Social Kick

Cal just hired World Champion coach Josh Huger to bolster their already dominant program

Never stop learning. Be a good person. Have fun. Sometimes improvement and excellence are born from the simplest actions. Josh Huger, coach of World Champions and Olympic Medalists, exemplifies these core tenets of coaching greatness which has led him to the next stop on his impressive coaching journey, as the new Associate Head Coach for the Cal Bears.

Josh Huger arrives in California with a stellar resume as one of the world’s best sprint coaches, and his new athletes have been quick to pick his brain. We had a ton of fun hanging out with Josh Huger, hearing about his coaching journey and experiencing his energetic style first-hand.

Who wouldn’t want this guy to coach them? Enjoy!

Olympic Medalist Natalie Hinds is the glue of USA Swimming

The respect and admiration of your peers means more to many athletes than athletic accolades. How you show up matters more than what you achieve. But then there are those rare athletes who have both the HOW and the WHAT, like Natalie Hinds. Natalie Hinds is an Olympian and TeamUSA captain.

Having had great success as a college swimmer at Florida, she headed to her 2nd Olympic Trials with legit skills to make an Olympic team, but it didn’t happen. So she retired. A couple years later, Natalie HInds got the itch to swim again, this time in a new training group at Georgia, where she found her swag and her speed. She went on to win her first US National title and made her first Olympic team for Tokyo where she collected some hardware for TeamUSA.

We ask every guest who they recommend we talk to next on the show. No joke, half of our guests suggested Natalie Hinds. Watch and find out why.

Kyle Sockwell. CEO of Swimming Twitter.

Self-proclaimed CEO of Swimming Twitter and Intern at Swimming Youtube, Kyle Sockwell (@Sockwell) has become a star as a swimming content creator on the socials. Before his time speaking truths to the swimming community about all the currently relevant topics of the day in swimming, he was a breaststroker and IMer at ASU, while also side hustling the development of a successful marketing company.

Like, bro. What? Full of opinions and ideas, Kyle Sockwell shared some well-articulated thoughts with us on every topic we covered.

If you haven’t come across his work yet, check him out on Youtube @Sockwell and everywhere else @KyleSockwell.

If you enjoy Social Kick, you’ll for sure enjoy his stuff too.

Enjoy!

Olympic Medalist Isaac Cooper is focused on what makes him happy and fast

Australian Olympian and World Champion Isaac Cooper does things differently. Having tried a typical training program for swimmers, Isaac Cooper realized the norm is not for him. He doesn't keep up with results and happenings in swimming. He doesn't know the names of many of his competitors or the elite swimmers in the world today. He just likes to swim fast and for short distances.

Isaac Cooper incorporates a lot of non-swimming activities into his program where he builds strength and aerobic fitness outside of the pool, and while he does some very hard training in the water, he doesn't swim a lot of volume. Seems to be working really well.

This conversation is packed with nuggets of wisdom Isaac drops on us. One of our favorite conversations on the pod.

Enjoy!

Nathan Adrian - Multiple Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer is not defined by Swimming

Olympic Champion and Team USA legend Nathan Adrian returns! Life looks different than the last time Nathan Adrian joined us on Social Kick.

Nathan Adrian is an entrepreneur, managing a pool and swim lessons business, while also serving as an ambassador for several brands he trusts in the swimming space. Nathan shares with us some ways he's incorporating innovation into teaching young swimmers the fundamentals.

One of these methods is his use of the FINIS Smart Goggle, and we had a fun chat talking about the role of tech in swimming.

What exists now, and where there is potential in the future. Enjoy!

Life is good for Olympic Gold Medalist Abbey Weitzeil

Abbey Weitzeil. American phenom. Olympian and American Record holder while she was in HIGH SCHOOL! Baller. Goes to Cal. Racks up points for the Bears. Wins an NCAA title. Then makes another Olympic team.

That’s a hell of a resume. But she’s back for more after a down year where she missed the USA World Championship team. In 2023 she destroyed the field all season in the Pro Series meets. Her fastest in season swims ever. She’s engaged. Swimming under the new Cal staff.

Life is good.

 

BW Still photo Courtesy ISL / Mike Lewis

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Our money is on Olympic Gold Medalist and Multiple World Champ Olivia Smoliga this summer.

She’s the type of person who says “Yo!” in a text message when you’ve never met her. That’s Olympic Gold Medalist and many time World Champ and medalist Olivia Smoliga, who sat down with us for the 2nd time recently to talk swimming and tell us about her life training at Arizona State, things she’s working on as a 6ft 2in tall elite backstroker & freestyler, and even a humble brag about how many pull-ups she can do. (Spoiler alert: it’s more than you can do!)

Olivia Smoliga is the 2nd tallest Olympic Gold Medal winning swimmer of all-time and she’s also the most decorated swimmer ever at a single World Championship meet from her 8-medal haul at the 2018 Short Course World’s which surpassed the record once held by Michael Phelps.

Olivia Smoliga enters this World Championship season looking to rebound after missing the US team last year in 2022, and based on how things are going for her and her new training group in Arizona, our money is on her at Trials in Indy.

Enjoy!

Backstroke World Record Holder Hunter Armstrong Seldom Trains Backstroke

It’s World Championship hunting season for 50 backstroke World Record holder Hunter Armstrong. The aptly named backstroke and freestyle specialist, Hunter Armstrong, has continued to elevate his strengths and once again enters this championship season as a legit contender for multiple world titles.

On the back of a strong Pro Series season where he racked up several wins, we sat down virtually with Hunter Armstong to hear about his move to Cal, being a very late bloomer in the sport, and the magician himself even blew our minds with an impromptu magic trick.

Cal Swim Stars Destin Lasco and Hugo Gonzalez ready for the International stage

The Cal Bears rolled through NCAA Swimming Championships once again this year and we caught up with two of their biggest point scorers, 200 backstroke champion Destin Lasco and the 2022 400 IM champ Hugo Gonzalez.

Life is changing a bit for the training partners, as Hugo Gonzalez has finished his collegiate eligibility and will now split time between training environments in Berkeley and his native Spain. Destin Lasco comes off yet another ridiculous short course season, having estabilshed himself as arguably the second best swimmer at the meet behind Leon Marchand, and turns to the long course pool where his event schedule may look entirely different.

How is it that two training partners who both race the short course 200 IM and 200 backstroke swim completely different events in long course? Listen and find out!

Is Gretchen Walsh about to dominate women’s swimming?

At some point in time, the great swimmers cease competing against the field and ascend to a level where their performances are works of art, solely focused on what they can make their bodies do in the water.

At 2023 NCAAs, we witnessed the transcendence of Gretchen Walsh. She became the fastest 100 yard backstroker ever, by a wide margin, with her ridiculous 48.26. Even her sister Alex (Olympian, World Champion) said she didn’t think that time was possible.

Gretchen Walsh also nearly took down Simone Manuel’s 100 free record which hasn’t had anyone come near it since it was set in 2017. We caught up with Gretchen and share lots of laughs in this very casual hangout episode.

Enjoy!