Social Kick

Karlyn Pipes

In this episode, we're joined by one of the greatest Masters swimmers of all-time, Karlyn Pipes. Karlyn discusses her journey in the sport of swimming, which included early success, being an Olympic hopeful, swimming at the University of Arkansas, then dropping out. She discusses her addiction to alcohol, which eventually led her to rehabilitation. After alcohol rehabilitation, she was offered a full athletic scholarship to attend California State University Bakersfield (CSUB), at the age of 35! This was her "Do-Over", as she wrote about in her book (available here). We also discuss current events, the current status of female coaches in college swimming, and open water training for pool swimmers. 

The Social Kick Podcast #052 - Round-Up

Dr. John, Bryan and Luke gather in person for the first time in months to discuss some recent news. Caeleb's Race Analysis, the value of Endless Pools, HR monitoring and other live tracking analysis are the topics discussed over a beer. Subscribe to the channel to get regular episodes, see the extracts from the shows and promos for new shows!

Craig Beardsley

In this episode, we're joined by an Olympic swimmer who never went to the Olympics, Craig Beardsley. We delve into Craig's last race, missing the 1984 Olympic team, his experience with the 1980 US Olympic boycott, and differences between his training and current training. Craig dives further back to discuss the legendary training group at the University of Florida in the late 1970s and training with Randy Reese and he shares a story of him training with many Russian Olympians leading up to the 1980s game. While discussing the Russian Olympians, Craig discusses his interactions with the late, great Russian coach Gennadi Touretski. We end the show discussing technology, doping, and advances in the sport of swimming. Another amazing conversation with a legend and don't forget to checkout Swim Across America!         

Mike Bottom

For our 50th episode, we’re joined by one of the best swim coaches of all time, Mike Bottom. This conversation explores Mike’s swimming career including his experience with the 1980 US Olympic boycott, his world-beating swimmer brother Joe Bottom, where he developed his skills in psychology and the art of coaching each individual person, not just the swimmer. Mike takes us through the epic arc of his coaching career from his influence on the start of a sprint dynasty at Auburn (which he confirms is the greatest in college swimming history), back to his alma mater USC and being part of a women’s national championship, then later to joining icon Nort Thornton at Cal, coaching Gary Hall Jr, Anthony, Duje, Cavic, and finally to his current seat leading the thriving Michigan program. This one hits it all, and we could have gone on for hours. Enjoy!  

Jason Dunford

In this episode of The Social Kick, Jason Dunford joins the show to discuss his careers as an Olympic swimmer, tech startup co-founder, reporter, and rapper. A true renaissance man, this conversation explores Jason’s evolution from a young swimmer in Kenya to one of the best butterfliers in the world, his transition into business and an MBA at Stanford GSB, to his life now as Samaki Mkuu (rap star) including special guest Jabali Afrika. For a special treat, Samaki and Jabali perform live!      

Gary Hall Jr.

In this episode, we are joined by Olympic Gold Medalists Gary Hall Jr. We discuss Gary's early skateboarding and snowboarding interests and how we transitioned into swimming at the age of 13. He discusses his frustration with traditional high volume training and his college experience at the University of Texas. Gary then discusses his 1996 Olympic experience, diagnosis with type I diabetes, and his current views on sprint swimming training.

Nathan Adrian

In this episode, we are joined by 3x Olympian and Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Adrian. We start by discussing what Nathan has been doing during Covid-19, diving into the purchasing of his swim school. Then we talk about his experiences in the Olympics and Nathan gives his opinion on the best US Olympic male sprinter of all-time. After this, we talk about diversity in swimming and Nathan's experiences growing up in Washington. We end with an amusing game of rapid-fire questions where Nathan can't say sprinters are tougher than distance swimmers. 

Leah Martindale-Stancil

In this episode, we are joined by 2x Olympian and the current head coach of the Tulane Women's swim team, Leah Martindale-Stancil. Leah discusses her early swimming as a youngster in Barbados. We discuss Leah's experience at the "not a big deal" 1996 Atlanta Olympics where she placed 5th in the 50-m freestyle. We also dive into female coaching inequality and Leah's experience as a black swimmer in Barbados compared to the United States. 

Duje Draganja

In this episode, Duje Draganja joins the show to discuss his life growing up in Croatia, his experiences at CAL Berkeley, and his Olympic journey. Duje also touches on an elite swimmer's mindset and self regulating training.

Tom Shields

In this episode, the gang is joined by Olympian Tom Shields. Tom discusses his amazing high school and college career while discussing multiple hardships along his journey. We discuss his suicide attempt, his use of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), and how CBT is helping him become a better swimmer.