Swimming Blogs - Garrett McCaffrey

If I had written down my ideal first job while growing up, it would've fallen short of the one I actually got. After graduating with a broadcast journalism degree and 4 years of D1 college swimming, this was my job description: travel around and make videos about the best swimmers and coaches in the world. Here was the objective: do what ever is best for the sport of swimming. At the time, it was the only job of its kind and it was exactly what our sport needed. Since Floswimming debuted in the fall of 2007, our sport's exposure has… more »

As I collect some content up in the Pacific Northwest this week, I wanted to take the chance to remind you all that floswimming is an outlet that everyone in the swimming community can be a part of. Last week Chris Ritter at MAC sent me some footage from their practice and thanks to him we had our first Weekly Wednesday Workout video in a few weeks. If you have any videos or footage that showcase your team, send it our way. This week, Coley Stickels, the head coach of Lake Oswego Swim Club, is having me up to Oregon… more »

Cuts are coming. Brace yourself. It really hit home for me this week when I received multiple emails regarding the men's team at Kutztown college being cut. It's a helpless feeling. But maybe it doesn't have to be. This is the first of what will be a long line of cuts in our college programs. Blame the economy, blame the suits, or blame title 9 but the best solution is never a reaction. Our sport tends to lean towards the reactionary approach, ex: the new tech suits. Unfortunately for Kutztown that's the role they'll have to play, but you may… more »

A lot of people go to school for 6 years. Most of them work in a hospital, court room, or laboratory. I, on the other hand, spent an extra 2 years in school earning a journalism degree. It wasn't the most direct route to graduation, but I did end up with the best broadcast journalism degree in the country from The University of Missouri. Yet it wasn't until I was out in the real world starting a swimming website that I realized the truth in something I was taught during broadcast 1: You don't need a license to be a… more »

Most of you will never swim at a meet with more energy than your high school championship. I have never been as nervous or as excited as I was stepping up for the 50 free at the Washington State High School meet and hearing the crowd roar. It's a place where our worlds collide. For the most part our peers are unaware of the work we put in before and after school, but for one weekend we get the announcements. For one week we are the focus of the pep rally. And for one day, we are the superstars. I… more »

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Now that How do we top 2008? We start by bringing you 3 college dual meets in the first full week of 2009. On Tuesday we're in Dallas where both the men and the women from Georgia visit SMU for a post Christmas-training clash. Then its to Auburn Alabama Thursday where the Texas men and women will be for dual meets between dynastic programs. Had enough? Too bad cause then we're heading to Bloomington Indiana for a Big 10 brawl between Michigan and Indiana On Saturday. Be looking for previews of each of these meets coming this week. The following… more »

It was like the Viking heard my screams for help last Thursday. What is with the Hate? I first turned to myself... Am I the last person on the swimming planet to see the Bowe & Aarow Drill? Maybe. Or maybe the simple 2 minute demonstration didn't quench the floswimmr's thirst for Technique Tuesday. Then the comments started to get to me, because Kyle Goodrich and his terrific coaching staff brought me in, opened their doors, and showed floswimming what it was like at St. Charles. How dare you sit home behind an anonymous name and throw derogatory darts at… more »

Here is a quick recap from a great weekend of coverage on floswimming. more »

Garrett: Columbus Ohio -St. Xavier vs. St. Charles Dual meet -Catholic Showdown *Possibly a session or two from Ohio State Invite and Nike Invite @ Kenyon The Big Guy & Darren: Federal Way, Washington -Husky Invite (All Finals Races from All Three Days) Eric and Jordan : Washington D.C -Tom Dolan Invitational (All Finals Races from All Three Days) Where are you? more »

I have officially returned from my turkey coma and I'm thankful for this upcoming week in swimming. After seeing some of the times posted at the pre-thanksgiving college invites, I can't wait to see the meets this coming weekend. I'm going to be up in Ohio for a high school dual meet featuring the defending state champs, St. Charles Prep, and the team that held the title for nine straight years before last season. I'm also going to try to get to a couple other invites while I'm in Ohio. If you're out at other meets, please let me know… more »

At some point in the last month the Olympic hangover ended and the swim season returned. Ok let me take a step back... The season started for the swim fan. Most of you swimmers and coaches are three months into your season. The point is the season is in full swing. It's a great time of year. You know what else happened in the last month? Floswimming's one year anniversary. One year. A lot happened in that 12 month span. Swimming coverage blew up. As much as there is to celebrate in floswimming's first year, the biggest thing on my… more »

I was talking to a coach today about a lesson learned from... wanna take a guess? Yep, Eddie Reese. More important than the long list of Eddie's dicsiples, was the lesson learned: If a swimmer hates it, keep doing it. My first thought... What a horrible way to look at coaching. Eddie must have come right from a bad practice when he gave away that little gem. But I couldn't just let the idea go, and I started thinking, "What did I hate to do as a swimmer?" Two things came to mind: verticle kicking, and consistent 6-beat flutter on… more »

I'm off to the American Swimming Coaches Association's annual coaches clinic, taking place this year in Sin City. One of the major goals going into the clinic is to get some feedback on our coaching tools that you can find on floswimmr. The interactive swim log and the video uploader/organizing software are very powerful coaching tools that every coach should consider trying as we head into this new season. Check out floswimmr, and if you are in, or heading to, Vegas make sure to find me and let me know what you think. more »

I made it back to the States yesterday. It was the best experience of my life, and I hope that you guys enjoyed the coverage. The next couple weeks are a pretty slow time in the swimming community. But it's not time to rest. We need to start formulating some ideas, here's where I suggest we start. Swimming is cool. So cool that NBC has stepped in and bought rights to The World Championships in Rome. Thanks to the greatest Olympic performance in history, the top end of our sport is in a pretty good place. What about the lower… more »

Swimming finished a few days ago, but I still have a week in China. I'm going to the Great Wall in a couple days, and I've been able to check out some other events. I got to watch the final of the Men's 100 meter dash. Usain Bolt's dominating 9.69 was the first world record Mark from flotrack ever saw in person. It was an amazing experience, but it just re-affirms my belief that it's a great time to be a swim fan. Some of the swimmers are still around, but for the most part I'm going to be lucky… more »

Of the 13 gold medals that the United States has claimed thus far in Beijing, ten of them hang around the neck of swimmers. Three of those were earned in today's finals session, as the US claimed three out of four championship races. Oh yeah, all three victories came in world record time. The first gold of the day was passed out Rebecca Soni who took down the breaststroke star from down-under in world record style ( 2:20.22 ) giving the American women their second gold of these games. Both girls were ahead of the WR line at the 150… more »

Do you think if I told the Chinese people guarding the gate to the Aqua Cube that I was from FINA and I had to re-measure the pool I could get on deck? Just kidding, but seriously. We just watched 11 swimmers (8 individuals plus 3 from the 4x200 relay) beat the world record line to the wall. 11. Its really tough for me to explain this to the non-swimmers I'm traveling with. Alain Bernard got this morning's party started by swimming the fastest time ever in the first semi-final heat of the 100 Free (47.20). But Eamon Sullivan made… more »

3 gold medals, 3 world records. Surprised? I bet Bob Bowman's not, and I bet if you asked him how rested Michael Phelps was at US Olympic Trials he would just grin. If you haven't realized yet, Michael Phelps is going to win 8 gold medals. Final session #3 breakdown: Phelps looked like looked like a man among boys in the 200 freestyle. Leisol Jones and Natalie Coughlin proved that finishing ahead of that world record line isn't as important as finishing ahead of everyone in the pool. And Aaron Peirsol proved, once again, that he is the best backstroker… more »

About 5 days before the Olympics started hundreds of local scalpers were thrown in jail. So all the Chinese scalpers who bought out tickets are scared to slang. Notice the empty seats in any of the coverage? Swimming is the toughest event to score tickets to, yet there're still empty sections during finals at the aqua cube. The biggest problem with not having tickets is that you can't get within a half a mile of the Olympic facilities. We're talking 3 layers of security including full body search and ticket scan. I'm all for safety but there is something to… more »

So much for World Records being a rarity in Olympic finals. The previous World marks weren't just broken in the 400 IMs they were shattered and I believe that was the fastest heat of 400 freestyles in history. In the first Olympic swimming final of these Beijing games, Michael Phelps answered that taper question he dodged in Palo Alto at the Olympic Training Trip. He and his coach Bob Bowman obviously took a lot away from the 2004 run and proved it at the World Championships last spring in Melbourne. Granted it has only been one event, but I just… more »

Floswimming arrived in Beijing last night (8/07/08). I'm here with Mark from flotrack and Martin from flowrestling and with these 2 guys I know we're going to get some great stuff to show you. We're here for 20 days and as of now we have no media credentials, no event tickets, and no set plan... It's going to be an adventure. The content we'd get with those perks would probably be pretty limited anyway, so the goal for the next 18 days is to let you know what the atmosphere is like around Beijing during these Olympics. You can't get… more »

8 days, 9 World Records, 21 American Records, 43 Olympians, 136 flocasts, 2 floswimming guys. If I took one thing away from last week it was pride. I am so proud to be a swimmer. Michael Phelps, a swimmer, is the most dominant athlete in the world. Wanna argue? Tiger Woods loses. Enough said. Swimmers are the toughest athletes in the world. Ryan Lochte's 200 Back, 200 IM double with just 16 minutes in between is only comprehendible to swimmers like Katie Hoff who managed to set American Records in both the 200 Free and 200 IM in the same… more »

Change... I guess change is hard for any of us. And I knew it would be tough to introduce a new re-design on a site and layout that people seemed to really enjoy. But change is necessary for improvement and if you aren't moving forward then what are you doing? The new version of Floswimming.org is a step up in technology. Options like races allow you to search through races by strokes, distance, gender, and level in order to find the races you want to see. The calender feature on the video and news pages allows you to scroll through… more »

I leave tomorrow for Santa Clara. That's right, I'm back! Not that I really went anywhere. Floswimming never stopped moving forward, but this weekend at Santa Clara will mark the end of my suspension from USA Swimming.

I just want to thank everyone for their support throughout a time period that I'll look at as a "welcome," to the corporate side of our sport. I will never apologize for the approach I take at meets. My objective is to show everyone who can't be there what it's like to be on deck. I want to say again… more »

The only good thing about this news release is it's timing. We only have the Mic to the American Sports Audience once a Quadrennial. If ever there was a time to rally support for swimming it would be around the 5 Colored Rings.

And if you read the cold blooded, insert sport here, letter to the student athlete, the ASU Athletic Director has conveniently volunteered for role of villain in a fight (Click here for the letter) where we could see Olympic Hopeful Nick Brunelli step up as the hero:

"I am really disappointed… more »

I was toting my pack along the long dusty Winnemucca road
When along came a semi with a high canvas covered load
If your goin' to Winnemucca, Mack with me you can ride
And so I climbed into the cab and then I settled down inside
He asked me if I'd seen a road with so much dust and sand
And I said, "Listen! I've traveled every road in this here land!"

-Johnny Cash

I hear you Johnny, I hear ya. And as long as that road can get… more »

There's no time to be sick in an Olympic year. While Pieter van den Hoogenband is out ill, Frenchman Alain Bernard just put up the sickest time in history. The new world record in the 100 Free (47.60) came during the semifinals at the European Championships today.

Bernard managed to get to the turn in 22.88 and came back in 24.72 breaking the former world record (47.84) set by Hoogenband back in 2000.

The second sprint free world record in a month, and I can't wait to hear what Gary Hall Jr. has… more »

Click here to see a larger version of the letter from USA Swimming

This is a letter that I received on Friday, February 29th from the communication director at USA Swimming. What follows was my response...


Dear Ms. Fabos,

I received your letter and I took down the videos. A couple
clarifications though because your letter was far from accurate. First
of all, flotrack has full access to USATF events:
http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/coverage.php?c=59 , so please stop
acting like you are doing me any huge favors by… more »

I woke up this morning where it was 17 degrees outside. I drove 2 and a half hours to wait in line outside on a tarmac in the snow, before I got to board a plane. I spent the weekend driving all over Ohio during a snow storm. Just livin' the dream...
I watched swimmers defend their state and conference titles, and I watched champions lose them. I watched underclassmen emerge as rising stars at both the High School and Collegiate level and I watched a 10 year winning streak come to an end. For the second consecutive weekend… more »

There were a couple different meets I wanted to get to this weekend. When it came down to it though, how could I be anywhere except Columbia, Missouri? A year ago at this meet, I watched Mr. Phelps break a world record with a scraggly looking beard a month out from his domination at World Champs. And word on the street is that Club Wolverine is a bit rested for this weekend. I have no idea if there's any validity behind that rumor, but Peter Vanderkaay's swim last weekend (American Record in the 500 free)says anything is possible at the… more »

I have a confession. It's not easy to admit but before I started floswimming I didn't have a very broad knowledge of the history of our sport. I don't think I'm alone though, and Jay Fitzgerald seems to agree.
For those of you who don't know him, Jay Fitzgerald is someone every swimmer and coach should take the time to talk with. Over 3 decades of coaching the sport has given him a deep well of swimming history. According to Jay the only people who know the sport are the one's who've been around for a couple decades. I… more »

I wanna start training again. With what I've learned in the past few months, I truly believe that I could re-write my personal record book in less than a year of training. I haven't discovered a magical training approach, or a coach who could take me to the levels I never achieved. I've just talked to enough people, and seen enough things to know that I was going about it all wrong. I figured out a secret. You ready for this? There is no secret. It's all about you.
I was the swimmer who was always searching for that… more »

This time of year is great for putting the rest of life in perspective. Being around the people you love during the holidays is what makes the grind of winter work worth it. So I hope you are all enjoying your time, especially those of you leaving for your winter training trip soon.
And speaking of winter training trips, I'm planning on being in south Florida early in January. Who's going to be there? When? And can I come hang out for a practice?
If you comment on this blog, it would really help me organize my time… more »

Click To Play more »

We must be doing something right, because I've been getting a bunch of e-mails asking how to help out with floswimming. It's really nice to know people see the potential in what we're doing, but I'm not suprised that you guys want to help. I know how passionate our community is, and hopefully we can focus that passion to raise the bar for our sport.
Here's one way to help:
Video Uploading. Its that simple. I can only be in one place at a time, but that doesn't mean only one event can go up on floswimming. Anyone… more »

What'd you think of the Texas Invite Coverage? Hopefully it's better than looking at time results... I never liked the fact that the best way to find out about a meet you couldn't see in person was to look at time results. The idea is to do coverage like that for as many meets as I can get to.
Even though it was a lot of work, I have to say I love what I'm doing. I got to talk to some of the top minds in the sport, and watch the sport's top level athletes. Its something that… more »

I love watching football. But until yesterday, I hadn’t realized I love watching football more than swimming. The world cup was on fsn and I couldn’t stay tuned in long enough to find out who was commentating. I consider myself one of swimming’s biggest fans, and I couldn’t stay on the channel. There’s something wrong with that.
Don’t get me wrong, I think any TV exposure for swimming is a great thing. But when we get a window of exposure, we have to impress. Impress, not dumb down. I don’t know what kind of genius came… more »

You can't really compare these workout videos. There is no tougher and definitley no toughest workout among them. Each was a different kind of hard at a different time of season. And each was impressive in its own right.
But for the sake of getting some ideas floing back and forth... A one sentence argument for each workout as the most impressive.

USC: Best Swim
1:41 from a push is impressive anytime, during any set.

Wisconson: Swimmer's Choice
That stuff keeps swimmers interested, and every piece of feedback I've gotten… more »

First off, thank you all for your emails and messages about the site. I always appreciate any feedback, and just so you know this is just the beginning...

How many of you keep a swim log? How many of you have played around with the logs on floswimmr? When you create an account on floswimmr we really appreciate when you guys fill out the profile and put up pictures, but on top of being a network floswimmr is a new age coaching tool. Log into your floswimmr account and click "Logs" on the left side of your… more »

I'm trying to figure out how I could have been a better swimmer. And that's been my mind set for the last 2 months while talking with swimmers and coaches across the country. This week, I was explaining to a coach that I wasn't satisfied with my career as a swimmer and he said, "Who is?"... No one. Maybe this is an obvious idea to you, but it was a bit of a revelation to me. In fact it opened my eyes to one of the major ingredients that makes our sport, and its' athletes, so powerful.
Who is?… more »

First and formost, thanks for being part of floswimmr! I really believe this site will be a huge step for our sport as a community. Make sure to check out the logs and everything else the site offers. Suggestions are, and will always be, appreciated because this site is as much yours as it is mine. I'll let everyone know when floswimming is up, but for now I'm still road trippin it around the country collecting thoughts and ideas from the best minds in the sport... more »