ASCA Fellow Rodrigo Pereira’s Coaching Keyword: Fun

Feature by Jeff Commings

PLANO, Texas, May 30. RODRIGO Pereira doesn't want any of his athletes at City of Plano Swimmers to go through his experience as a youngster moving from Brazil to the United States.

“I quit swimming when I moved (from Brazil at 10 years old),” Pereira said. “I spoke very little English, so it wasn't a lot of fun, which is why I think it's important for my 10-year-olds to have fun.”

It took a few years, but Pereira returned to the sport in high school and “fell in love with it all over again.”

Pereira is one of six in the American Swimming Coaches Association's 2012 Fellows Class. The others are Joel Elber (Southeastern Swim Club), Jon MacColl (Queens University of Charlotte), Mickey Murad (Rancho San Dieguito Swim Team), Danielle Strader-Bordi (Salvation Army Krocs) and Sam Wensman (Club Wolverine).

In addition to his time as assistant coach for the City of Plano Swimmers, Pereira also deals with the team's marketing and public relations. That's not a simple task for a 41-year-old nationally-ranked team that comprises of hundreds of swimmers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Part of his duties consist of informing the community about the team's achievements and finding sponsors for the nonprofit organization.

It's part of Pereira's passion for the sport, gained while studying for his Masters in sports management at the University of Texas at Austin . Now in his third year at COPS, he's able to put that knowledge to good use as part of the ASCA Fellows program.

Though this year's research topic is in its preliminary stage, the coaches in the group are now examining how professional leagues in other sports are working, with a possibility of bringing those ideas into swimming in the United States.

“I'm so interested in the business aspect of sports,” Pereira said, “and this was a great way to expand swimming and make it an every-year sport, not a four-year sport.”

His education at Texas has helped him come into the program with a host of ideas for increasing visibility in swimming.

“My Masters (study) helped me because we got a great idea of how sports work,” he said. “We need to make sure we have a lot of corporate partners willing to invest. And (swim meets) would need to be on TV.”

Pereira will bring these ideas to the annual ASCA clinic in Las Vegas in September. There, he and the other Fellows will pool their resources and report on their findings regarding the implementation of a professional swimming league.

COPS head coach Ted Carson was a part of the ASCA Fellows program in 2003, and gave Pereira some insight into the program. However, as Pereira noted, Carson did not have to commit to as much research nine years ago that his charge has to put in now.

Despite all his work helping promote COPS, Pereira still has plenty of energy to devote to the young swimmers on deck.

“What I found the most beneficial is coaching so many different levels at one time. You have to be able to adapt and make it fun at the same time.”

Send any feature story ideas to Jeff Commings at jeffc@swimmingworldmagazine.com.

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