{"id":468574,"date":"2021-04-08T04:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T11:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=468574"},"modified":"2021-04-07T12:26:07","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T19:26:07","slug":"swimming-world-presents-qa-with-swimmac-coach-megan-oesting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-qa-with-swimmac-coach-megan-oesting\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents – Q&A with SwimMAC Coach Megan Oesting"},"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

Q&A with SwimMAC Coach Megan Oesting<\/span><\/h1>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

This past fall, Megan Oesting\u2014business owner, team founder, USA Swimming select camp coach, empowerment speaker and national age group coach of the year\u2014moved from Eastern Iowa Swimming Federation to SwimMAC, where she looks to continue the program\u2019s Olympic tradition.<\/p>\n

Before becoming head coach at SwimMAC Carolina, Nov. 1, 2020, Oesting was the founder\/head coach of the Eastern Iowa Swimming Federation from 2016-20. There she coached her swimmers to more than 25 Top 100 USA Swimming All-Time Age Group swims.<\/p>\n


\nCREDENTIALS
\n<\/strong><\/span>\u2022 UCLA, B.S., mathematics, \u201996; University of Iowa, M.S., educational measurement and statistics, 2014
\n\u2022 Four-year NCAA All-America swimmer, NCAA national champion water polo player, senior academic excellence and hardest worker honoree at UCLA
\n\u2022 National junior team member, 8x Washington state high school champion, gold (400 free relay) and silver (100 free) medalist at 1991 Pan Am Games
\n\u2022 Nationally top-ranked 10-year-old age grouper in three events; later won three national junior titles
\n\u2022 No. 1 world-ranked Masters swimmer, 35- 39 age group, 50 and 100 meter freestyle, 2009-10
\n\u2022 Owner, Megan Oesting Swim Technique (MOST); developer, MySwimEars (wireless waterproof headsets for swim training)
\n\u2022 Head Swim Coach, Iowa Flyers, 2010-12
\n\u2022 ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year, 2019
\n\u2022 Head coach, USA Swimming Southern Zone Select Camp, 2019; assistant coach, National Girls Select Camp, 2018<\/p>\n

\n

Q. SWIMMING WORLD:<\/span><\/strong> How did you get started in swimming?
\nA. COACH MEGAN OESTING:<\/span> <\/strong>My parents joined a summer club in Seattle when I was 5. I was an asthmatic preschooler with frequent ER visits, so this was a great opportunity to be active and outdoors. In my early elementary years, I was frustrated in other sports because my body would just shut down. Swimming felt good to my skin, lungs and whole body. I could be as physical as I wanted in the water. With my driven nature, I could be myself while swimming.<\/p>\n

SW:<\/span> <\/strong>Any seminal influences regarding swimming and your decision to coach?
\nMO:<\/span><\/strong> My age group coach, Craig Weishaar, gave us an ideal swimming experience. He was invested, had fun with us, and we enjoyed his humor and discipline. We knew he cared, and we had fun working hard and pushing ourselves. There really was no separation between the hard work and the fun. Being raised that way allowed me to flourish as a young person.<\/p>\n

I started coaching at 14. I had been coming to practice an hour early to do push-ups and sit-ups on my own. A teammate was coaching the 5-6-year-olds, and I asked if I could help. I\u2019ve been on the pool deck ever since.<\/p>\n

Like swimming, it\u2019s the most natural thing in the world for me. Many times I\u2019ve tried to make the decision NOT to coach. I thought I had to get a real job, work in a high rise or do something academic. I come from an intelligent family with an academic and musical culture, so sport was way out of the box and not really respected. But for me, swimming is exactly like musical expression\u2014the water was my instrument.<\/p>\n

SW:<\/span><\/strong> How do you have a \u201cconversation with the water?\u201d
\nMO:<\/span><\/strong> I ask swimmers to listen to the body sensations that the water is giving them. If you listen to the water, it\u2019s very active, and you can hear it as if it were a piece of music. Only you can hear the music you are playing. The fundamental focus point, before the biomechanics, is the ability to listen with your body. We all come to that skill or \u201ctalent\u201d differently. In music, some people have perfect pitch, others are tone deaf. No matter what your starting point, everyone can learn to enjoy musical expression. Likewise, everyone can learn to enjoy physical expression. Swimming is \u201cplaying the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To read more about SwimMAC coach Megan Oesting,<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
\nCheck out the full issue of Swimming World’s April 2021 issue, click here to download now!<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Swimming<\/a><\/p>\n

[PHOTO CREDIT: MINE KASAPOGLU\/ISL]<\/p>\n

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

<\/h1>\n

Swimming World April 2021 Issue<\/span><\/h1>\n

FEATURES<\/p>\n

012 A PANDEMIC PERSPECTIVE FROM MASTERS SWIMMIN<\/span>G<\/strong>
\nby Dan D\u2019Addona<\/strong>
\nMasters swimmers maintain a connection to the sport they love as well as to their team and community. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that connection has been missing the past year, but they are ready to face the challenges that lie ahead.<\/p>\n

017 DEATH, TAXES…AND INDIAN RIVER!<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Andy Ross<\/strong>
\nIndian River State College will be shooting for its 47th straight men\u2019s and 39th consecutive women\u2019s NJCAA team titles.<\/p>\n

018 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: SPRINT TSAR<\/strong><\/span>
\nby John Lohn<\/strong>
\nAs Swimming World continues its \u201cTakeoff to Tokyo\u201d series, the opportunity to examine the career of Russia\u2019s Alexander Popov\u2014accomplishments and approach\u2014is the chance to pay tribute to a man who might be the greatest sprinter the sport has ever seen.<\/p>\n

021 COUNT ON CHINA<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Dan D\u2019Addona<\/strong>
\nBased on the results of the last eight Olympics\u2014and the most recent World Championships held two years ago\u2014China would be a good bet to once again dominate the diving competition, July 23-Aug. 8, at the 2021 Games in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

022 EVER THE COMPETITOR<\/strong><\/span>
\nby David Rieder<\/strong>
\nFive years after her public introduction to the world at the Rio Olympics, little has changed about Lilly King. She will still speak her mind, tell you how she really feels, and she\u2019s still a winner, a dominant force in sprint breaststroke.<\/p>\n

025 THE GREATEST OF THEIR GENERATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Bruce Wigo<\/strong>
\nThe General Slocum steamship disaster\u00a0 in 1904, the tragedy that changed swimming history, had an impact on two of the greatest swimming heroes of all time, Johnny Weissmuller and Charles Robert Drew.<\/p>\n

028 NUTRITION: FUELING FOR COMPETITION\u2014THE \u201cCHERRY ON TOP!\u201d<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Dawn Weatherwax<\/strong>
\nAthletes spend hours upon hours training. It is now time to put the sports nutrition piece all together when it matters most. A big part of the plan is to know what, when and how much to eat and drink before, during and after the event.<\/p>\n

COACHING<\/p>\n

014 FAST AND FURIOUS<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Michael J. Stott<\/strong>
\nCollege coaches Braden Holloway (NC State), Todd DeSorbo (Virginia), Matt Kredich (Tennessee) and Jessen Book (Kenyon) share their ideas on how they help their swimmers maximize turn speed.<\/p>\n

038 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: APPLYING MECHANICAL PRINCIPLES TO IMPROVE SWIMMING TECHNIQUE<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Rod Havriluk<\/strong>
\nMany swimmers attempt to swim faster by modeling the technique of the fastest swimmers. Using champions as models is an archaic approach of painstakingly slow, trial-and-error that risks adopting technique limitations. A far superior approach is to apply mechanical principles that eliminate uncertainty and accelerate the skill-learning process.<\/p>\n

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

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

TRAINING<\/p>\n

037 DRYSIDE TRAINING: PUSHING POWER<\/strong><\/span>
\nby J.R. Rosania<\/strong><\/p>\n

JUNIOR SWIMMER<\/p>\n

040 GOLDMINDS:\u00a0 LEARN HOW TO BE A RACER<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Wayne Goldsmith<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s important to learn how to swim your event in such a way that you can perform to your potential in every possible racing situation, including different strategies for heats, semifinals and finals.<\/p>\n

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

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS<\/p>\n

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

011 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE STORY OF THE AUMAKUA?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

030 2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

046 DADS ON DECK: BRENT BILQUIST<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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