Dads on Deck
with Regan and Paul Smith
By Shoshanna Rutemiller
Regan Smith and swimming just fit. The national team member and American record holder has accomplished a remarkable amount in her 17 years.
It is no wonder that her father, Paul Smith, a 10-year USA Swimming coach veteran and program director at Regan’s club team, Riptide Aquatics, can hardly hide his pride at his daughter’s success.
With two daughters involved in the sport (Regan is the younger of the two), Paul feels lucky to have such an intimate connection to the sport as both a coach and a parent.
Paul shared his wisdom with Swimming World, including when to trust the process, when to back down, and how to support a talented athlete with a passion for the sport.
How has the sport of swimming shaped Regan’s character?
It’s enforced the basic life-concept of “anything worth doing is worth doing right.” Since she was 9 or 10 years old, she’s loved this sport and has poured a lot of energy into doing it well. She attacks every practice with an uncommon intensity, but also takes pride in the detail work required to succeed at a high level. I believe this type of discipline will support her as she moves through the various stages of her life. She’s not afraid of a challenge or of the hard work needed to overcome that challenge.
What has swimming taught you about parenting?
I’ve had two daughters in the sport. Both of them had natural talent and ability. One of them loved the process and wanted to push herself to be the very best she could be. The other had a very successful high school swimming career, never really enjoyed club swimming, and happily walked away without a care in the world and with no interest in taking her swimming to the college level.
As a parent, I saw two people from the same gene pool have almost entirely different experiences and attitudes toward the sport. Yet both of them succeeded in their own way. It helps me daily to keep in mind that there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
To read more of Paul Smith’s interview about being a swim dad,
check out the full July 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!
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FEATURES
019 CRUNCH TIME!
by Michael Randazzo
With the Olympic Games a little more than a year away, the U.S. men’s water polo team—whose head coach predicted a gold medal in Tokyo—has yet to qualify. They’ll get a chance to punch their ticket if they can finish first at the Pan American Games next month in Lima, Peru.
023 THE VALUE OF AQUATIC SPORTS: TEDDY CANN SAVES THE MAY
by Bruce Wigo
While serving as a seaman onboard the USS May in November 1917, Tedford “Teddy” Cann, an elite swimmer, water polo player and all-around athlete, risked his life to find—and fix—a leak in a flooded compartment, thereby saving the ship.
026 DESTINED FOR GREATNESS
by David Rieder
Perhaps it was always meant to be that Kyle Chalmers would be a champion swimmer. Despite his childhood dreams of playing professional football, he eventually decided to pursue swimming seriously in 2015. The next year, at 18, he won Olympic gold in the men’s 100 free. After undergoing heart surgery in 2017, he rebounded in 2018 to win a combined nine medals (five gold) at the Pan Pacs and Commonwealth Games. Now, all eyes are on Chalmers to win gold at this month’s World Championships.
COACHING
010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: RATKO RUDIC
by Michael J. Stott
014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: PREVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL SWIM COACHES ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME SUMMIT
by Rod Havriluk
The ISCA Hall of Fame Summit, Aug. 27-30, in Clearwater Beach, Fla., will once again include a wide variety of topics, international presenters and participants from many countries. The presentations will emphasize the WHY (the scientific basis) as well as the HOW (the strategies for applying the science) to improve swimmer performance.
016 PLAN B: COLLEGE CLUB TEAM OPTION (Part 2)
by Michael J. Stott
College Club Swimming has been offering more and more athletes the opportunity to continue participating in the sport they love. In Part 2 of this two-part series, Swimming World explores more personal perspectives from swimmers pursuing their aquatic passion while enjoying a college experience unencumbered by the demands of a varsity athlete.
020 SPECIAL SETS: WORKOUTS OF A WORLD CHAMPION
by Michael J. Stott
In 2017, Coach Gregg Troy put together a plan to maximize Caeleb Dressel’s opportunities at the World Championships in Budapest. Following are eight workouts done by Dressel in his preparation for what resulted in a record seven gold medals.
043 Q&A WITH COACH ANTHONY NESTY
by Michael J. Stott
044 HOW THEY TRAIN ROBERT FINKE
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
013 DRYSIDE TRAINING: EXERCISE EQUIPMENT SERIES—MULTI-EQUIPMENT PROGRAM FOR STRENGTH AND POWER
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
046 UP & COMERS: RAQUEL MALDONADO
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
009 BEYOND THE YARDS
022 OFFICIAL WORD
025 DID YOU KNOW? MARK SPITZ & PIETER VAN DEN HOOGENBAND
030 2019 AQUATIC DIRECTORY
042 DADS ON DECK
047 GUTTER TALK
048 PARTING SHOT