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Q&A With Weymouth Club Waves Coach Michael Brooks
By Michael J. Stott
Internationally recognized as a swimming educator, Michael Brooks has led his swimmers to NAG records and No. 1 rankings, YMCA national championships, team Gold Medal status, and has represented the U.S. as coach at global aquatic competitions.
Besides coaching, Michael Brooks is also a highly acclaimed author, having written “Developing Swimmers” (Human Kinetics) and produced the five-video series, “The Principles of Swimming” (Championship Productions).
CREDENTIALS
• Carleton College, B.A., English, 1986; B.A., University of Utah, history, 1988; M.A., University of Notre Dame, history, 1992
• Head coach, Weymouth Club Waves, 2018-present
• Head coach, King Aquatic Club, 2017-18
• Coach, North Carolina Aquatic Club, 2016-17
• Head coach/director of competitive swimming, York YMCA, 2006-16 (won girls YMCA SC nationals in 2016)
• Head age group coach, Brophy East Swim Team, 2004-06
• Head site coach (York, Pa.), North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 1999-2004
• World Cup head coach of U18 USA National Team, 2015
• Assistant coach of Team USA for Pan American Games, 2015
• Assistant coach of Team USA, Junior Pan Pacific Championships, 2014
• YMCA SC National Championships Coach of the Meet (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015)
• Middle Atlantic Senior Coach of the Year (2014, 2015)
• Has coached five National Junior Team and two National Team members, six NAG champions and scores of No. 1-ranked and hundreds of Top 10 swimmers
• Member of USA Swimming National Age Group Development Committee
• National and international clinician on age group coaching, cultural excellence, swimming technique
Q. SWIMMING WORLD: Were you ever a swimmer?
A. COACH MICHAEL BROOKS: Yes, but not a good one. I also played soccer, raced bicycles, etc. In college after my shoulders had become hamburger, I raced cross-country skiing, which I wished I had started much earlier.
SW: What led you to a profession in aquatics?
MB: I always knew I would be a teacher, probably in literature or history. My father was a teacher, as are my brother and sister. During my college summers, I coached summer league and loved it. When my history fellowship at Notre Dame had run out and with my Ph.D. dissertation still incomplete, I started coaching year-round in hometown Salt Lake City to pay bills. I quickly realized swim coaching was a lot more fun than dissertation research: I get to be a psychologist, exercise physiologist, skill acquisition researcher, cheerleader, philosopher of excellence…and a teacher.
SW: What did you learn from Dennis Pursley, Bob Bowman and Murray Stephens?
MB: From North Baltimore Aquatic Club (Bowman and Stephens), I learned about a culture of high expectations. Great teams don’t become great by accident—and neither do lousy teams become lousy by accident. It takes an awful lot of intelligence and consistent hard work by all involved. And the team administration has to support that quest for high performance.
Denny (Pursley) was a great boss and is still a great friend. He emphasized character and nose-to-the-grindstone hard work. He let me experiment with my age groupers, try different things and not just be a carbon copy of the senior program.
To read our full Q&A with Weymouth Club Waves Coach Michael Brooks,
check out the Swimming World December 2020 issue…Click here to download now!
[PHOTO CREDIT: PETER H. BICK]
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Swimming World Magazine December 2020 Issue
FEATURES
012 SWIMMERS OF THE MILLENNIUM’S FIRST 20 YEARS (2000-19)
by John Lohn, David Rieder, Andy Ross and Dan D’Addona
World & American: Michael Phelps & Katie Ledecky
European: Pieter van den Hoogenband & Inge de Bruijn
Pacific Rim: Ian Thorpe & Leisel Jones
African: Chad le Clos & Kirsty Coventry
019 PROVING THEIR METTLE
by Andy Ross
After the South African media made several disparaging comments about the women’s swimming team in 2016 when none of their swimmers had qualified for the Rio Olympics, Tatjana Schoenmaker and her South African teammates have been supporting one another and working together to show just how good they can be.
021 FIT TO BE TIED
by John Lohn
At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Sweden’s Gunnar Larsson was awarded the gold medal in the men’s 400 IM, edging USA’s Tim McKee by 2-thousandths of a second. Subsequently, international swimming rules were changed to record results to 1-hundredth of a second, allowing for ties among swimmers with identical times.
034 MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH CLAIRE CURZAN
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COACHING
010 TOUGHEST WORKOUTS (Part 2)
by Michael J. Stott
Swimming has had its share of taskmasters over the years. In the second of a two-part series on workouts designed to push swimmers to their limits are some sets from respected authoritative figures at Germantown, Arden Hills, Bluefish and Florida who have trained exceptional athletes that have excelled on the international stage.
038 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: BREASTSTROKE BREATHING HEAD TIMING DELAY
by Rod Havriluk
In breaststroke, most swimmers learn to synchronize their head and arm motions to breathe and to recover to the non-012 breathing position. However, a delay in the head motion both to breathe and to recover affords benefits of less resistance, more propulsion and a faster stroke rate.
040 SPECIAL SETS: DAVE SALO—THE MAN AND THE METHOD
by Michael J. Stott
Dave Salo has represented the United States as an Olympic, World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships coach and has guided the USC Trojans to 18 NCAA Top 10 finishes in 14 years. But his enduring legacy will most likely be his training mindset that emphasizes race-pace training and quality over quantity.
043 Q&A WITH COACH MICHAEL BROOKS
by Michael J. Stott
044 HOW THEY TRAIN THOMAS HAGAR
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
037 DRYSIDE TRAINING: POSSIBLY THE 5 BEST DRYLAND EXERCISES EVER!
by J.R. Rosania
If done properly and regulary, these exercises can enhance your stroke, technique, power and speed.
JUNIOR SWIMMER
047 UP & COMERS: ERIKA PELAEZ
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
009 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE ART OF SWIMMING?
026 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
036 DADS ON DECK
046 HASTY HIGH POINTERS
048 GUTTERTALK
049 PARTING SHOT
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