Social Kick

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.

David Curtiss

2021 kicks off with youth and speed. We can’t wait to share how this young man is growing our sport, encouraging kids younger and kids of lower rankings to keep at it despite what is thrown at them. We talk about the struggle with Covid and maintaining confidence throughout, and about his race and how it contributes to swimming. Nathan Adrian, Cullen Jones- better be following David as he is about to take your 50 free baton and lead the sport.

Caroline Burckle

Caroline Burckle reached the highest levels in swimming: NCAA champion, Olympic bronze medalist (2008 – 800free relay). But it’s what she’s building outside the pool that may outshine her swimming career. Together with fellow Olympian Rebecca Soni, Burckle runs Rise-Athletes, a mentorship platform where professional athletes work 1:1 with young athletes on mindset development and mental health skills. In this episode we discuss the Rise approach to guiding young athletes, as well as what its like to start and run your own business. We also get into some of Caroline’s experiences working with different coaches and the learning and adaptation process it takes to get coach and athlete on the same page to achieve the best outcome. We talk about her experience with body image and advice for coaches on how to manage interactions with their athletes in the most helpful way. Caroline is charismatic and insightful. She’s up front, and down to earth. A few minutes with Caroline and you know you’re with a high-achiever. You’re going to enjoy this one!

James Gibson, Head Coach of the World's Greatest Swim team?

While James Gibson is currently known for his leadership of the Energy Standard professional swim team, he’s also a former World Champion (2003 – 50BR) and Olympic Finalist (2004 – 100BR). His training squad is not only one of the very few elite teams of professional swimmers in the world, they do something no other pro team does: they practice and compete together as one team. Sounds simple, but this model does not exist in swimming, and what Energy Standard created was the precursor for starting a professional swim league that we now know as the ISL (International Swimming League).

This conversation was recorded the day James learned his team’s travel plans for 2021 might be in peril due to new travel restrictions related to the pandemic – adding another obstacle to the list he and his team have had to navigate in an unprecedented year.

This was a good opportunity to share some laughs and get the inside perspective on how the ISL brass plans to continue improving the league, while also picking the brain of a guy who coaches a diverse collection of the fastest swimmers on the planet. We had a blast chatting with James, and hope you enjoy!

Kylie Masse

2x World Champion and Olympic Bronze medalist Kylie Masse joins us from her base in Toronto as she gets back into Olympic training following her second ISL season and first as team captain of the expansion squad, Toronto Titans. Is the 100 backstroke the deepest, most competitive event in women's swimming? What does it take to win back to back world titles, and prep for the Olympics with a target on your back? Are there actually people who think Canadian bacon is better than real bacon?! This conversation was a blast and hits on so many fun topics with one of the best swimmers in the world today. Enjoy!

Kaitlin Sandeno

DC Trident coach and Olympic multi-medalist Kaitlin Sandeno joins us for a virtual hangout. How much would she give up to get Dressel on her team? "Everyone." Kaitlin gives us the inside scoop on how the idea of a league was kicked around in swimming circles before finally coming to fruition, how she got involved as a GM, and what life is like at the helm of a professional swimming team. Kaitlin self proclaims she would have been a stellar pickup for an ISL team in her hey-day as one of the most versatile distance swimmers ever. We don't disagree, and we hope you have as much fun listening as we did with this conversation.

Cyndi Gallagher on ISL, UCLA and Equality in Swimming

Longtime UCLA Women’s Head Coach and DC Trident Head Coach Cyndi Gallagher joins the guys fresh on the heels of ISL Season 2 to give her take on the impact of the rules changes and how the timing of the ISL league releasing these changes impacted teams (it was AFTER rosters were finalized!). We get into all sorts of ISL topics: recruiting and a potential draft, lineup strategy, free agency losses & key missing pieces, being on an island for 6weeks and much more. We also wind back the clock on UCLA swimming to talk Ron Ballatore, Brian Goodell, and the 1994 infamous cut of the men’s program. Finally and importantly we discuss the lack of women coaches at the NCAA and ISL level, and what it takes to change it.

Global Swimming Fan Forum on the ISL Season 2

The Social Kick guys are joined by swim nerds from around the globe to discuss the Grand Final of ISL Season 2 and reflect on the the league overall after two full seasons in the books. No punches are pulled. We prefer laughs aplenty and opinions raw. You don’t want to miss this one!