Michael Stott - (Author)

How They Train: The Workouts of Rising Tennessee Sophomore Nick Simons Nick Simons enters the 2023-24 academic season as a rising sophomore at the University of Tennessee. Swimming for Lake Oswego Swim Club, he was Oregon’s No. 1-ranked recruit (26th nationally) in the Class of 2023. In a limited hi...

High School and Club Coach Relationships: An Intricate Balance The high school/club coach relationship: Collegial or fire-and-ice? Google the subject today, and you will find the full fury of both sides and an occasional voice of reason. The debate—or polarization—can range from harmony and synergy ...

Racer X Special Sets: Coach Jim Skirboll Is Leading a Youth Movement The sporting world often thrives on David vs. Goliath stories. Aquatics are no different. Last April, Jim Skirboll’s Pittsburgh-based Racer X Aquatic Club made quite a splash at the ISCA East Elite Showcase Classic. With just 14 sw...

Learning From Colleagues: How Swimming Promotes a Familial Relationship Among Coaches Swimming World explores the fraternal nature of how coaches learn from one another. Not surprisingly, such education isn’t always about X’s and O’s, but borne from familial relationships that reveal the caring for ...

Throwback Thursday: The Early Training That Led Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman to Hall of Fame (Sample Sets) Next month, Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Together, they forged the most successful athlete-coach relationship in the history of ...

How They Train: Louisville Standout Ella Welch, a Cardinal Aquatics Product For college, Ella Welch, a rising sophomore at the University of Louisville, chose to stay close to home. A Cardinal Aquatics product, Welch was Swimcloud’s top-ranked Kentucky swimmer (23rd nationally) in the Class of 2022....

Q&A With Amy Albiero, Co-Head Coach of Cardinal Aquatics Oakland University All-American Amy Comerford found a lifelong watery playground after joining a summer league team. The experience sent her on an aquatic journey as a swimmer, swim coach par excellence, wife of an esteemed college coach (Arth...

Special Sets: A Look at the Training of Lakeside Star Charlotte Crush Last spring, Charlotte Crush left the 13-14 age group with two NAG records: 50.44 in the 100 yard backstroke and 1:50.95 in the 200 back. In February as a freshman at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Ky., she helped her team to...

Why Coaches Change Training: Some of the Best Weigh In Home Improvement As a seven-time Olympic coach with 15 NCAA men’s titles at the University of Texas, Eddie Reese knows something about getting better. And early in his career, he learned it from an unlikely source: “Back in the days when the Rus...

How They Train: A Look At the Development of Nashville Aquatic Club's Spencer Nicholas (Sample Sets) In a little more than a year, Nashville Aquatic Club swimmer Spencer Nicholas will join the list of superlative high school swimmers matriculating at the University of Virginia. According to Swimclou...

Q&A: A Discussion With Associate Head Coach Doug Wharam of the Nashville Aquatic Club As associate head coach at the Nashville Aquatic Club (Tenn.), Doug Wharam has had a big hand in molding some of America’s biggest swimming names. Among his rewards are coaching assignment selections at USA Swimmin...

How They Train: The Work Of Georgia All-American Zoie Hartman A five-time California state champion and a top-five college recruit in the Class of 2019 from Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif., Zoie Hartman entered the University of Georgia with a sterling competitive résumé. A two-time Nati...

Q&A: An Interview With University of Georgia Coach Stefanie Moreno Long ago, Jack Bauerle knew who he wanted to coach the Georgia women’s team upon his retirement. His choice, former Bulldog swimmer and 28-time CSCAA All-American, Stefanie Moreno, is beginning her second season in Athens and has the...

A Discussion On Swim Training: Is It An Art or Science? Like the rest of life, the answer to the above question is complicated. Dudley Duncan’s recent The Art of Swimming is just the latest piece of aquatic literature to label swim coaching as “art.” “After how many years, it’s still art in people’s...

Tough Talk: The Hard Conversations Between Coach and Athlete Seven coaches from around the country discuss the importance of a strong coach-athlete relationship. The common denominator is to show how much they care and to have their athlete’s best interests at heart when “having the hard conversatio...

Special Sets: A Look At the Training of Carmel's Alex Shackell, a Teenage Rising Star Alex Shackell helped the Carmel High School girls secure their 37th consecutive state crown last February with gold medals in the 50 free, 100 fly, 200 medley relay and 200 free relay. For Shackell, swimming is an ...

Special Sets: The Training of Thomas Heilman, NAG Record-Holder and Star in the Making For swimming cognoscenti, the name of Thomas Heilman, a 16-year-old, 6’2” shooting star, should conjure memories of yesteryear’s exceptional age group talents. What his future holds is to be determined. Heilman sw...

How They Train: The Work and Sets of Brendan Casey With Coach Tyler Fenwick In 2015, Brendan Casey had already established his bona fides as an accomplished distance swimmer. As a member of the U.S. Junior National Open Water team, he had placed sixth in the individual 5K at the 2012 World Junior Op...

Smoke on the Water: The Convergence of Strength, Environment and Technique = Speed Point zero one. That was the difference between Florida and Cal in the 400-yard freestyle relay at the men’s 2023 Division I NCAA Championships. Both teams shattered the old record, bringing an emphatic close to a sho...

Special Sets: A Look At the Development of Bolles Star and Cal Commit Carter Lancaster Carter Lancaster has been awfully good for some time. A former Carmel Swim Club standout, he will enter his senior year at the Bolles School next fall as a Cal commit, the reigning FHSAA 1A state champion in the 2...