Social Kick

Byron MacDonald on Canadian Swimming and the Toronto Titans

Legendary coach and former World Class swimmer Byron MacDonald joins the show. We talk about his swimming, his long reign as University of Toronto coach, give a lovely recap of the History of Canadian swimming and then we jump into the ISL and Toronto Titans as he serves as the Head Coach?  We run through the roster and look forward to the month of training, racing and circumstances the athletes will face. 

He is a former swimmer who competed for Canada in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He placed sixth in the final of the men's 100-metre butterfly

Byron coached University of Toronto swim teams to 24 USports National Championships — Fifteen women's, and nine men's including most recently, a women's and men's team competition sweep of the 2015-2016 national titles. Two of MacDonald's swimmers have won Olympic Medals — most recently Kylie Masse at the 2016 Olympic Games in the 100 metre backstroke.

He also works as a television commentator analyzing major competitions in swimming. He is a two-time recipient of the Gemini Award for sports play-by-play broadcasting in recognition of his swimming analysis on CBC.

Rowdy Gaines on opening more pools to help water safety - E#61

Hall of Fame swimmer and 3-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines joins the show! We talk about how COVID is affecting student-athletes who have trained their entire lives to play a sport only to now be sidelined and/or lose out on scholarships? We address the financial, professional and mental health repercussions, as well as the long-term effects on sports in general.

We also get into the delayed 2020 (now 2021) Olympics and what they might look like next year, with reference to him being unable to compete in the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of the U.S. boycott.

Additionally, Rowdy is head of community engagement for USA Swimming, and talks about the Aquatics Coalition they've launched to advocate for pools to remain open during the pandemic, arguing they are safe to use, and a necessary resource for swimming lessons and rehabilitation, particularly in low-income areas.

Bob Platt

Scottsdale Aquatic Club and ISL team DC Trident's Bob Platt joins the show to talk about the 2020 edition of the International Swimming League.   Bob talks about the upcoming camp and meets in Budapest, his team's philosophy and the make up of the roster and coaching staff.  Check it out for a wonderful and humorous insight to the ISL and DC trident in particular!

Monterey Bay Crossing

Former USA National team swimmer turned record breaking marathon swimmer Catherine Breed attempts to swim across Monterey Bay, California. A 25 mile crossing, in 56 F water known for Orcas, Great Whites and Jelly Fish. She decided to leave at 9pm with no moonlight. Why? What goes into her preparation? What is it like to be there with her before? As she stands at the start? The guys are on location to chronicle the swim right to the very end. We are inspired and in awe of her heroic adventure.

Charlotte Brynn

Bitten by a shark and kept swimming? For 11 more hours, then found the tooth in your hip?! Swam the Ice Mile, voluntarily?! All these stories and more by legendary Kiwi Marathon Swimmer Charlotte Brynn.  She joins the show to talk about her experiences training and racing open water endurance events.  Listen for for some great knowledge drop son best practices for racing as well as the toughest stories we have heard on competing. Charlotte was nominated as World Female Open Water Swimmer of the Year in 2013 and named one of the World’s top 50 Aquatic Adventurists in 2014, 2015, 2017 & 2019 by the World Open Water Association.
In 2018 Charlotte was named one of the top women open water coaches and mentors in the world and was inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame in 2016. Charlotte has also achieved international recognition by completing some of the world’s most challenging marathon swims including the 28-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and the 20-mile Catalina Channel. Charlotte is a 2-time USMS Long Distance All American & New England Masters age group 1500 meters record holder. Charlotte is one of the few people in the world and the first New Zealander to swim an International Ice Swimming Association Ice Mile of 1 mile in water at or below 41F/5C.

Sonja Wieck

18 time Ironman and Participant in the 2020 Eco Challenge and World's Toughest Race Sonja Wieck joins the show. Sonja talks about preparing for the race with her Ironman background, learning to swim at age 27 and 7 years, almost becoming the Ironman World Champion at Kona. We dive into the physical and mental challenges of endurance and elite sport and offer guidance on overcoming both. Watch Sonja race on Amazon Prime's Worlds Toughest Race and follow her on www.gosonja.com.

Daniel Carr

In this episode, Cal backstroke stud Daniel Carr joins the show and we get into the mindset of the Cal men’s college team, some of the key workouts they do, and how Dave Durden structures season plans to peak at the right time. Daniel was a dual-sport athlete during high school and only went full time as a swimmer after his sophomore year, but he was still a highly touted recruit in the pool. Now a Pac-12 champion, NCAA finalist, and double Pan Ams gold medalist, his trajectory should have the backstroke establishment on notice. He says he’s “as fast as anyone in the world on top of the water” and is a clear threat for a backstroke spot on the US Olympic team next summer. We also have some fun chatting about ISL, the newly released rosters for the upcoming season, and get Daniel’s take on the league as a future potential ISL swimmer. Hope you enjoy!

Margaret Hoelzer

In this episode, we are joined by Margaret Hoelzer. Margaret is an Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoelzer competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Olympic Games. Hoelzer grew up in Huntsville, Alabama and swam for the Auburn Tigers swimming and diving team while attending Auburn University. In 2007, Hoelzer moved to Charlotte, NC to train with Coach David Marsh. In 2008, Hoelzer relocated to Seattle, Washington and then to Fullerton, California with coach Sean Hutchison to train at Fullerton Aquatics. We chat with Margaret about her swimming career and life after swimming.

The Social Kick Podcast #055 - The Future of NCAA Swimming, Caeleb Dressel Analysis, and the History of Butterfly

More and more schools are cutting their swim programs, including the storied University of Iowa team, who were integral in developing Butterfly in the 1930s.

We discuss this story and the evolution of Butterfly, with the recent passing of the first Olympic Butterfly Champion from 1956.

Then we discuss Caeleb's self analysis of his 50 skins from ISL, going deep into the affects of oxygen depravation and lactate build up.

Finally we discuss Nathan Adrian's choice for a guest on our show, with discussion on the future of NCAA swimming rounding off the show.

Kathleen Baker

In this episode, we're joined by gold medalist Kathleen Baker. In this show, we are interrupted by doping control, as Katleen blocks off evenings on her where-about reports. While we delay her doping test, we get into her nutrition and how Celiac's disease alters her training and nutrition. After this, we discuss her favorite sets with coach David Marsh, as well as what she feels she does at an elite level for her backstroke. After this, we get into where she is hoping to improve and her current mindset heading into the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Join us for a laugh and learn some of the unique aspects of being an Olympic swimmer! handling an auto-immune disorder (Celiac's disease), nutrition, and much more.