Ultimate Swimmer Podcast: David Marsh on His Passion, Commitment For The Sport of Swimming

Ultimate Swimmer Podcast: David Marsh on His Passion, Commitment, and Unmatched Love For The Sport of Swimming

by Noah Yanchulis

David Marsh is one of the all-time coaching greats in the sport of swimming and we are so excited to have him on our show. David coached at Auburn University for 16 years where he was able to produce 12 NCAA Titles along with numerous NCAA Records. After Auburn David made his way to Charlotte, North Carolina where he became the coach of SwimMac and helped their club rise to be one of the top club teams in the country. David had a short stint at UC San Diego and now coaches the pro group, Team Elite out on the west coast where he has a number of past Olympians and current Olympic hopefuls. After coaching 50 Olympians, spanning 19 countries all across the globe, and 6 Olympic Games, it’s safe to say that David Marsh knows what it takes to become a true ULTIMATE SWIMMER!

Below are a few highlights from our interview with Ultimate Swim Coach, David Marsh!

1. No Cap, No Goggles, No Problem: After being cut from the baseball team in 10th grade, Dave joined the swim team and was rather reluctant at the onset to conform to the ways that we swimmers are so accustomed to. In his first race he touched the wall at 1:23 in a 100 yard freestyle while wearing baggy shorts, no cap, and no goggles; That’s not to mention the long hair that he had to flip back every time he turned because he did not yet know how to do a flip turn. If you love the sport, it’s never too late to start!
2. Junior College to Auburn: David ended up attending JUCO Indian River in Florida which has been a great launching point for many great swimmers to this day. By the end of his sophomore year David had improved his 100 Yard Backstroke time from 58.6 to 53.6 and was given an opportunity to swim at Auburn University by coach Richard Quick. Ultimately David continue to improve and excel at Auburn and was able to compete with the team for the final two years of his college eligibility; David was Auburn’s top backstroker and helped the team compete for and nearly win a national championship in the 4 x 100 Medley Relay.
3. The Catalyst for a Coaching Career: Richard Quick has done so much for swimming, both for swimmers and coaches and nobody is quicker to point out Richard’s importance than David Marsh. Dave credits Richard for showing him the ropes of coaching and became one of his lifelong role models both in swimming and life. Because of the connection with Richard Quick, Dave was able to meet some of the greatest minds in swimming world and was seamlessly integrated into the coaching world. He was hooked!
4. Club Swimming Success: From his early days at Dynamo and Las Vegas Gold to becoming a mainstay at the club level with SwimMac, it is no secret that David has had enormous amount of success at the club level. During his time at SwimMac in Charlotte, North

Carolina there was a stretch where his team held all of the 17-18 NAG Relay Records which shows the sheer depth of talent that he was able to recruit, develop, and execute with.

5. Turning “Mid-Tier” Recruits into Stars: While his club success was incredible, his 16 years as Head Coach of Auburn University may be even more impressive. From the mid-90s to 2007, David won 12 NCAA Team titles which as a tremendous feat at any rank of any college sport. The world of swimming began to take notice of Auburn swimming when there would be a second-tier recruit out of high school that would suddenly appear in the A-Final at the NCAA Championships as a freshman or sophomore. Of course Auburn has had some of the great sprint stars of all-time, but what needs to be appreciate even more are the guys and girls who did not have the natural talent from the start. These swimmers were motivated to great heights and were able to accomplish things that they could have never dreamed, and that was all thanks to Dave Marsh and his incredible staff.
6. Team Elite: Today, David Marsh is most known for his direction of the professional swim group, Team Elite. Team Elite started back in Charlotte when David was with SwimMac, but when he moved to San Diego to take a college coaching job, he brought Team Elite with him. During his time as a coach of professional swimmers, David has coached 49 Olympians from 19 different countries, who have competed in six Olympic Games which is a great testament to his reach and passion for the sport on the US and International level.

Check out the podcast here

To hear David Marsh’s entire journey to becoming an ultimate swimmer you can find the full episode of the Ultimate Swimmer Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere you listen! Hosted by 3x Olympic gold Medalist and captain of the 2000 USA Team, Josh Davis, Ultimate Swimmer is a holistic approach to the sport of swimming; building strong hearts, minds, and bodies. This podcast is geared primarily for those of us in the aquatic disciplines of age-group swimming, college swimming, para-swimming, open water swimming, and masters swimming but we welcome all who are interested in peak performance, pursuing excellence and swimming with purpose.

The Ultimate Swimmer Podcast includes interviews with the biggest names in the sport of swimming past and present and we can’t wait for you to join us on the journey to BECOMING an ULTIMATE SWIMMER!

Past Ultimate Swimmer Guests:

• Missy Franklin
• Nathan Adrian
• Hali Flickinger
• The Foster Siblings

• Cody Miller
• Jason Lezak
• Cullen Jones
• Dana Vollmer
• Ella Eastin
• Lily King
• Caeleb Dressel
• Rebecca Soni
• Kim Vandenberg
• Amanda Beard
• Kelsi Dahlia
• Rowdy Gaines, Matt Grevers, Allison Schmitt
• Will Licon
• Michael Andrew
• Kristy Kowal
• Eddie Reese
• Anthony Ervin
• Brendan Hansen
• Lenny Krayzelburg
• Bruno Fratus
• Kyle Chalmers
• Roque Santos
• Elizabeth Beisel
• Mary Wayte Bradburne
• David Plummer
• Gary Hall Jr.
• Jill Sterkel
• Jack Roach
• Daniel Krueger
• Matt Biondi
• Megan Jendrick

— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Ultimate Swimmer. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.