Thought it would be neat to share our stories about the best athlete we ever swam with. Note that it is not necessarily the fastest or best swimmer we have trained with.
The best athlete I ever trained with was a young man that showed up for my masters swim group. He was training to pass the test to be a Navy SEAL officer. Having graduated from a non-Naval Academy college, the standards for making the officers cut were tough. He was, however, a good prospect.
With no prior competitive swim background, he was able to get his 500 yard sidestroke down to a 7:30 in a matter of a few months. However, this was not the main thing that impressed me. It was the times/scores on his practice tests which I helped time him on.
Here is what he could do:
500 yard sidestroke swim: 7:30
8 minute rest
2 minutes of push-ups: # done was 112
2 minute rest
2 minutes of sit-ups: # done was 110
2 minute rest
max number of pull-ups (palms facing away from body): 25
8 minute rest
1.5 mile run done in combat boots and long pants: 9:05.
The guy was a machine. Speed, strength, endurance, and power. Doing 25 pull-ups shortly after a hard swim, pushups, and sit-ups was impressive! The young man decided not to pursue a career in the Navy but chose to stay near family. Last I heard he had started his own business and was doing well.
There are two that stand out in my mind, Robert Hauck and Jason Lezak.
In college (St. Olaf) Bobby became one of the assistant coaches after he came back from Olympic Trials in 1988. He just missed the cut but brought back a lot of knowledge. Of course, he was insanely fast in college but was bananas after Trials. Case in point, we have an alumni meet every year at the start of the season, usually in mid-October. Bobby was not swimming too much but decides to enter the 200 back. He jumps in and sets a pool record. If memory serves it was a 1:52... He was one of my coaches the rest of my time in college, great guy all the way around.
Just last week, I had a chance to swim with Jason Lezak when we did a series of swim clinics in AZ. WOW. First of all, the guy is totally cool, he is a great ambassador for swimming and our country. Really down to Earth and friendly, it was a pleasure driving him around. Plus, his knowledge of swimming is vast. He conducted some great clinics and was wonderful with the swimmers. Watching him swim and do drills was something to behold, I am still amazed at his breakouts. Folks, the power he generates and the fluidity of his underwater work is simply stunning, I don't have the words to adequately describe it.
Those are the two that stand out in my mind the most. In both cases it was a pleasure to swim with them and learn. Two great swimmers and wonderful people, a great combination indeed.
There are two that stand out in my mind, Robert Hauck and Jason Lezak.
In college (St. Olaf) Bobby became one of the assistant coaches after he came back from Olympic Trials in 1988. He just missed the cut but brought back a lot of knowledge. Of course, he was insanely fast in college but was bananas after Trials. Case in point, we have an alumni meet every year at the start of the season, usually in mid-October. Bobby was not swimming too much but decides to enter the 200 back. He jumps in and sets a pool record. If memory serves it was a 1:52... He was one of my coaches the rest of my time in college, great guy all the way around.
Just last week, I had a chance to swim with Jason Lezak when we did a series of swim clinics in AZ. WOW. First of all, the guy is totally cool, he is a great ambassador for swimming and our country. Really down to Earth and friendly, it was a pleasure driving him around. Plus, his knowledge of swimming is vast. He conducted some great clinics and was wonderful with the swimmers. Watching him swim and do drills was something to behold, I am still amazed at his breakouts. Folks, the power he generates and the fluidity of his underwater work is simply stunning, I don't have the words to adequately describe it.
Those are the two that stand out in my mind the most. In both cases it was a pleasure to swim with them and learn. Two great swimmers and wonderful people, a great combination indeed.
