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Q&A with Iowa Central Coach Joe Plane
By Michael J. Stott
Five years into his time at Iowa Central, head coach Joe Plane has positioned his Tritons to challenge perennial champion Indian River for NJCAA supremacy.
Since 2017, Coach Plane’s ICCC men have finished second once, third twice and fifth once at the NJCAA National Championships. His women have been third three times and fourth once. In 2020, he coached five athletes to 11 NJCAA All-America recognitions.
CREDENTIALS
• University of Northern Iowa, M.A., mathematics, expected May 2021
• Western Michigan University, B.S., mathematics, 1999
• John Brown University, mechanical engineering, 1997
• Head coach, Iowa Central Community College, 2016-present
• Head coach, Cedar Rapids Aquatics Association, 2014-16
• Head coach/owner, The Swim Club of NorCal, 2008-14
• Assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, University of the Pacific, 2006-08
• Head coach, Sylvania Tsunami Swim Club, 2004-06
• Volunteer assistant coach, University of Michigan, 2004-06; volunteer assistant, 2003-04
• Head coach, Wolverine Aquatics, 2000-04
• Head coach, Battle Creek Aquatic Club, 1998-2000
• Head coach, Marshall Community Swim Club, 1997-98
Q. SWIMMING WORLD: How did you get started swimming?
A. COACH JOE PLANE: I grew up swimming in my grandparent’s backyard pool, but never swam competitively. I quit Boy Scouts in November of seventh grade when a friend and I joined a swim team. I’ve been in love with it ever since.
SW: Kelly Kremer was your coach at John Brown University.
JP: He was 24, and I was 20. Kelly was mature, professional, excited, high-energy, knowledgeable…and he pushed us to our limits. Knowing he was from Drury College, we knew how fast he was and that he was used to winning nationals every year. He wanted us to perform at the highest level of which we were capable. I swam new events that became my best. Back then, we swam with drag resistance. I went extreme, wearing five briefs, long johns, cut-off long johns and a female suit. At the University of Minnesota, he is only three hours away. We talk regularly and are still very close.
SW: With a background in mechanical engineering, math and physics, how did you end up as a swim coach?
JP: In 1997 while at an engineering internship, my high school coach John Hamlin called and asked if I’d be interested in coaching a rec team. I coached part time from April 1997 until November 2000 when I was offered my first full time coaching job as the head coach at Wolverine Aquatics in Ann Arbor, Mich.
SW: What did you learn from coaches Jim Richardson, Bob Bowman and John Urbanchek… and from watching Michael Phelps work out?
JP: Coach Richardson liked my engineering mindset, and we talked often about the testing and use of the color charts in a variety of practice settings as well as team culture and leadership. He trusted my knowledge of stroke technique, and I often took the women to the diving well and used the underwater camera to make stroke adjustments.
Watching Jon work with Olympic-caliber men was enlightening. He related to them personally, and his constant positivity was infectious. Bob was more intense than Jon and Jim, and in some ways, more like my personality. He had fun with the swimmers, but the expectations and the intensity of the workouts were different. I also proctored a Michael workout one day. He was a normal guy with extraordinary talent.
To read our complete Q&A with Coach Joe Plane,
Click here to download the full February 2021 issue of Swimming World now!
[PHOTO BY DELLY CARR, SWIMMING AUSTRALIA]
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Swimming World Magazine February 2021 Issue
FEATURES
012 THE PRIDE OF GIRLS’ POLO IN THE GATEWAY CITY
by Michael Randazzo
When COVID-19 lockdowns last spring stopped polo, Rob Peglar and Abby VerMeer didn’t hesitate: they focused on getting girls water polo untracked in the Gateway City. The result: the St. Louis Lions, the city’s first all-girls team.
014 ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
by Dan D’Addona
The popular motto of The Musketeers, built on supporting each other as well as the group, is just one of many reasons why the University of Texas remains among the strongest in men’s college swimming and diving.
020 READY FOR A BREAKTHROUGH
by Andy Ross
Melanie Margalis is an Olympic relay gold medalist and a three-time relay champion at Worlds, but a podium finish in an individual event has eluded her on the world’s biggest stage. After ranking No. 1 in the 400 IM and No. 3 in the shorter medley for 2020, her turn to win a medal for the United States could take place this year in Tokyo.
022 PERSEVERANCE AND HARD WORK PAY OFF
by David Rieder
After not qualifying for Australia’s Olympic team in 2012, Emma McKeon was ready to quit…but over the next several months, she had a change of heart and understood what was necessary to compete at a higher level. Since then, she has become a significant international force, a consistent podium presence and one of the world’s most impactful relay swimmers.
026 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: TARNISHED GOLD
by John Lohn
East Germany’s Kristin Otto will long be remembered as a highly decorated athlete, and for turning in one of the greatest Olympic outings in history, winning six gold medals at the 1988 Games. But because of the links to her and performance-enhancing drugs, what she accomplished—before and in Seoul—will always be tainted.
029 WHO “SHOT” THE SWIMMERS? (Part 2)
by Bruce Wigo
Shortly after the 1936 Olympics in a lab in Boston, Harold “Doc” Edgerton, an electrical engineering professor at MIT, began tinkering with equipment that would change the way science explains natural phenomena—and with it, the art of aquatic sports photography—forever.
032 NUTRITION: TO BE THE BEST, YOU NEED TO EAT THE BEST!
by Dawn Weatherwax
Each year really does build onto another—nutrition is an imperative part of the process, even at an early age.
COACHING
016 SELLING PROCESS TO SWIMMERS (Part 2)
by Michael J. Stott
In 1993, psychologist Anders Ericsson wrote that greatness wasn’t born, but grown. Fifteen years later, author Malcolm Gladwell suggested that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a skill or field. Known by the term, “process,” swim coaches use that learning curve to improve the performance of their swimmers.
036 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: FREESTYLE TECHNIQUE FOR SPRINT AND DISTANCE (Part 2)
by Rod Havriluk
Optimal freestyle technique for sprint and distance is identical with respect to the arm motion throughout the stroke cycle, but the arm coordination is different. While a swimmer can swim a wide range of velocities with opposition coordination, a swimmer will only achieve his/her fastest velocity with superposition coordination.
040 SPECIAL SETS: TRAINING THE PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE—THEN AND NOW
by Michael J. Stott
In his lengthy career, Gregg Troy has mentored athletes of all ages and abilities, which has given him a unique perspective of how to prepare post-college grads for excellence at the international level.
042 Q&A WITH COACH JOE PLANE
by Michael J. Stott
044 HOW THEY TRAIN ANDREW IVERSON
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
035 DRYSIDE TRAINING: TIME TO GET STRONG…AGAIN!
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
038 GOLDMINDS: JUST GO WITH THE FLOW
by Wayne Goldsmith
How can you control—and even master—your emotions? The answer is by learning to become a more resilient swimmer. Here’s how…
046 UP & COMERS: RICHARD POPLAWSKI
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS
010 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
011 DID YOU KNOW:
ABOUT FREDERICK LANE?
047 GUTTERTALK
049 PARTING SHOT
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