My number one goal is to create an environment of fun and excitement, with positive competition. I want to keep things upbeat and be supportive, while taking opportunities to coach and mentor these young athletes. If they are excited to get up earlier than they got up for school, and are ready to come visit me, then I'm doing my job right.

You will hear me use words like be a (monster, warrior, champion, beast, winner, etc.) and my goal here is to get each individual to recognize their potential, and strive for greatness within their own lens. This concept will live far beyond just the swimming pool when the focus is “me VS me”.

I believe that “winning” has nothing to do with podium positions, and everything to do with owning one's self and reaching for your highest potential. I want to instill the winning mentality in our team because it is full of future nurses, doctors, teachers, business owners, lawyers, bankers, mothers, and fathers, as well as athletes. If they did their best, tried their hardest, and are willing to keep working to be better in the future, they are winning.

I aim to teach our kids to be okay with loss, disappointment, and hurt. Not ignore it, but rather embrace it and become more of a monster because of it. I will often let the kids know that they get 5 minutes to be mad, sad, or overall upset about a particular result or event in private. I will not tolerate bad sportsmanship in the pool or on the deck. But they are allowed to fold it up, pack it away, and bring it back out the next time they step on the blocks or into the practice pool.

The cool thing about race sports is that there are plenty of moments to practice aligning mindset with physical and emotional output, and then receiving instant feedback.

I know some of this is deep, and we are a simple summer program with a lot of youngsters, but I want everyone to understand where my mind is, and how I view developing athletes. These are my philosophies: (see the other tabs)