By Remedy Rule, Swimming World College Intern
Kris Kubik announced his retirement as Texas associate head coach after 34 seasons paired with head coach Eddie Reese. The duo led the team to 12 NCAA men’s swimming and diving team titles and 32 NCAA top-five finishes. Although these accolades are impressive, Kubik is much more than that. The University of Texas is saying goodbye to a coach who always has a skip in his step, who carries an undeniable presence with him on deck, and who has left a lasting impression on swimmers and coaches far beyond the pool.
Kubik plans to take a “very long nap” immediately following his retirement. After that he’s just waiting to find out what his future holds outside of the sport of swimming.
Q&A with Kris Kubik
SW: Which Texas tradition is your favorite?
KK: There is a song that is sung by everyone associated with the University. It’s called “The Eyes of Texas“ and unless you’re here and you’re a part of it, it may not mean much to you…it may sound a bit like “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” because it’s to that tune. But the meaning of the song basically is that whatever you do in life, you’re not alone. There are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people who are supportive of you and care about what you do. Therefore as a representative of the University of Texas, you should hold yourself to the highest standard. Our teams have sung that after victories, after we’ve lost meets, and we’ve also sung it at weddings, funerals, and bachelor parties. It’s dear to my heart. I will never take the singing of that song lightly.
Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold / Aringo Photos
SW: Could you share your favorite story of Eddie Reese?
KK: I don’t think I have a favorite because I have so many. In the late 80s, we were swimming at the NCAA championship at IUPUI, and we stayed at a Hyatt Regency. The Hyatt Regency had an open air atrium meaning that as you walk outside your room, there’s a railing about four feet away from the door and if you look out over the railing, you can see all the way to the ground level. We had some people who were very skilled at making paper airplanes and they would throw the paper airplanes out into the atrium.
The manager of the hotel called us and said, “Please stop throwing the paper airplanes.” And as the manager called, Eddie was just making his. The airplane he made had all kinds of fancy wings and tears and angles in it.
He said, “Kris, call all the boys and tell them to look outside real quick.”
And I said, “The manager just told us not to throw paper airplanes.”
And Eddie said, “Just call ’em.” So at a specific time [the boys] all kind of crawled out and barely peaked over the railing (so no one would know where the paper airplane came from). Eddie lofted his airplane and it hovered – and I don’t want to exaggerate – for at least three minutes, just kind of floating up there in the atrium, above everything, before it came to the bottom. That’s something I will never forget.
SW: So Eddie isn’t just a good coach, he’s a skilled paper airplane maker?
KK: There’s lot of things [Eddie] is talented at that people don’t know about. I have a video of Eddie balancing a stick on his chin. He challenged Kip Darmondy to it and Kip lasted about .01 seconds while Eddie lasted about 20 seconds.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
SW: In 1985, when you returned to the University of Texas after coaching at Nashville Aquatics Club and Longhorn Aquatics Cub, did you know you would coach there until you retired?
KK: I had no clue. I just knew that I certainly enjoyed being around Eddie. He’s a master at life and I think he happens to be a swimming coach. Being around him on a daily basis has made me a much better person and shaped the person I am. I was offered head coaching positions several times, but I never really looked seriously because of the enjoyment I got in being a part of the University of Texas program and being around Eddie.
SW: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
KK: I’m going to miss a lot of people dearly. I’m still going to be around the sport, cheering for people to get better and better. I’ll watch times continue to drop and watch the red, white, and blue at the Olympic level, the World Championship level, and the junior national level–just from the bottom to the top. It’s a great sport and I’m certainly glad I got to be a part of it for as long as I did.
Good luck Kris on all your future endeavors. The University of Texas will miss you greatly!
Great article on a great guy!
Class act
Kris and Eddie are truly incredible human beings, true class acts and wonderful coaches and mentors. Kris and Eddie have a dynamic- Eddie is this visionary and Kris is the memory, practice and action-oriented man behind the scenes. Kris has a gift of seeing patterns and relating people to the tradition that has come before them– he, on one occasion, told me a story about Ian Crocker conquering the same fear I had before a race. He related my experience to someone I admired– to the best butterfly kicker (maybe ever). That is just who Kris is– he connects people. Kris and Eddie’s creativity and collaboration is truly masterful! So grateful for these two incredibly talented (stick-balancing) people. I’m just sad we didn’t get Kip’s video of “balancing” the stick on his chin.