Swimming World September 2021 Presents – Q&A with Rose Bowl Aquatics Coach Jeff Julian

Swimming World September 2021 Presents - Q and A with Rose Bowl Aquatics Coach Jeff Julian

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Q&A with Rose Bowl Aquatics Coach Jeff Julian

By Michael J. Stott

The words PROCESS, TEAM and HOPE are driving forces in the life of head coach Jeff Julian, who has survived multiple bouts with cancer to endure and inspire his Rose Bowl Aquatics community.

Julian’s personal and professional journey has been accompanied by several extended bouts with stage 4 lung cancer. He has overcome them through perseverance, faith in process, efforts of family, friends and his TEAMJeff organization.

CREDENTIALS
• University of Southern California, B.S., exercise physiology, 1997; M.S., coaching and athletic administration, Concordia University Irvine, 2013
• 8x CSCAA All-American, Pac-10 and U.S. Open champion (200 fly, 1997), World University Games silver medalist (200 fly, 1997); USC team captain
• USA Swimming National Team member, 1995-98: National Junior Team member, 1993
• Head coach, Rose Bowl Aquatics, 2004-present
• Head coach of ISL Cali Condors, 2021
• Assistant coach, University of Southern California, 2016-18
• USA Swimming National Team coach
• Member board of directors, Southern California Swimming
• Pacific Committee chairperson, 2006-present
• Pacific Committee Senior Coach of the Year
• Southern California Zone coach
• Board member, ASCA, 2019-present
• Level 5 ASCA coach
• Married to 10x CSCAA All-American from USC and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kristine Quance Julian

Q. SWIMMING WORLD: A swimming family and numerous coaches shaped your view of the sport. How so?
A. COACH JEFF JULIAN: My mom taught me to love swimming, and my coaches reinforced that belief. Almost every coach I ever had has influenced the coach I am today, especially Arcadia Riptides Ron Milich and Industry Hills’ Mike Gautreau. My most formative influences always put TEAM at the center, especially USC’s Mark Schubert. The lessons I learned from my coaches will stick with me forever.

SW: Do you, Jeff Conwell, Ron Aitken and Joe Benjamin still convoke regularly?
JJ: Absolutely. Add in John Dussliere, Jon Carroll and Chris Culp. We chat more about life these days than just swimming. Joe, Ron and I are in similar places in terms of teams (sizes, etc.), so it helps to talk about our experiences. It’s great to have a sounding board.

SW: A passion for the sport drove you back to a swimming career.
JJ: Yes. I didn’t realize what a passion it was until I couldn’t create it elsewhere. With a torn shoulder at the end of my competitive career, I was just looking to get out of swimming. Then it became finding a “career.” None of the next three jobs created the fire in me that swimming did. Amazingly, it was Kristine’s coaching start that brought me back into this incredible sport.

SW: You have struggled to appreciate success. How do you teach your swimmers to do it?
JJ: Simply, to enjoy the process and celebrate success. Everyone has a different definition of success. Love of the process is a lesson they can take into life. Results, good or bad, are just feedback from which to learn, go back and repeat. I love the different pieces that go into leading an athlete to reach those next steps.

Seeing the smiles on athletes’ faces when they touch the wall is one of my favorite moments in coaching. At Rose Bowl, our process-based approach as a TEAM and teaching pride in individual effort/growth/improvement rather than just results is a key to our athletes’ success.

SW: At Rose Bowl, there is a consistent drive to be better. How do you inculcate that into team culture?
JJ: Again, it’s about the process. Several years ago, I did a video on that very subject. A fully formed process creates a plan, which creates a continuous feedback loop for the next steps. If process becomes the focus, then it’s really just a game against yourself to see just how far you can go. That way the only person you are competing against is your former self.

In my 18 years at Rose Bowl, we’ve followed a similar process as a TEAM. Often that means making changes to group structures while reaching for more. As a coaching staff, we speak a lot about having jobs of passion. Our coaches have bought in. Culture takes years to build and only months of neglect to lose. In the end it’s about leadership focus. When two main staples of the program are TEAM and process, the chase to get better becomes much simpler.

SW: How have you helped your swimmers claim ownership of their training?
JJ: We stress that from the start, making sure even our youngest swimmers—not parents—are carrying their stuff. That way, swimmers learn what we expect and begin to understand that this is their sport. From there, we implement different steps, like the swimmer communicating with the coach.
In the water, my focus is to get them to understand the consequences of their actions against their end-of-season goals. Ownership of actions and the impact on their results will forever be a process. One recent positive for our TEAM is that swimmers are teaching ownership to their teammates.

To access the complete Q&A with Coach Jeff Julian,
Click here to download the full issue of Swimming World September 2021 – available now!

Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” was published in June 2021, and is available from Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and book distributors worldwide.

[PHOTO BY ROB SCHUMACHER / USA Today Sports]

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FEATURES

2020 TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES
by John Lohn, Dan D’Addona,
Matthew De George and David Rieder

010 | LIKE NO OTHER
There has never been an Olympics like the one held in Tokyo from July 23 through Aug. 8. Even the Games themselves were known as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games despite the fact that the actual event was held a year later! Yet, once the competition got started—at venues without any spectators—the XXXII Olympiad provided all of the anticipated emotions, surprises, goal fulfillments and more.

014 | MALE PERFORMANCE OF THE MEET: Caeleb Dressel (100 Fly)

014 | FEMALE PERFORMANCE OF THE MEET: Tatjana Schoenmaker (200 Breast)

015 | BEST WOMEN’S RELAY PERFORMANCE: Australia (400 Freestyle Relay)

016 | BEST MEN’S RELAY PERFORMANCE: USA (400 Medley Relay)

017 | BEST INDIVIDUAL RELAY PERFORMANCE: Adam Peaty (100 Breast/400 Medley Relay)

018 | BIGGEST UPSET/SURPRISE: Ahmed Hafnaoui (400 Free) & Lydia Jacoby (100 Breast)

019 | BREAKOUT PERFORMER: Bobby Finke (800 and 1500 Free)

020 | COUNTRY ON THE RISE: Italy

021 | RESILIENCE AWARD: Sarah Sjostrom (50 Free)

022 | OLYMPIC PHOTO GALLERY

027 | RETURN TO NO. 1
by David Rieder
After a two-season absence as Swimming World’s girls’ high school national champions, Carmel High School (Ind.) has returned to claim its seventh overall team title since 2011.

029 | SWIMMING WORLD MAGAZINE’S GIRLS’ NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS MOCK HEAT SHEET
by Bob Klapthor

031 | MAKING HISTORY
by Dan D’Addona
Carmel High School (Ind.) is the first school in 21 years to have both its girls’ and boys’ swimming teams win Swimming World’s national high school championships in the same year—a feat last accomplished by Bolles (Fla.) in 2000.

033 | SWIMMING WORLD MAGAZINE’S BOYS’ NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS MOCK HEAT SHEET
by Bob Klapthor

COACHING

038 | WHAT COACHES WISH PROSPECTS KNEW ABOUT RECRUITING
by Michael J. Stott
When it comes to college recruiting, swim coaches agree: they’re looking at much more than swimming times. They’re evaluating the whole package: academic, athletic, personal… and more!

041 | SPECIAL SETS: ERIN GEMMELL—OLYMPIC BLOODLINES
by Michael J. Stott
Bruce Gemmell of Nation’s Capital Swim Club provides an interesting capsule of coaching for his 16-year-old daughter, Erin, as she prepared for her first U.S. Olympic Trials experience and earned a spot on the U.S. Junior team headed for the Berlin and Budapest World Cup stops in October.

043 | Q&A WITH COACH JEFF JULIAN
by Michael J. Stott

044 | HOW THEY TRAIN TRENTON JULIAN
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

037 | DRYSIDE TRAINING: GOLD MEDAL WORKOUT (PART 2)
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

047 | UP & COMERS: HENRY WEBB
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 | A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

040 | THE OFFICIAL WORD

046 | HASTY HIGH POINTERS

048 | GUTTERTALK

049 | PARTING SHOT

Swimming World is now partnered with the International Swimming Hall of Fame. To find out more, visit us at ishof.org

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