The Morning Swim Show, March 28, 2012: Giles Smith Rebounded From Career Low to Career High at NCAAs

PHOENIX, Arizona, March 28. ON today's edition of The Morning Swim Show, Arizona swimmer Giles Smith talks about the turnaround his career had after his first season with the Wildcats.

Smith, the current national independent national high school record holder in the 50 free, talks about the circumstances that led to him transferring from Tennessee to Arizona, how the coaches and his teammates rebuilt his confidence and how he felt about his performances at the NCAAs. Be sure to visit SwimmingWorld.TV for more video interviews.

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Morning Swim Show Transcripts
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Peter Busch: This is the Morning Swim Show for Wednesday, March 28th, 2012. I'm your host, Peter Busch. In the FINIS Monitor today, we'll talk to Giles Smith. The Arizona junior just got second in the 100 fly and was also on the winning 200-medley relay at the NCAA championships. And Giles joins us right now in the FINIS Monitor from Tucson. Giles, welcome to the Morning Swim Show. How are you?

Giles Smith: I'm doing well. How are you doing today, Peter?

Peter Busch: Good, thanks. All right, scale of one to 10, how happy were you with your first year at Arizona?

Giles Smith: Eight. A solid eight. I think in everything but it was a real successful season and I got to bond with the best teammates in the world.

Peter Busch: You got second in the 100 fly. Fantastic swim. And there is no shame getting second to Tom Shields right now, right?

Giles Smith: Yes. I guess so. He is spectacular under water. He is probably the best underwater swimmer I've ever seen, I mean, in the history of swimming. He is an animal. I mean he is unique.

Peter Busch: Well, we saw that because we know that you're good under water, I mean, like, really good under water. But he kind of got you on that 400 medley.

Giles Smith: Yes. That was the first time I can really remember someone just literally annihilating me on a last turn of anything. I mean it was unique. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and he swam some of his life — I think he was a :43.5 100 fly. I mean I saw a lot of freestyle splits that weren't on that level.

Peter Busch: Yes. .43.5, you can't take that personally. I mean you had a heck of a meet yourself.

Giles Smith: Thank you.

Peter Busch: So you wound up in Arizona after a pretty tumultuous time in Tennessee.

Giles Smith: Yes.

Peter Busch: Kind of looking back on where you started your college career and now where you are, I mean it might seem like night and day.

Giles Smith: Yes, it is much different. The coaching staff here at Arizona, led by Eric Hansen and Rick DeMont, Tracy and Geo, is really a great group of coaches and they really care about us as individuals and as people, not only just in the pool, and it's a lot different than Tennessee. I have some good friends and great teammates there but things just didn't work out for various reasons. But sometimes, change is good.

Peter Busch: Tell me about your mindset when you decided that you're not going to continue at Tennessee. I mean did you know right away that, “Okay, I just need to find another school,” or did you ever contemplate getting out of the sport?

Giles Smith: It was a really hard time. It happened around my first NCAAs, my freshman year, around March. I really had probably one of the worst taper meets of my life. I had been a swimmer that always dropped time every single year in my progression. That was the first time I really did not improve at all. And I had to do some real good soul searching and I wasn't enjoying swimming anymore and I was pretty close. If I was ever going to quit something at one point in my life, it would have been then. But so I decided to transfer and that was a pretty hard process. I really decided between Texas and Arizona and there is no looking back. I had to sit out for a whole year and I had to train for my club team just so I didn't lose any eligibility, and that was hard. All the credit for that goes to Scout Ward, my club coach, for dealing with me on a really low and disappointing year. I mean I was not myself that whole year, and he really did a great job of keeping my spirits up.

Peter Busch: As you mentioned, you're back swimming best times and swimming great. But it's always a learning process. If there is one thing that the coaches tell you that you still need to improve on, technique or whatever it may be, what do they say?

Giles Smith: My timing speed, for being a little guy, is not very good. I really need to improve that, and butterfly and freestyle. I need to improve my final underwaters in each race I do. My last turn on the 100 fly is good but in order to be very successful in NCAA swimming, you need to be pretty much unstoppable the last wall of a 100 fly, 100 free, or whatever it is because the yards pool is so dominated by guys with great underwaters.

Peter Busch: Well, you're not alone with that, and again, that's probably the area where Tom Shields separates himself the most, is really that last 25. So I'm curious, is that something that just takes intense training where you just have to practice 100 and make that last 25, make yourself stay under longer than you would normally?

Giles Smith: Yes. I think it definitely takes intense training. I'm sure what they do over there in Berkeley is really working because, not even just Tom, I saw some really good underwaters, the guys, like, freshmen, like Will Hamilton. I mean those guys were swimming their hearts out and that's not just talent that they were swimming with. They were swimming with heart and they were swimming with — I think they did a lot of hard training this whole year, and a lot of people really underestimated them and their pursuit for this national title because I truly believe, after that meet, that they believed they could win since day one.

Peter Busch: You became a great college swimmer. But every swimmer's core dream is to be an Olympian. And you're great underwater. Your stroke does not necessarily lend itself to a long course guy. Are you okay with that if you're never an Olympian but you just end up being a great college swimmer?

Giles Smith: Absolutely not. I would love to be an Olympian. It's going to be, it's going to take every ounce of determination and heart and just improving. But I honestly feel that I'm a little bit better long course racer. I plan my racing a little better. The yards 100 fly, I'm not as patient and that kind of shows. Especially in that 400 medley really, I took it out way too fast. I was on 20.4 at the 50. I mean that's way too fast for a 100. In the long course race, I feel a lot more patient and I can relax and just take my time.

Peter Busch: So when you say you set up your race better, if there are other butterfliers, maybe young kids watching this, what do you mean by that?

Giles Smith: Just really using the momentum from your start. I think that's one of the best things I have and that's where I get my start and I get a really good momentum from it. So I can afford to use that momentum and not use as much energy on the first 50, especially in long course, and really save everything I have for the last 50. Because if you're going to make the Olympic team, just about anyone in that race at the trials who will be able to take it out in 23, is going to be the guy and can come home as close to 27.0 that's going to be probably going to London.

Peter Busch: I think by most accounts, Arizona expected to do a little bit better at the NCAA championships as a team.

Giles Smith: Yes.

Peter Busch: What was kind of the team atmosphere after night three when you guys were all going out to dinner together?

Giles Smith: It wasn't demoralizing or anything. I think we had a really rough day one. We didn't execute as a team as well as we could have. But we came back. We fought day two and day three. And after that dinner, I mean our seniors, they talked and they were bringing a lot of us to tears because I mean we love those guys more than anything. And we really, even though we didn't get the end result we wanted, we know that we still have a lot of young swimmers on this team and we'll be back. All of us will improve for next year and I mean that every single one of us will be better.

Peter Busch: Well, Giles, you're a good kid and very articulate and I know you want to go into sports broadcasting perhaps someday.

Giles Smith: Yes. I'm a journalism major at the U of A. And even though I'm a junior academically-wise, my eligibility-wise, a lot of people don't know this, I was a sophomore this year so I have two more years left to compete in the NCAA.

Peter Busch: Oh really?

Giles Smith: A lot don't know that.

Peter Busch: Oh. Well, lucky Arizona.

Giles Smith: Yes. We kept it in the Psych Sheet and everything that I was a junior just because I'm really ahead of my class in terms of the credits that I've taken. I'm around, like, 80 hours or so, so I'm academically-wise a junior and I might graduate during my fifth year here, which will be my last year competing. So I have two years left so —

Peter Busch: I think you just kept it in the psych sheet just to play with everybody's heads.

Giles Smith: No way. We just didn't fix that as a team but it will be fine. I'm really excited to have two more years left to be an Arizona Wildcat and represent this program with honor.

Peter Busch: Well, Giles, thanks a lot, and in a couple of years, when you graduate, maybe you could start your career here at Swimming World TV. It would be nice to have you.

Giles Smith: I would love that. I would really love that, Peter. Thank you so much for your time and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Peter Busch: You too, Giles. Have a good summer.

Giles Smith: Thank you.

Peter Busch: That was Giles Smith joining us from Arizona. And that is it for today's show. I'm Peter Busch reminding you to keep your head down at the finish.

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