Q&A With TIDE Swimming Coach and Cal All-American Richard Hunter
A near lifer at Mission Viejo, Richard Hunter had a distinguished college career at Cal before returning and eventually serving as assistant national team coach. Today he is producing more national-caliber athletes for TIDE Swimming in Virginia Beach, Va.
• University of California, Berkeley, B.A., history, 2008
• Head coach, TIDE Swimming, 2019-present; associate head coach, 2016-19
• 13-14 Division Director, Mission Viejo Nadadores; National Team assistant coach; dryland program director, 2010-16
• Senior Coach of the Year, Virginia Swimming (2019, 2020, 2022)
• Coached 7 TIDE Olympic Trials qualifiers, 2021
• 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier
• 1x CSCAA All-American (honorable mention)
• 2006-07 CSCAA Academic All-American
• 2x NISCA All-American in breaststroke
• Trabuco Hills High School record holder, 100 yard breaststroke (57.90)
Q. SWIMMING WORLD: You are the oldest of three siblings. What role did swimming play in family life?
A. COACH RICHARD HUNTER: I started swimming after moving to Mission Viejo when I was 5. We were a swim family through my brother’s University of Minnesota graduation 28 years later. All three of us played multiple sports, but a lot of our day-to-day scheduling and family trips were planned around swimming. My parents were both athletes (not swimmers) and were supportive and great role models. They never pushed nor claimed to know much about swimming, so each of us was able to have our own journey at whatever level and pace we chose.
SW: You and Bill Rose started at Mission Viejo at the same time.
RH: True, but his wife, Siga, was my coach off and on for about six years and had much more to do with any success than he did! She was terrific with young athletes at creating a love for the sport while still driving performance and fostering a healthy approach to competition.
SW: You learned from Nort Thornton and Mike Bottom at Cal and made Olympic Trials.
RH: And Dave Durden, Greg Meehan and Nick Folker! Each taught me something different. The largest takeaway was seeing their different styles and how each got results. They treated each athlete as an individual and learned the best way to speak, support and guide them.
SW: Swim coaching was not on your radar immediately after college.
RH: I worked a year for Wells Fargo Financial and then thought of studying for the LSAT and applying to law school. Meanwhile, I started coaching at MVN part time. Within a couple months, I was asked to shift to full time. I became more invested and knew that law school could always be an option.
SW: What role did colleague Tyler Fenwick play in that process?
RH: Tyler had actually gone to law school before realizing that his passion was swimming. His counsel was just to be sure that was the direction I wanted to go. Seeing him on deck and how locked in he was every single day showed me what it meant to be really passionate about your work.
RH: Who else has shaped your life? And where did you get the ability to see the world as you do?
SW: My wife, Abbey, and two girls, Charlie and Ellie, frame my perspective and are a part of every aspect of what I do. They are the reason I get up in the morning (and multiple times per night). My parents continue to be a huge influence. They are a great example of loving, supportive parents who provided for their family, while maintaining such a healthy work/life balance. Additionally, Coach Rose and Jack Roach have been very influential—in swimming and outside of it.
SW: You had considerable success at all levels at Mission Viejo. Why the transcontinental move to TIDE?
RH: With Coach Rose retiring at the end of 2016, it was time to explore something different from what I knew as an athlete and a young coach. Coach Rose connected me with former national junior team director Jack Roach about the opportunities with TIDE. Abbey and I decided we were ready to leave California. The main professional drivers were the opportunity to spend time with Jack as a mentor and the infrastructure that had been set up at TIDE by the board, the staff and the YMCA of South Hampton Roads.
SW: TIDE has developed a strong organizational stability in recent years.
RH: Yes! All that goes on behind the scenes allows our coaches to implement an approach to long-term athlete development. That has become possible by Katy Arris-Wilson leading the board, Jennie Carder providing oversight and input on the business/financial end and Mike Salpeter and Cat Leach leading different parts of our program. Also, we have had crucial staff consistency. Externally, we brought in consultant Renata Porter to help with restructuring our organizational model and values. It isn’t an accident when you see certain clubs consistently rising and/or performing at the highest level.
SW: Today how are you helping to mold culture at TIDE?
RH: As a staff, we talk a lot about our team’s values and associated behaviors. We also implement team and group standards that influence performance goals. Priorities we address are: 1) connecting a team spread across seven sites; 2) driving accountability; 3) looking at how we can move the needle in our community (both swimming and southeastern Virginia on the whole).
SW: What was the benefit to your arrangement with Jack Roach?
RH: Jack was one of the main draws for this job. He mentored while allowing me to provide significant input on day-to-day decision-making and long-range planning. He served as a sounding board, where I could fail forward with a safety net that is unusual for most first-time head coaches.
SW: One observer says you are the “perfect coach for a young, committed athlete who has lofty swim goals.” Why would they say that?
RH: I get energy from being around curious and passionate individuals. I enjoy coming up with a plan for an athlete and group of athletes that factors in their strengths, challenges and limitations. The execution of that plan comes from building relationships with them and communicating in a way that registers with them. I hope my intent and energy is tangible in helping them set, work toward and achieve their goals.
SW: One coach describes you as “serious and business-like with a need to loosen up.” Your swimmers love you, so how is the loosening-up part coming?
RH: By nature, I am fairly introverted, and I have a pretty good resting serious face. I don’t get too high or low on the emotional spectrum, and I have that tendency to be analytical first and emotional second. But the more time I spend with kids (my own and my athletes), my wife and with other adults, I realize that I don’t process things as others do. So, I try to keep my business mode to when it is appropriate and can be received well. I always want my athletes to know that I am proud of them and how much I care. I probably don’t give out enough “Atta boys/girls,” but it is a work in progress!
SW: One coach calls your workouts “a piece of art.”
RH: I am definitely not deserving of that kind of praise! I write workouts that are centered around providing different stimuli because I don’t want athletes getting bored with the workout/season. If they are engaged and not sure what to expect, you get something closer to their ceilings. I also want them to understand what I am asking them to do, so I need to be specific. In the end, I want to provide my athletes with a program that enables them to take ownership of their process.
SW: At MVN and TIDE, you worked with a number of future national junior team members and took swimmers to Olympic Trials. What are you doing differently now than at MVN?
RH: I am much more specific with my athletes now than I was at MVN. At Mission, I trained them to be well-conditioned. At TIDE, Jack and I started that first year introducing challenges to where they were and subsequently building upon that physically and mentally. Jack and I talked a lot about the “threshold graveyard” and were mindful not to bury athletes and their ability to pop a fast swim at any point of the year.
SW: At age 36, you are reputed to be mature beyond your years. How did that come about?
RH: My approach to maturity is more centered around knowing my audience. I try to keep my on-deck persona fairly light, especially with the younger athletes who practice after my group. Also I am valuing the conversations with other adults and parents more since all of my time at home is spent with two girls under the age of 3. I’ve always valued time spent with older people. I have made it a point to be a listener as well.
SW: What do you do specifically to take care of your physical and mental health?
RH: When I don’t work out, I feel stressed and lethargic. I try to run twice per week, hop on the Peloton one to two times, lift once and do mobility/stretch daily. Abbey and I also do multiple walks with the girls each day. Mentally, I have started making it a priority to talk with my doctor more about having processes in place for identifying stressors and knowing when to talk through them or take a step back. Abbey is a huge help on this front. She can usually identify when I’m stressed before I will admit it.
SW: At one time you trained for triathlons and even went 20.8 in the 50 free, 53.6 in the 100 breast and 2:00.3 in the 200 breast…. Match race in the 200 breast tomorrow: Who wins, you or TIDE alumna Samantha Tadder?
RH: Sam just went a 2:15 in early October during some heavy training. Factoring that in with me being out of shape and not swimming for multiple years, I’d say I would give her a run for that first 25, and then she would beat me by approximately 2 minutes and 15 seconds. That is assuming I could finish a 200 breast, which is not a given. I’m giving Sam the “W” here, and it would not be close!
SW: And what’s your aversion to cheese and country music all about?
RH: I don’t know when it started, but even when I was little, I did not like cheese. My parents have Dutch, Swiss and Italian heritage, so I am not sure how that came about. But, yeah, I can’t eat it. Most of the time it isn’t an issue, but I get some odd looks when I order pizza without cheese. And country music is just nails on a chalkboard to me. Not sure why, but I know we have a “no country music” on the pool deck rule! I think I’m just weird…what can I say?
Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” is in its second printing, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and distributors worldwide.
An absolutely fantastic person, coach and role model! Tide won the lottery when Richard came to town!