As a childhood athlete, I suffered a severe injury, which after multiple surgeries resulted in a fused right hip causing a life-long disability. After years of fighting the pain and relying on medications to help me manage my day-to-day life I decided I had had enough and started swimming. In the water I found a strength I didn’t know I had and began seeing improvements in my physical health. I self-coached my way out of my failing body and became a predominant and competitive ultra marathon swimmer.
While residing in Nebraska, I was a permanent resident of local pools, and this led to the beginning of my swim coaching. I coached all age groups, including some club teams, but found my calling in the Master’s program. I coached Masters for five years between the YMCA and Lifetime Fitness in Omaha, Nebraska.
My passion for swimming led to additional opportunities for me to lead and inspire others through this sport. I was selected to be the Open Water Race Director for the Cornhusker State Games. I led this race for 3 years, including the year in which Nebraska hosted the State Games of America.
I wanted to do more, and had a love for Lake Okoboji, Iowa where I spent my summers as a kid swimming in the lake, so I decided to found my own open water swim race – Swamthat. The race was designed as a loop course to provide options for all levels of competitors -2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10K distances. My wife and I ran this race for 5 years prior to moving to Arizona.
Once we made the move to Arizona, my love of open water became a year-round obsession with no need for a wetsuit. Since I am a dedicated open water swimmer and have personal knowledge and experience, I know all of the tricks and can teach these as well as the fundamentals of swimming. I can take what you already know, refine it, and fill in the gaps and realize your potential to allow for immediate improvement.
I’ve recently started the second part of my swim story, in 2022 I had my hip fusion taken down and had a full hip replacement. Due to different physiology, I have had to adjust and retrain my body. This experience has increased my knowledge of the sport and provided additional insight into the required strength and cross-training strategies required to become an efficient open water swimmer. I’m continuing my training to become a Channel swimmer in the future (haven’t done it yet, need to get the kids through college first).
While swim coaching is something I do on the side, my full-time job reinforces some of the skills I apply to swimming. As an analyst, seeing quirks and potential is naturally engrained. I can see inefficiencies in stroke and can understand how to correct them. From there, it’s about strength and repetition to train your body to success, and I can design a training program tailored specifically to your goals.
I am excited to be part of your swim story and look forward to helping you achieve success!
While residing in Nebraska, I was a permanent resident of local pools, and this led to the beginning of my swim coaching. I coached all age groups, including some club teams, but found my calling in the Master’s program. I coached Masters for five years between the YMCA and Lifetime Fitness in Omaha, Nebraska.
My passion for swimming led to additional opportunities for me to lead and inspire others through this sport. I was selected to be the Open Water Race Director for the Cornhusker State Games. I led this race for 3 years, including the year in which Nebraska hosted the State Games of America.
I wanted to do more, and had a love for Lake Okoboji, Iowa where I spent my summers as a kid swimming in the lake, so I decided to found my own open water swim race – Swamthat. The race was designed as a loop course to provide options for all levels of competitors -2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10K distances. My wife and I ran this race for 5 years prior to moving to Arizona.
Once we made the move to Arizona, my love of open water became a year-round obsession with no need for a wetsuit. Since I am a dedicated open water swimmer and have personal knowledge and experience, I know all of the tricks and can teach these as well as the fundamentals of swimming. I can take what you already know, refine it, and fill in the gaps and realize your potential to allow for immediate improvement.
I’ve recently started the second part of my swim story, in 2022 I had my hip fusion taken down and had a full hip replacement. Due to different physiology, I have had to adjust and retrain my body. This experience has increased my knowledge of the sport and provided additional insight into the required strength and cross-training strategies required to become an efficient open water swimmer. I’m continuing my training to become a Channel swimmer in the future (haven’t done it yet, need to get the kids through college first).
While swim coaching is something I do on the side, my full-time job reinforces some of the skills I apply to swimming. As an analyst, seeing quirks and potential is naturally engrained. I can see inefficiencies in stroke and can understand how to correct them. From there, it’s about strength and repetition to train your body to success, and I can design a training program tailored specifically to your goals.
I am excited to be part of your swim story and look forward to helping you achieve success!