Michael Stott - (Author)

Special Sets: The Training of Jude Burkhart, NBAC's Latest Age-Group Standout Last year, North Baltimore Aquatic Club's Jude Burkhart set two national boys 11-12 marks, one in the 1650 freestyle (16:05.52) and one in the 800-meter freestyle (8:48.44). On top of those NAG records, Burkhart, at the en...

Freeman Sweeps Boys and Girls Titles at Virginia Class 5 Championships; Nathan Szobota Shines Decisive. Beginning, and end of statement, as Richmond’s Douglas Freeman boys and girls topped their opposition in the Virginia Class 5 swim and dive competitions held at the Hampton Aquaplex and the Colleg...

Collegiate Girls, St. Christopher Boys Complete Four-Peats at Virginia Independent Schools Champs Two Richmond schools were winners yet again in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association state championships. Saturday night at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sports Center in Stafford, the Saint C...

How They Train: The Work of University of Texas NCAA Champion Emma Sticklen Want a picture of Lady Longhorn Emma Sticklen sailing toward her fifth NCAA championship? Think “hungry for more.” Pursuing a graduate certificate in sport communications, Sticklen is already a 16x first team CSCAA All-Ameri...

Q&A With Texas Associate Women's Head Coach Mitch Dalton By Michael J. Stott After five years as director of USA Swimming’s National Junior Team Mitch Dalton is now associate head coach of the University of Texas women’s team as the Lady Longhorns fight for NCAA supremacy. Mitch Dalton Associate Hea...

Throwback Thursday: The Early Training That Led Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman to Legendary Status (Sample Sets) Together, Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman  forged the most successful athlete-coach relationship in the history of the sport. Here is a look at some of the early workouts that led to Phelps'...

'It's a Scary Time': Changing Landscape of College Sports Has Diving Programs on Edge By Michael Stott As a high school swim coach whose teams won more than one state championship thanks to divers, I’ve always appreciated the skill and athleticism those athletes bring to the boards – and the pool. S...

Q&A with SwimRVA Head Coach Jonathan Kaplan; Self-Described 'Swim Nerd' Has Followed Dream A self-described “swim nerd,” Jonathan Kaplan has pursued a lifelong coaching dream in building programs and influencing hundreds of young men and women to become better swimmers and even better people. Jonath...

How They Train: Christine Datovech & Bryce Mortimer CHRISTINE DATOVECH Now a freshman at Virginia Tech, Christine Datovech’s partnership with her age group coach, Jonathan Kaplan, began as a summer leaguer and YMCA swimmer at age 11. As she transitioned to USA Swimming, she steadily progressed and h...

Q&A with Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA Head Coach Chris Karelus; Leader of Power Program At age 13, Chris Karelus moved from his native Poland to Scotch Plains, N.J., where the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA became his second home. These days, he directs FSPY competitive aquatic activities to consistent To...

How 'Fun, Fitness and Competition' Allowed One Virginia Summer Swim Club to Do More with Less The nation’s tens of thousands of summer leagues continue to be an entry point for many first-time swimmers regardless of whether they advance to more competitive levels or not. In such settings, millions o...

Special Sets: The Training of Adalyn Lee, a Surging Star with Brea Aquatics Adalyn Lee, a lean 5-8 Brea Aquatics product from Diamond Bar, Calif., is now 13 years old. When she departed the 11-12 age group last April, she left behind quite an 11-12 legacy. Not only was she heralded as the nation’s t...

How They Train: The Work of Y Nationals Champ Billie Sherratt After years as a mainstay among seniors at Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA, 5-7 Billie Rose Sherratt has taken her considerable free, fly and IM talents to the University of Kentucky. As a team leader, she has helped FSPY to four top-10 combin...

Special Sets: The Training of Rising 11-Year-Old Standout Millie Conner It’s early yet. Still, that doesn’t stop 11-year-old Millie Conner from plotting her swimming career. It is mapped out in the 30-40 swimming journals she keeps “filled with words, time and personal goals, charts, graphs and thou...

How They Train: The Work of ASU Standout Jonny Kulow Under Coach Herbie Behm (Full Week of Sets) Early on, a Wyoming coach suggested to Bob Bowman that Lander Valley High School swimmer Jonny Kulow was someone to watch. Coming out of high school, Kulow was SwimCloud’s top-ranked swimmer in Wyoming (...

Q&A With Arizona State Coach Herbie Behm By Michael J. Stott A sprinter himself Herbie Behm mastered the art of sprint coaching at Utah and with Bob Bowman at Arizona State University. When Bowman left for Texas this spring, Behm was promoted to ASU head coach and now has the Sun Devils once again v...

A Look and Breakdown Of the Legendary 100 x 100s Set Of Mike Bruner A tradition at some clubs during winter training is for athletes to complete a 100 x 100 workout. The set is an Ironman/Ironwoman accomplishment. So, as some swimmers prepare to tackle this grinding set, we visit the archive for a l...

Q&A with Coach Gary Taylor: Guiding Age-Group Star Thomas Heilman With Thomas Heilman set to race at Speedo Juniors East, Swimming World is running this piece from the archive that includes discussion of Heilman's training under the watch of coach Gary Taylor. A seasoned college and club coach, Cava...

The Complete Swimmer: Event Specialization and the Case for Varied Training By MICHAEL J. STOTT We’ve all seen it—an age group phenom who dominates a particular stroke and claims it as his or her own. “Athletes will often self-identify their primary events. Those are dictated by genetics, attention ...

The Changing College Landscape: How Coaches Are Counseling Recruits Let’s start by agreeing it is currently a crazy world for college swimming. True story: Last fall, an all-state Mid-Atlantic swimmer decommitted from Boston College following revelations of misconduct in its men’s program. After car...