Swimming Blogs - Garrett McCaffrey

Another quick early minute here...

Last night was the American Swim Coaches Assn. Awards Dinner. Those who love and appreciate the history of the sport as well as the amazing current state of things would have loved the evening!
5 Finalists for the ASCA Coach of the Year:
Teri McKeever
Eddie Reese
Dave Salo
Gregg Troy
And... first was Bob Bowman.
No surprise that Coach Bowman won, and he certainly deserves the honor for the 2nd year in a row!
Nice job by Coach Bill Wadley in the introductions of the finalists.
ASCA Hall of Fame honored the 1st woman swim coach in history with an induction, Mary Kelly from the VESPER Boat Club out of Philadelphia.
An excellent piece of the program I might add... and she looks great!
Mary is also a 1952 Olympian - backstroke.
Other inductees with full entourages of their former swim stars and families were:
Frank Busch - AZ introduced by his sons
Paul Blair - no longer with us... introduced by his daughter. Heartfelt and inspiring.
Don Lamont - CA introduced by Sandy Nielson.
One of his sons is a head coach at NOVA where I coach. It was awesome to watch the experience of Lamont's son Ken and others to witness someone so important in their life, lavished with the great recognition and pride this great coach so deserves.
Ray Bussard - TN introduced by John Trembly. Hardcore summary of Coach Bussard's career... still trying to figure out if it is all true since I didn't know any of this history or him! Someone can comment - One tough love coach :)
Councilman Creative Award went to Mark Johnson of SWIM DOGS who presented a set created around all of Michael Phelps' events in the Olympics - 3,300 meters.
Received $400. as his award
(next year... now this is something I can WIN!!)
Coaches looking beautiful all dressed up... rare sights for the year. Nice night.
Coach Bowman finished the program by telling us that swimming has risen to a whole new level this year - and we should all be proud to go home as a part of it - and make it continue to grow and improve. (well, something like that...)
Off to a breakfast discussion group for Masters Swimming with Mo Chambers and Teri McKeever who is speaking today, not yesterday... sorry the Vegas air conditioning gets to me.
Cheers coaches and their swimmers!

Great writeup, ahelee. Do more!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and enthusiasm Ahelee

Don't have much time this morning but wanted to note here that the ASCA Clinic is actually pretty awesome... I met Garrett yesterday as he was roaming aound working for YOU!

Just like his boy wonder, Bowman has improved so much as a speaker. I'll write more about his 2 talks I have heard already.
He spoke about training MP since he was a young age-grouper up until Beijing.
He told us to listen to Beethoven, visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water house, talk to coaches who are having success about what they are doing - and about various sets he gives his swimmers.
Ryan Lochte's coach Gregg Troy spoke yesterday a long while - even with a great talent, the road to gold is a real adventure and often follow a really jagged and bumpy road to get there.
Today Teri McKeever speaks. And the Annual Awards dinner is tonight.
The highlight for me was The Olympic Wrapup done by Mark Schubert. I hope that the show he presented at the end of the talk will be posted up somewhere for all to see. Brilliant! Even for someone like me who watched every minute and read everything out there about the Beijing Olympic swimming competitions!
Great stories to write about - in case I forget later, remind me.
Larsen Jensen presenting an email from a Navy Seal in Iraq to the USA O.Team.
6 and 1/2 pounds of pressure required to stop the clock on a touch pad!!
Must be super human to be special at The Olympics.
Aaron Piersol - late for ready room
Dara Torres - WHEN I make the team next year...
Mark Warkenton - mixing with pool swimmers to train - pride in participation for USA Olympic Team
Larsen Jensen and the president's daughter!! Email - and cell phone number exchange request.
USA Basketball players chose the USA Swim Team to hang with. Reminding the swimmers if they were about to miss a CHEER for a sUSA swimmer.
Mark ended the talk with 2 challenges to coaches.
Re-create pride in USA long distance training and racing
Make a decision - are we going to approach our sport as amateurs or professionals? This is not a $$ question but one of committment and focus.
Good stuff.
With all the big emphasis on underwater kicking, there was a discussion group last night about how to improve training in this area.
I missed it since I was heading up a discussion group with the women coaches next door.

are you allowed to get coverage of inside? like reviews of products and stuff and interviews with coaches?

Garrett, if you can, can you check out the new tools by FINIS...I really want to know more about their new heart-rate monitor that apparently attaches to the goggle.
And I have heard they have another few gadgets coming out..so if you can get some pratical info on their stuff that would be awesome.

This clinic is going to suck A.

See you there Garrett!

Bob Bowman is the keynote speaker tonight everyone.
Thats' the "Las Vegas thing" he was referring to in his interviews!