Grosse Pointe Gators Coach John Fodell Prepares for 10 Mile Swim

Photo Courtesy: Grosse Point Gators

Grosse Pointe, Michigan –The head coach for the Grosse Pointe Gators, John Fodell, has been coaching competitive swimming in the Grosse Pointe area for over 16 years. His passion for teaching the sport he loves is obvious when you meet him. Fodell is using that passion for swimming to support a good cause, the Grosse Pointe Gators Swim Club. He plans to enter a 10 mile open water swim in Tennessee in October.

The 7th Annual Swim the Suck 10-mile open water swim through the Tennessee River Gorge hosted by the Chattanooga Open Water Swimmers (C.O.W.S) and Outdoor Chattanooga will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2017 starting at the Suck Creek Boat Launch and finishing at the Living Water Property. Swim the Suck is a downstream swim on a dam-controlled river. The release is controlled by the TVA Chickamauga dam. While they cannot predict what the current will be for a particular day in the future, swimmers will be given an estimated release 2 days in advance. The average temperature of the river in October is 75 degrees. Swim the Suck swimmers each will have their own kayak pilot to guide and feed them over the 10 mile course. Swimmers either bring along someone to pilot for them or are paired with a volunteer kayaker. Fodell will be bringing along his wife, Kate, to pilot him through the river course.

Coach Fodell lights up when discussing this open water swim. “I would like to raise money for the Grosse Pointe Gators Swim Team, to get equipment that is needed to bring our training to the next level. So, because of how hard my swimmers work in the pool, I decided to train for a 10 mile open water swim. This swim is a 17,600 yard swim, without stopping! This is a great team, with great people on it. Thank you, to everyone that contributes! Help spread the word!”

To put it in prospective, this is the average distance that each of our groups swim at practice each day:

Bronze /Senior 6,000 -8,000 yards a day

Silver 4,000 -5,000 yards a day

Gold + 3,000-4,000 yards a day

Gold 1 and 2 1,500-2,500 a day

Platinum 1,000 yards a day

The money raised in this effort will be used to purchase starting blocks to replace the antiquated ones at one of the club’s pool locations. Backstroke wedges, parachutes, bungees, paddles, and breaststroke fins will also be purchased to benefit the swimmers of the club. The goal is to reach $10,000.

To donate to Fodell’s fundraising effort, you can go to his Go Fund Me page at: https://www.gofundme.com/grosse-pointe-gators

For more information on the Swim The Suck Tennessee River Gorge 10 Mile Swim, go to: http://www.swimthesuck.org

The Grosse Pointe Gators are a USA Swimming member swim club based out of Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

Grosse Point Gators contributed this report.

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Jacob Montague

7 years ago

Big boy doin big things