Swimming World August 2021 Presents – Q & A with Howard University Coach Nicholas Askew

Swimming World August 2021 - Q and A with coach Nicholas Askew

Nic Askew (center) [PHOTO CREDIT: MARK COLEMAN]

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The Swimming World August 2021 Issue Presents

Q & A with Howard University Coach Nicholas Askew

By Michael J. Stott

A Bison as a student and now a coach of both tennis and swimming, Nicholas Askew is leading the athletes of historically black Howard University into a brave new world.

Coach Nicholas Askew, a nationally recognized speaker on diversity and empowerment, received the Maritza Correia McClendon Award in 2020 from the Diversity in Aquatics organization.

CREDENTIALS
• Howard University, B.A., psychology, 2000
• 4x Howard University MVP (3x swimming, 1x tennis)
• Former school record holder in 100-200 breaststroke, 2x swim team captain
• Director and head coach of swimming, diving and tennis, Howard University, 2020-present; head coach, swimming and diving, 2014-20; associate head coach, tennis, 2014-20; assistant coach, tennis, 2001-14
• Director of programs, Prince George’s Tennis and Education Foundation, Upper Marlboro, Md., 2002-09
• Directed Howard to more than 80 school records and CSCAA Scholar All-America recognition
• Coached Latroya Pina to Cape Verde Olympic team and Miles Simon to U.S. Olympic Trials berth, 2021
• Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Conference Men’s Coach of the Year, 2020

Q. SWIMMING WORLD: Growing up, you were a multi-sport athlete. How did you get your start in swimming?
A. COACH NICHOLAS ASKEW: Fortunately, I grew up a block away from a public pool in my hometown of Kinston, N.C. That pool was my daycare. As the youngest of three, I followed my lifeguard brothers to morning practice and stayed at the pool all day. Taking to the water became inevitable.

SW: In tennis?
NA: Tennis was in the park very close to home. Daily when the pool closed, I wasn’t ready to go home because I knew my mother would make me clean up and go straight to bed. So, I lingered around the tennis courts where my father and his friends let me hit a few balls. But they quickly kicked me off the court because I would deliberately hit balls over the fence! However, that was all a part of my plan to play in the creek just behind the courts. When they got wise to that, they made me switch sides. That’s when I learned to control the ball more and enjoy actually playing.

SW: Any mentors along the way?
NA: Many. I am forever grateful for the great people who poured into my total development, not just athletic. My parents and brothers are first and foremost. Then the list keeps going from there. I pray I have made them proud.

SW: Two brothers went to Howard. Any other reasons for choosing the school?
NA: Howard was an easy choice for me. I knew I wanted to swim for a Division I swimming and diving program at a historically black college or university (HBCU). At that time, only Florida A&M University and Howard had one. I enjoyed my visit to FAMU, but Howard was where I knew I belonged.

To read our full Q and A session with coach Askew,
Click here to download the full issue of Swimming World August 2021 now!

Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” was published in June 2021, and is available from Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and book distributors worldwide.

[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]

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SWIMMING WORLD AUGUST 2021 FEATURES

012 | READY FOR A NEW CHALLENGE
by David Rieder
Torri Huske finished her high school career by setting national high school records in the 100 yard fly and 200 IM and by being named Swimming World’s Female High School Swimmer of the Year for the second time (2019, 2021). The 18-year-old senior from Yorktown High School (Arlington, Va.) will be moving on to Stanford in the fall, but first, she set an American record in the 100 meter fly at U.S. Trials that earned her a trip to Tokyo to compete in her first Olympics.

014 | TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
by Dan D’Addona
Everything appears to be OK for Norman North (Okla.) High School senior Aiden Hayes. He set two national high school records (100 fly and 50 free) this past season. He competed and gained experience at the U.S. Olympic Trials as the fastest 18-year-old in the country in butterfly. And he was named Swimming World’s Male High School Swimmer of the Year.

016 | CREAM OF THE CROP
by David Rieder and Andy Ross
There were some mighty fast swimmers who finished the 2020-21 high school season right behind Swimming World’s Female and Male High School Swimmers of the Year, Torri Huske and Aiden Hayes. Of the four runners-up, two of them are underclassmen and will be returning for more fast swimming in 2021-22.

018 | TOP HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS
by Chandler Brandes
Swimming World takes a look at the swimmers it considers to be the 10 best high school recruits—both male and female—from the Class of 2021 and where they’ll be attending college in the fall.

021 | NUTRITION: WHAT TO EAT BEFORE THE “BIG RACE”
by Dawn Weatherwax
To reach your swimming goals, it is important to know what to eat—at what times and in what amounts. It is different for everyone, but very important to master.

022 | ISHOF: THE U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS—DONNA DeVARONA AND THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF WOMEN’S SWIMMING
by Bruce Wigo
At the recent U.S. Olympic Trials, there was one moment that linked the past with the present and future of swimming like no other. It came when Donna de Varona presented Olympic qualification medals to Katie Grimes, the youngest member of the 2021 Olympic swimming team, and three-time Olympian Katie Ledecky.

025 | ONE OF THE GREATEST SPRINTERS OF ALL TIME
by John Lohn
The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney are widely remembered for the home-nation success of Australia, which was spearheaded by teenage sensation Ian Thorpe. But the Games Down Under also served as a redemptive locale for the Netherlands’ Inge de Bruijn, who used the stage to define herself as one of the sport’s legends.

028 | MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH KATE DOUGLASS
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COACHING

030 | SPECIAL SETS: TRAINING KAYLA WILSON
by Michael J. Stott
Coach Richard Hunter of TIDE Swimming in Virginia Beach, Va. discusses goals and workouts for one of his top swimmers, Kayla Wilson, a rising senior at Norfolk Academy who recently committed to Stanford for fall 2022.

034 | SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: MAXIMIZING SWIMMING VELOCITY (Part 4)—MINIMIZING THE ARM ENTRY PHASE TIME IN BACKSTROKE AND BREASTSTROKE
by Rod Havriluk
To minimize the arm entry phase time in backstroke, a swimmer must quickly move the hand downward directly behind and below the shoulder. Minimizing the arm entry phase (glide phase) in breaststroke requires precise control of the timing between the finish of the kick and the beginning of the pull. A decrease in the non-propulsive entry phase decreases the time for a stroke cycle, increases stroke rate and increases swimming velocity.

038 | SPECIAL SETS: ENERGY SYSTEM TRAINING
by Michael J. Stott
George Heidinger, former USA Swimming National Team High Performance Consultant and owner of Pikes Peak Athletics (Colo.), specializes in long-term athlete development. As such, he is well-schooled in the science of energy systems and shares some sample sets he has given to rising high school senior Quintin McCarty and his PPA senior teammates.

040 | A COACHES’ GUIDE TO ENERGY SYSTEMS (Part 3): WHILE THEY’RE YOUNG
by Michael J. Stott
In Part 3 of our series on energy systems, two age group coaches—one from Clovis, Calif. and one from Richmond, Va.—share how they inform and guide their younger athletes through energy system training.

043 | Q&A WITH COACH NICHOLAS ASKEW
by Michael J. Stott

044 | HOW THEY TRAIN: MILES SIMON
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

033 | DRYSIDE TRAINING: GOLD MEDAL WORKOUT
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

036 | GOLDMINDS: 10 GREAT REASONS TO GET BACK IN THE POOL
by Wayne Goldsmith

47 | UP & COMERS: BRIAN HAMILTON
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 | A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

011 | DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT ETHELDA BLEIBTREY?

046 | HASTY HIGH POINTERS

048 | GUTTERTALK

049 | PARTING SHOT

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