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How They Train with Santa Margarita’s Maggie McGuire and Jack Nugent
By Michael J. Stott
Teammates Maggie McGuire and Jack Nugent are poised to continue Santa Margarita Catholic High School’s impressive Trinity League and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section success. Both have strong club training backgrounds: McGuire at Socal Aquatics and Nugent with Evolution Racing Club. SMCHS has been a lucky beneficiary.
Maggie McGuire: A backstroke/distance/IM specialist, the 5-10 McGuire is the 14th-ranked Golden State female in the Class of 2023 (114th nationally) by collegeswimming.com (swimcloud). Additionally, she is a two-time NISCA All-American in the 100 yard back (55.15, 47th) and 500 free (4:56.13, 62nd).
“Maggie comes from an athletic family (dad MLB, mom swimming, brother collegiate baseball) and possesses a strong work ethic,” says Ron Blanc. “A highly skilled technician, her years of swim training have produced an efficient freestyle, smooth backstroke and an improving IM.”
McGuire gained her first junior cuts in 2018 and has performed well in Junior National and U.S. Open competitions when held. “Regrettably, the COVID lockdowns interrupted her rapid progress, but now she is regaining her speed and confidence. Her return to form resulted in her first individual CIF Southern Section title in the 100 backstroke (55.15),” he says.
SAMPLE TRAINING SESSION: MAGGIE McGUIRE
(Day 21, Week 5—Wednesday, March 31 p.m.)
Warm-up (900 yards)
• 300 freestyle
• 6 x 100 (1st: breast/free, 2nd: back/free,
3rd: fly/free, repeat)
(Take heart rate at 200 yards)
• 4 x 50 freestyle @ :50 (sprint down, easy
back)
EN3 (1,600 yards)
• 8 x 200 freestyle
Odds free @ 2:20, evens back @ 2:30
(Maggie held 2:05 on free, 2:15 on back)
Stroke Work (300 yards)
• Turns (6 x 50 choice, full turn from midpool)
Kicking (300 yards)
• 6 x 50 choice kick @ 1:00 (high speed,
all back kick)
EN3 (1,000 yards)
• 3x {3 x 100 freestyle @ fastest interval
possible
(Easy 50 after each set)
(Maggie swam on a 1:05 base and
held 1:01s)
EN2 and SP2 (1,400 yards)
• 8 x 100 @ 1:20 (75 free, last 25 is sprint
choice)
• 8 x 50 free @ :35
• 8 x 25 choice sprints @ :30
Warm-down (200 yards)
• 4 x 50 easy freestyle @ 1:15
Total: 5,900 yards
Jack Nugent: Like McGuire, Nugent specializes in back, distance and IM. Standing 6-2, he is the third member of his family to swim for SMCHS and is quickly getting faster.
“His level of improvement in the past two years has been astonishing,” says Coach Ron Blanc, “and his time drops have positioned him as a major college recruit.” At present, collegeswimming.com (swimcloud) has him ranked 21st (state) and 175th (nationally) in the Class of 2023.
“Jack’s technique is well-suited for mid-distance backstroke,” says his coach. “With increased growth, strength and tempo, he will be a SCY sub-:50 backstroker and sub-1:50 IMer. He has connected the intensity requirements in training to produce results in racing. A fierce competitor who doesn’t like to lose, he qualified for his first junior nationals this summer.”
Examples of his progress include a 51.23 Futures 100 back plus 1:49.19 and 2:06.82 200 backs from the 2021 short and long course junior nationals.
SAMPLE TRAINING SET: JACK NUGENT
(Day 26, Week 7—Monday, April 12 p.m.)
Warm-up (900 yards)
• 300 freestyle
• 6 x 100 (25 choice, 25 free)
(Take heart rate at 200 yards)
• 4 x 50 free @ :50 (25 hard, 25 easy)
EN3 (1,000 yards)
• 20 x 50 freestyle (interval descends by 1
second—swim until failure)
(:55, :54, :53, :52, :51, :50, :49, :48, :47,
:46, :45, :44, :43, :42, :41, :40, :39, :38, :37,
:36, :35, :34, :33, :32, :31, :30)
(Jack made the :28 interval before missing
the :27 interval, so he attempted 29 50s
freestyle)
Recovery (300 yards)
• 3 x 100 @ 1:30 (25 choice, 25 free on
easy pace)
EN2 and SP2 (900 yards)
• 6 x 150 @ 2:20, 2:25 or 2:30.
(Jack held 1:40s and went on the 2:20
base)
• 100 free (85%), 10 seconds rest, 50
choice (100%)
Kicking (300 yards)
• 12 x 25 sprint kick @ :45 (:15 sprint wall
kick, flip through arms, 25 sprint kick)
Specialty—EN1 and SP3/EN3
(specialty—1,300 yards)
• Specialty (done backstroke)
• 5 x 100 specialty @ 1:20 (25 specialty,
25 free)
• 4x {2 x 50 choice for time (100%) @
1:30, 100 choice stretch (medium effort)
@ 2:00
Warm-down (200 yards)
• 4 x 50 easy freestyle @ 1:15
Total: 5,150 yards
Click here to download the full October issue of Swimming World Magazine, available 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 GEORGIO SCALIA / DEEPBLUEMEDIA]
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FEATURES
010 THE OLYMPIC “QUADRENNIUM:” A LOOK BACK AND A LOOK AHEAD
by David Rieder
Swimming World reflects on the last five years since the last Olympic Games in Rio and ponders the questions that lie ahead during the next three years leading up to Paris 2024.
014 A CANADIAN SURGE
by Matthew De George
Swimmers from Canada exceeded expectations at the Tokyo Games. And the Canadian delegation showed that the future is as bright as the present, with prolific young talents on both sides of the competition.
020 ISHOF FEATURE: AQUATOTS MURDER CASE—THE KATHY TONGAY STORY (Part 1)
by Bruce Wigo
It is doubtful that in the annals of aquatic history, there has ever been an example of abusive parents like the story of “little Kathy Tongay.”
024 EXPECT GREAT THINGS!
by John Lohn
David Popovici just turned 17 years old, but the Romanian sprint freestyler appears poised to follow a path to prominence.
031 NUTRITION: KNOW THYSELF
by Dawn Weatherwax
Knowing your body composition can help you swim fast and stay healthy.
COACHING
029 BASIC DRYLAND TRAINING
by Michael J. Stott
A concentrated, ongoing strength and conditioning regimen provides a quality supplement to in-pool training, helping swimmers become stronger and faster. Coaches Ron and Rich Blanc of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Southern California share last season’s dryland training schedule that helped his girls’ and boys’ teams become national powers.
030 WEIGHT ROOM COMMON SENSE
by J.R. Rosania
These “Do’s and Dont’s” are courtesy of exercise scientist J.R. Rosania, whose performance enhancement firm Healthplex serves multisport athletes worldwide.
034 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: MAXIMIZING SWIMMING VELOCITY (Part 5): MINIMIZING THE ARM RECOVERY PHASE
by Rod Havriluk
The greatest possible time decreases for additional swimming velocity increases are in the non-propulsive phases (entry and recovery). This article includes strategies to minimize the recovery phase time of all four strokes.
045 Q&A WITH COACHES RON & RICH BLANC
by Michael J. Stott
046 HOW THEY TRAIN MAGGIE McGUIRE & JACK NUGENT
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
033 DRYSIDE TRAINING: BACK TO BASICS (Part 1)
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
044 UP & COMERS: MARYJANE (MJ) NEILSON
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
009 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT FAMOUS GUYS WHO GOLF?
016 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
036 PREP SCHOOL DIRECTORY`
048 GUTTERTALK
049 PARTING SHOT
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