Social Kick • Swim Culture & Stories

Introducing Season Pass, a brand-new podcast series from Social Kick! 🏊‍♀️🎙️

Go behind the scenes with elite U.S. swimmers Skyler Smith, Isabelle Stadden, and Anna Peplowski as they train, compete, and chase their dreams of qualifying for the Short Course World Championships.

Follow their journey through this exclusive 8-episode series, featuring real conversations, intense training, and an inside look at life as a professional swimmer.

Connect With Our Season Pass Hosts:

Skyler Smith - https://www.instagram.com/skylerasmithhh/

Isabelle Stadden - https://www.instagram.com/isabellestadden/

Anna Peplowski - https://www.instagram.com/anna_peplowski/

What happens when one of the fastest backstrokers in history discovers that the secret to going faster might be the one training style she's always dreaded? Claire Curzan pulls back the curtain on the grind behind the glory, the mental warfare of elite competition, and the surprising lessons hiding inside college swimming's boldest experiment.

Claire Curzan is a 4x NCAA champion, international gold medalist, and one of the most dominant backstrokers in the world. Currently swimming her senior season at the University of Virginia under coach Todd DeSorbo, she holds the top five 200-yard backstrokes of all time, with one of them being a time she dropped in September, coming off what she calls "aerobic graveyard."

In this episode, she explains:

■ The Block Slip: A recounting of falling off the starting block during a high-stakes relay, and how the embarrassment fueled an even faster swim on the very next rep.

■ The Aerobic Paradox: How weeks of grueling, sprint-free distance training unexpectedly unlocked the fourth-fastest 200 backstroke ever, forcing a rethinking of what race prep actually requires.

■ The CSL Revolution: Why a bold new college swimming format delivered the most fun meet she's ever experienced — surpassing even World Championships and the Olympics.

■ The Doubt Playbook: How leaning on training memory, team identity, and a sports psychologist helped her build a pre-race routine that holds up even when the variables collapse.

■ The UVA Crucible: Training alongside Olympic-caliber teammates means constant exposure to excellence — and the challenge isn't imitation, but knowing which pieces to absorb and which to leave behind.

 

Sponsors:

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👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

🏊‍♂️ Grown Up Swimming — https://www.grownupswimming.com/ 

Connect With our Guest: 

https://www.instagram.com/claire.curzan/ 

Connect With Social Kick:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialkickswim/ 

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com 

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

Support the Podcast: https://socialkickswim.com/shop

 

World-class butterflyer Ilya Kharun joins the Social Kick podcast to talk about his switch from Canada to Team USA, racing Caeleb Dressel at nationals, and going 19.4 in the 50 fly SCY in practice.

We talk about chasing sub-50 in the 100 fly, his underwater speed, NCAA format changes, the College Swimming League, ISL skins, his YouTube vlog, sponsorships, and the future of college recruiting.

 

Connect With our Guest:

https://www.instagram.com/ilya_kharun/

 

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @socialkickswim

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

Support the Podcast: https://socialkickswim.com/shop

Former Stanford swim coach Tracy Slusser joins Social Kick to discuss her career pivot from coaching Olympic athletes like Katie Ledecky to launching a leadership coaching business for coaches.

She opens up about women in coaching, parental leave in sports, work-life balance on the pool deck, and her push for policy changes to support coaches navigating family and career at the NCAA and national team level.

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @socialkickswim

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off
👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

Support the Podcast: https://socialkickswim.com/shop

The College Swimming League CEO joins us to break down the prize money, broadcast deals, and the format for the 2026 launch.

We are looking at the specifics of the new College Swimming League. With 12 teams competing across 8 meets, this setup is built specifically for television audiences rather than traditional timing.

The league has already locked in a major swimming broadcast partnership with ESPN and DAZN to bring the sport to a wider audience.  

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
📱 Follow us on Instagram: @socialkickswim
🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

Support the Podcast: https://socialkickswim.com/shop

Chris Guiliano returns to Social Kick to recap his Pan Pacs season, discuss adapting to training in Austin, and answer audience questions about the gallop stroke, sprinter warmups, tech suits, and more.

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @socialkickswim

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share with your swim friends, and leave a comment telling us what you liked!

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

Support the Podcast: https://socialkickswim.com/shop

PanPac champion McKenzie Siroky joins Social Kick to break down her breakout season, U.S. Nationals win, and rise in the 50 and 100 breaststroke.

We talk swimming tips, swimming technique, swim drills, swimming practice, nutrition, and how to swim faster.

Plus, McKenzie shares her journey from hockey to competitive swimming and her approach to becoming a better swimmer.

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @socialkickswim

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share with your swim friends, and leave a comment telling us what you liked!

Episode 313 of The Social Kick Podcast features Indiana University sprint coach John Long! Fresh off a historic season where the IU men scored massive points at NCAAs and the women shattered relay records, Coach Long joins Bryan Lundquist and Dr. John Mullen.

From transitioning through the legendary coaching trees of Auburn (Marsh, Quick, Hawke) to implementing ultra-low volume sprint blocks, experimenting with Kaatsu training, underwater cameras, and the upcoming College Swim League (CSL) innovations, John breaks down the modern evolution of collegiate sprint training.

Episode 312 of The Social Kick Podcast features rising swimming sensation Rowan Cox! Fresh off an incredible performance at US Nationals where he dropped two seconds in the 100 fly to clock a blistering 50.6—finishing third behind Caleb Dressel and Ilya Kharun and breaking Thomas Heilman's National Age Group (NAG) record—Rowan joins Dr. John Mullen and Bryan Lundquist.

From adjusting to Bob Bowman’s intense training groups at UT (including surviving the infamous lifeguard-warning underwater sets), discovering Chad le Clos randomly at Barton Springs, sharing hilarious summer league memories with Beyblades and ice cream dibs, to balancing a deep addiction to Minecraft with an elite professional mindset, Rowan breaks down what it takes to make the massive leap to the next level.

Episode 311 of The Social Kick Podcast features swimming icon and legend Chad le Clos. Fresh off an incredible performance at the Commonwealth Games—where he made history by becoming the most decorated athlete in the games' history—Chad joins the full crew to talk about his storied career, current mindset, and what keeps him driven in the sport.

From overcoming physical adversity and injury, finding a renewed love for racing, and preparing for the short course season all the way to LA 2028, Chad opens up about the highs and lows of elite swimming, working with coach Delon Danhauser, studying Michael Phelps, and what it truly takes to sprint butterfly at the highest level.