{"id":456442,"date":"2020-12-08T04:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=456442"},"modified":"2020-12-07T22:51:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T05:51:40","slug":"swimming-world-presents-qa-with-weymouth-club-waves-coach-michael-brooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-qa-with-weymouth-club-waves-coach-michael-brooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents – Q&A With Weymouth Club Waves Coach Michael Brooks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/em><\/span>
\nis now available for download in the<\/span> Swimming World Vault<\/span><\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n

Non-Subscribers Can Download This Issue Here<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q&A With Weymouth Club Waves Coach Michael Brooks
\n<\/span><\/h1>\n

By Michael J. Stott<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Besides coaching, Michael Brooks is also a highly acclaimed author, having written \u201cDeveloping Swimmers\u201d (Human Kinetics) and produced the five-video series, \u201cThe Principles of Swimming\u201d (Championship Productions).<\/p>\n

CREDENTIALS<\/span>
\n\u2022 Carleton College, B.A., English, 1986; B.A., University of Utah, history, 1988; M.A., University of Notre Dame, history, 1992
\n\u2022 Head coach, Weymouth Club Waves, 2018-present
\n\u2022 Head coach, King Aquatic Club, 2017-18
\n\u2022 Coach, North Carolina Aquatic Club, 2016-17
\n\u2022 Head coach\/director of competitive swimming, York YMCA, 2006-16 (won girls YMCA SC nationals in 2016)
\n\u2022 Head age group coach, Brophy East Swim Team, 2004-06
\n\u2022 Head site coach (York, Pa.), North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 1999-2004
\n\u2022 World Cup head coach of U18 USA National Team, 2015
\n\u2022 Assistant coach of Team USA for Pan American Games, 2015
\n\u2022 Assistant coach of Team USA, Junior Pan Pacific Championships, 2014
\n\u2022 YMCA SC National Championships Coach of the Meet (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015)
\n\u2022 Middle Atlantic Senior Coach of the Year (2014, 2015)
\n\u2022 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
\n\u2022 Member of USA Swimming National Age Group Development Committee
\n\u2022 National and international clinician on age group coaching, cultural excellence, swimming technique<\/p>\n

Q. SWIMMING WORLD:<\/span><\/strong> Were you ever a swimmer?
\nA. COACH MICHAEL BROOKS:<\/span><\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

SW:<\/span> <\/strong>What led you to a profession in aquatics?
\nMB:<\/span><\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

SW:<\/span> <\/strong>What did you learn from Dennis Pursley, Bob Bowman and Murray Stephens?
\nMB:<\/span><\/strong> From North Baltimore Aquatic Club (Bowman and Stephens), I learned about a culture of high expectations. Great teams don\u2019t become great by accident\u2014and 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

To read our full Q&A with Weymouth Club Waves Coach Michael Brooks, <\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\ncheck out the Swimming World December 2020 issue…<\/a>Click here to download now<\/a>!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"SW<\/a>[PHOTO CREDIT: PETER H. BICK]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get Swimming World Magazine<\/em> and Swimming World Biweekly<\/em> FREE When You<\/span>
\nBecome A Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Want more? Get a 1 Year ISHOF Family Membership With Swimming World Print AND<\/em> Digital Subscription<\/span> Order Now!<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/h3>\n

Non-Subscribers can click here to download this issue for only $5.94<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Swimming World Magazine December 2020 Issue<\/span><\/h2>\n

FEATURES<\/p>\n

012<\/span> SWIMMERS OF THE MILLENNIUM\u2019S FIRST 20 YEARS (2000-19)<\/strong><\/span>
\nby John Lohn, David Rieder, Andy Ross and Dan D\u2019Addona<\/strong><\/span>
\nWorld & American: Michael Phelps & Katie Ledecky
\nEuropean: Pieter van den Hoogenband & Inge de Bruijn
\nPacific Rim: Ian Thorpe & Leisel Jones
\nAfrican: Chad le Clos & Kirsty Coventry<\/p>\n

019<\/span> PROVING THEIR METTLE<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Andy Ross<\/strong>
\nAfter the South African media made several disparaging comments about the women\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

021<\/span> FIT TO BE TIED<\/strong><\/span>
\nby John Lohn<\/strong>
\nAt the 1972 Munich Olympics, Sweden\u2019s Gunnar Larsson was awarded the gold medal in the men\u2019s 400 IM, edging USA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

034<\/span> MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH CLAIRE CURZAN<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Shoshanna Rutemiller<\/strong><\/p>\n

COACHING<\/p>\n

010<\/span> TOUGHEST WORKOUTS (Part 2)<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong>
\nSwimming 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.<\/p>\n

038<\/span> SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: BREASTSTROKE BREATHING HEAD TIMING DELAY<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Rod Havriluk<\/strong>
\nIn 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.<\/p>\n

040<\/span> SPECIAL SETS: DAVE SALO\u2014THE MAN AND THE METHOD<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong>
\nDave 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.<\/p>\n

043<\/span> Q&A WITH COACH MICHAEL BROOKS<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

044<\/span> HOW THEY TRAIN THOMAS HAGAR<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong><\/p>\n

TRAINING<\/p>\n

037<\/span> DRYSIDE TRAINING: POSSIBLY THE 5 BEST DRYLAND EXERCISES EVER!<\/strong><\/span>
\nby J.R. Rosania<\/strong>
\nIf done properly and regulary, these exercises can enhance your stroke, technique, power and speed.<\/p>\n

JUNIOR SWIMMER<\/p>\n

047<\/span> UP & COMERS: ERIKA PELAEZ<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Shoshanna Rutemiller<\/p>\n

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS<\/p>\n

008<\/span> A VOICE FOR THE SPORT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

009<\/span> DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE ART OF SWIMMING?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

026<\/span> HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

036<\/span> DADS ON DECK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

046<\/span> HASTY HIGH POINTERS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

048<\/span> GUTTERTALK<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

049<\/span> PARTING SHOT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n