Social Kick

Shaine Casas is the most stunning swimmer on the planet.

Shaine Casas is not just looking to win big at NCAAs this week, he's looking to break records.

The 2019 U.S. National Champion in 100m Backstroke joins us on the first day of Men's NCAAs to talk about his mentality and goals. Swimming for Texas A&M, Casas is the 4th fastest swimmer in the 200 Backstroke SCY and only a second away from Ryan Murphy's fastest swim ever.

An enthusiastic young athlete, Casas radiates energy and wisdom, bringing it on deck to every practice and meet.

Tune in to hear about his Olympic dreams, 'person before swimmer' attitude and impressive shoe collection.

Enjoy!

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLbmxjdMDo4UHcB9bEUWsQg

LISTEN: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-kick-podcast/id1478682639

FOLLOW: https://www.instagram.com/thesocialkickpodcast/​

 

World Champion Maggie MacNeil looks to create more history

2019 World Champ in 100m Butterfly, Canadian star Maggie MacNeil joins the show on the eve of NCAAs.

The Michigan swimmer exploded onto the international scene after beating reigning champion Sarah Sjöström at the Gwangju games.

Provisionally nominated for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, join us as Maggie recalls her unforgettable Worlds win, how her underwater dolphin kick is so powerful and her goals for the upcoming 2021 NCAAs.

A fiercely competitive athlete and a thoroughly enjoyable guest. Tune in to find out what Maggie is like in practice and how she views herself as a human first, swimmer second.

Breaking records and conquering practices. Hope you enjoy!

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLbmxjdMDo4UHcB9bEUWsQg

LISTEN: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-kick-podcast/id1478682639

FOLLOW: https://www.instagram.com/thesocialkickpodcast/​

 

Unsung Hero- Trailblazing Black Swimmer Enith Brigitha

We chat with a swimming hero, from her home in Holland. Enith Brigitha was the first black swimmer to win an Olympic medal with 2 bronzes in the 100 & 200 free at the 1976 Montreal games, and while such a monumental feat as breaking the podium color barrier deserves the utmost praise, tragically, her 100 free bronze should have been gold.

Enith burst onto the world scene as a young 17yr old at the 1972 Munich Olympics, finaling in 3 individual events and 2 relays. She’d come back a year later in 73 to win an individual silver medal at the first ever world championships. She was clearly headed for Montreal to do something big.

But just as Enith was ready to peak, the East Germans were making plans of their own, by creating one of the darkest periods in sports history as their systematic doping programme allowed the DDR to dominate world athletics for many years to come, and famously was on full display at the 76 Games where East German women won all but 2 swimming events. Enith was beaten only by 2 East Germans, both of whom an investigation would eventually prove were aided by performance enhancing drugs.

45years later, the IOC still has not disqualified their tainted results, which means Enith still doesn’t have her gold medal. It was a true honor for us to share this conversation with such a trailblazer, deserving of far more credit than she has received.

Jamal Hill is Teaching 1 million People to Swim

Over 300,000 people a year die from drowning globally, mostly in developing countries.

3500 Americans a year die from drowning, mostly from low to middle income and black and brown communities.

Contributors factors: access to pools and other bodies of water, fear of water, cost of learn to swim programs.

Our guest in this episode, is on a mission to change those stats, and by the way, leave it to a paralympian without full function of his limbs to show the world that anyone CAN swim. Jamal Hill is an American Paralympic swimmer currently competing in the S10 classification (for those of you who aren’t familiar with para classification, we talk about it). He’s a many-time US national champion and currently focused on qualifying for Tokyo.

Jamal runs a non-profit called SwimUpHill that teaches a learn-to-swim curriculum called the BOWL / BENCH / BUCKET method that doesn’t require a pool or body of water. Their goal: teach a million people to swim.

People if you’re not out there getting it done, listen to the words of this dude and go get after it. He’s awesome.

Here’s our conversation with Jamal Hill.

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLbmxjdMDo4UHcB9bEUWsQg

LISTEN: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-kick-podcast/id1478682639

FOLLOW: https://www.instagram.com/thesocialkickpodcast/​

 

Gustavo and Gus Borges- Parents Need to Pretend to be Grandparents

Tudo Bem to Brazilian swimming royalty, with 4-time Olympic medalist, World, and NCAA champion Gustavo Borges and his son, University of Michigan sprinter Gus Borges.

For those who may not have followed swimming in the early 90s, Gustavo Borges was one of the best swimmers in the world. In his first Olympics he came 2nd to Popov in 92 in the 100free, and backed it up 4yrs later in Atlanta with a bronze in the same race. How big of a deal was he? Two more Olympic appearances later he carried the flag for Brazil in the closing ceremonies in Athens. He was the man.

So, what’s it like to be his son and decide you also want to be a swimmer? This conversation should be mandatory listening for all swim parents. It’s a masterclass in how to support your kids to find their passion and if you’re the kid, how to follow in your high-achieving parent’s footsteps without the weight of the world bearing down on you. These guys have been coached by some of the legends of the sport. In 1990 Gustavo moved from BR to the USA to train at the famous Bolles School in Jacksonville Florida under Gregg Troy, then onto Michigan to swim for Jon Urbanchek. When his son Gus eventually became a recruit himself, he was given only one restriction – can’t go to Ohio State. Gus followed in dad’s footsteps to become a Wolverine and swim for Mike Bottom.

Needless to say, they’ve picked up quite a few useful lessons along the way, and this conversation, is all about them.

Hope you enjoy it. Here’s father and son, Gustavo and Gus Borges.

 

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLbmxjdMDo4UHcB9bEUWsQg

LISTEN: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-social-kick-podcast/id1478682639

FOLLOW: https://www.instagram.com/thesocialkickpodcast/​

 

Coleman Stewart doesn't set time based goals

Do you ever watch a really fast swimmer and think “wow, how do they do that?”

In this episode, we get to talk to one of them. Coleman Stewart. He’s one of the best underwater kickers in the world, proven as an NCAA champion in the 100 backstroke, and from recently stacking up backstroke wins this past season in the International Swim League. It’s no wonder Jason Lezak texted him the night the NCAA Championships got cancelled due to COVID recruiting him to the Cali Condors - he’s a stud in the short course pool and of course became a huge asset for the eventual ISL champions.

The Olympics however are long course, so we discuss his strategy for getting on the team, but not before nerding out on what makes Coleman so lightning fast underwater, and also hearing what’s in the special sauce that brought his college team NC State back to national prominence.

He’s such a down to earth guy. Felt like we were really talking to the person, not the swimmer. Super fun conversation. Hope you enjoy it.

Marco Koch is ready for 99% of anything in Swimming

Triple World Champion Marco Koch tore up Season 2 of the ISL. He is a favorite to win the 200 Breast Olympic Gold Medal based on his recent form. Or is he? This is a packed event, but also an event waiting for that break through. What is Marco doing to be that star in Tokyo?

Why don't you play basketball or football? Giles Smith joins the show.

Swimming has a diversity problem, so we spent some time getting Giles's perspective on how to bring the black and brown communities into swimming, addressing pool access and water safety, while also hearing about the historical swimmers of color that have inspired Giles and countless others to dream.

Giles is proof that sports don’t have to define you – he works in real estate, but he’s found the harmony to get the best out of both aspects of his professional life.

Of course, we get in deep on butterfly technique and training, and also some race strategies he’s working on like going no breath at the end of the 100 fly long-course. After a couple years of retirement, Giles is back swimming at the top of his game and doing it with a refreshingly peaceful and positive attitude that will surely leave an indelible mark on the young swimmers he’s inspiring.

Hope you enjoy. Here’s our chat with Giles Smith.

Béryl Gastadello Worked for Her Success

The Queen B herself, our guest today is LA Current Superstar and French National Teamer Beryl Gastaldello. You know her as one of the most versatile swimmers on the planet. After bursting onto the world scene with her breakthrough 2019 season in the International Swim League, Beryl came back in 2020 to one up herself and put the world on notice with a dominant season culminating with a 4th place overall finish in the league MVP standings.

Her seemingly rapid ascent to the upper echelon of swimming may have turned a lot of heads, but it was no surprise to her. She’s goofy and brings the laughs, but don’t be fooled by her lighthearted demeanor. When she speaks about her training and what she plans to achieve,  it’s with such voracity and intentionality that when you hear her say it, you not only believe she thinks she can do it, she makes you believe she’ll do it.

Now, we did run into some audio issues while recoding this one and tried our best to clean it up but there are a few rough moments we hope you’ll push through, as Beryl drops some incredible perspective. This is our chat with Beryl. Enjoy!

Ato Boldon and Gary Hall Jr on Elite Speed

Pure speed with the masters of sprinting: Gary Hall Jr. and Ato Boldon. ‘The Godfather’ of swimming, Gary Hall Jr. is a ten-time Olympic medalist and former world record holder. Known for his performative techniques on deck, he considers what it takes to be a sprinter and his views on how to enjoy time as a professional athlete. Ato Boldon is a four-time Olympic medal winner and former Athletics World Champion turned NBC Analyst. Joining the forces of swimming and track for the first time, he chats about how to spot a great athlete and the importance of coaching specifically for sprinters. Speed that breaks barriers and the mindset behind the athletes that challenge our limits, Hall and Boldon bring story and experience to their knowledge of speed in an episode that will blow your mind.