Swim Coaches in Trouble

Swimming is a clean sport. Some people take advantage of swimmers, that is not good. Crapping on the sport because of the weakness of a few is just lazy. Another sorry takeaway from this is how many good people are going to get lumped in with the bad.

It's about time this blew up. Something better come of it this time. USAS is the biggest sham I ever got involved in. So glad I've removed myself and my name from it every way I could. I used to think swimming was such a clean sport, USAS sure changed that.

True. Sad. www.cnn.com/.../ This is a big one: swimswam.com/.../

Swimming is a clean sport. Some people take advantage of swimmers, that is not good. Crapping on the sport because of the weakness of a few is just lazy. Another sorry takeaway from this is how many good people are going to get lumped in with the bad. There is nothing inherently bad about the sport. However, it is very, very different than a great many other ones. The relationship between coaches and swimmers is very unique and individualistic for several reasons. First, start with teh fact that the sexes train together, unlike more popular team sports. The head coaches are more often than not, males. The fact that it is an individual sport means that swimmers get individual attention from their coaches at a level that exceeds most by a pretty long shot. Perhaps the biggest difference is the amount of time the two spend together. Not just the fact that a lot of high school kids spend a ridiculous number of hours in the pool (e.g. my daughter, 13, is working to get in over 17 hours per week during school, and 19 hours per week in the Summer), but they may start working together as early as 6-7 years old. Girls in particular can start excelling at a very young age, and some as young as 12 are making J-Nats, Trials, etc. By 13, the better ones are training with the senior swimmers (on our team, the fastest female swimmer in each event is just 13), so they may be training with the same head coach for 6 seasons. That's a long time to develop a level of trust. Add to that that girls in particular that age often seek approval from folks other than their parents, and it makes them more susceptible to the influence of a coach. I'm not saying that child predators are more likely to be in swimming, but I'm saying that people whose judgement may lapse are more exposed to opportunity in swimming than in a great many other activities.d So no, nothing inherent in swimming, but the environment certainly is different. And there have been tons of cases like this one where an older coach has a very, very inappropriate relationship with his swimmers.

I'm confident USA Swimming has come a long way in their approach to things like this since 2010. I really hope they have.

USA Swimming now requires coaches to complete a regime of Safe Sport training, that includes a lot of great information for maintaining proper relations with athletes, and eliminating opportunities for infractions. There is also a well structured program for the athletes and their parents, including how to report any concerns. As with any sport, there will always be bad apples.

Today in The Orange County Register: 100s of USA swimmers were sexually abused for decades and the people in charge knew and ignored it, investigation finds By SCOTT M. REID | PUBLISHED: February 16, 2018 at 10:59 am | UPDATED: February 17, 2018 at 11:38 am For decades the sexual abuse of young athletes by their coaches lingered just beneath the surface in American swimming’s otherwise golden waters ... Link --> Link Full URL: www.ocregister.com/.../ Wow.

There is nothing inherently bad about the sport. However, it is very, very different than a great many other ones. The relationship between coaches and swimmers is very unique and individualistic for several reasons. First, start with teh fact that the sexes train together, unlike more popular team sports. The head coaches are more often than not, males. The fact that it is an individual sport means that swimmers get individual attention from their coaches at a level that exceeds most by a pretty long shot. Perhaps the biggest difference is the amount of time the two spend together. Not just the fact that a lot of high school kids spend a ridiculous number of hours in the pool (e.g. my daughter, 13, is working to get in over 17 hours per week during school, and 19 hours per week in the Summer), but they may start working together as early as 6-7 years old. Girls in particular can start excelling at a very young age, and some as young as 12 are making J-Nats, Trials, etc. By 13, the better ones are training with the senior swimmers (on our team, the fastest female swimmer in each event is just 13), so they may be training with the same head coach for 6 seasons. That's a long time to develop a level of trust. Add to that that girls in particular that age often seek approval from folks other than their parents, and it makes them more susceptible to the influence of a coach. I'm not saying that child predators are more likely to be in swimming, but I'm saying that people whose judgement may lapse are more exposed to opportunity in swimming than in a great many other activities.d So no, nothing inherent in swimming, but the environment certainly is different. And there have been tons of cases like this one where an older coach has a very, very inappropriate relationship with his swimmers. How true, girl swimmers mature so fast in the sport and yes there are some bad coaches.

I swam for Bill Jewell at Newport Beach which was probably the first team he coach back in 1973 and 1974. I don't remember him making lewd comments about girls breasts but he might have changed when he coached Fast and Golden West

Here's a story on the subject: "USA Swimming president responds to report detailing widespread sexual abuse in organization": www.aol.com/.../