Worse

Send us Fan Mail Why do parents keep intervening in coaching decisions—and why does giving in usually make the problem worse? In this solo brief, I describe the fear underneath parent pressure: the belief that failing to secure every possible opportunity means failing their child. I explore how coaches unintentionally reinforce that anxiety, why concessions invite more intervention, and how proactive communication can prevent conflict before it begins. The episode offers a practical framework for defining the roles of coach, parent, and athlete—allowing parents to support their child meaningfully without feeling they need to control coaching decisions.

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The Most Important Thing a Coach Can Say After Failure | Dave Salo

Send us Fan Mail Dave Salo has coached at every level of the sport—from NCAA championships to Olympic medals—but this conversation isn't about workouts or sets. Instead, we explore the decisions that define great coaching. We discuss why process matters more than outcomes, how a single sentence can change the way an athlete experiences failure, the transition from assistant coach to head coach, what it means to lead people instead of simply managing performance, and the lessons Dave has learned from both success and adversity throughout his career. Whether you coach swimming, another sport, or simply lead people, this episode is a reminder that the impact of coaching extends far beyond results. In this episode we discuss: Why athletes remember what coaches say long after races are over The language that changes how athletes process failure The difference between being an assistant coach and leading a program How coaching philosophy evolves over decades Navigating criticism, setbacks, and career transitions What separates great coaching from great instruction If you're interested in becoming a better coach—not just producing better performances—this conversation is for you. More episodes, resources, and coaching: https://www.chrisdcoach.com About The Swim Brief The Swim Brief explores the thinking behind great coaching through conversations with world-class coaches, sport scientists, and leaders in swimming and beyond. Each episode is designed to help coaches improve the quality of their thinking so they can improve the quality of their coaching.

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Debrief: Jeana Kempe

Send us Fan Mail The head coach of Swimming and Diving at the University of Illinois Jeana Kempe joins to talk influences and the path of her coaching career.

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Debrief: David Marsh

Send us Fan Mail David Marsh tells all about what his retirement actually looks like, and what he had planned if he was National Team Director. Debrief: David Marsh Chris DeSantis Download

Debrief: Tracy Menzel

Send us Fan Mail Tracy Menzel joins to talk GAIN, Diversity and why she’s back coaching in her hometown. Debrief: Tracy Menzel Chris DeSantis Download

Bonus Pod: A Day With Greg Meehan

Send us Fan Mail Recapping the day I spent following around USA Swimming National Team Director Greg Meehan at last week’s Indy Pro Series event. Bonus Pod: A Day with Greg Meehan Chris DeSantis

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Debrief: Dave Durden

Send us Fan Mail Dave Durden joins to discuss how he approaches his unconventional start at Cal and his approaches to recruiting and hiring. Debrief: Dave Durden Chris DeSantis

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