After spending the last two weeks making sure I am on the “black list” to keep me from ever landing a college coaching job, I want to put out something that will bring on a little less friction. :)
I just happened to run into Dave Denniston at one of his stops on the Fitter and Faster tour. I can't say enough about how friendly this guy is. We talked a little about a mutual friend who swam with him at Auburn and with me in Alaska before I turned the camera on. I have to say that Dave is hilarious, and you will see a little of that here, when he fills us in on the tour and some of the other important things he is doing for the sport of swimming.
A "Strange Observer of All Things Swimming" and "The Helmet and Horns of a Different Opinion."
Exogenous Ketones!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Our New Fearless Leader?
Oh crap...
Does anyone else smell that smoke? Can an aquatic sport actually burn to the ground?
Mark Emmert is the new head of the NCAA. Anyone remember who he is? He was the President of the University of Washington when they cut their swimming program during it's most successful year ever. I know he wasn't in charge at the time, but didn't UW also refuse to allow the Goodwill Games pool to be built on campus for free back in 1990, forcing it to it's location in Federal Way? And then they used lack of facility as an argument to cut swimming multiple times before it was finally killed for real?
Ummm... I can't help getting a little Han Solo vibe when I say it: "I have a bad feeling about this."
A quote from an article about his hiring:
The NCAA distributes nearly 96 percent of all revenue back to member schools, Emmert said.
Uh... yeah. I don't either unless the wrong people are deciding the priority list for what sports see the benefit. So far, the "values of the NCAA" is the part I am struggling with. Right now it almost seems that if a sport don't make money, it ain't got no value. If they had expanded to 96 teams in the men's tournament, I would have thrown up. There would have been almost half as many TEAMS in the championship for basketball as there are SWIMMERS in the D1 swim meet. Ouch. It's a good thing that was never a real possibility.
According to John Leonard on the MSS, when he talked about combining the men's and women's NCAA meets and possibly expanding the meets to allow conference champs with B cuts, former NCAA leader, Myles Brand, was an "enthusiastic supporter" of meet expansion and the idea of a temporary pool to host a major championship. I have a feeling that Mark Emmert is not going to be on board at all.
I think that when most people listen to Mr. Leonard's proposal, they stop listening as soon as one of his 5 points rubs them the wrong way. Listen carefully to what he is proposing. He says that the NCAA has "listed swimming as an endangered sport." The proposal is amazing and it goes right along with what we have been arguing about here all week. We need MAJOR changes like this to help our sport survive.
I hope that when the CSCAA votes next month, the stubborn coaches who like things the way they are don't politic and shut it down. This proposal is the first major thing I have heard in a long time that can take us in the right direction. Anyone who has a problem with "the girls invading the boys meet" is being selfish and is not really weighing out the positives. They are not thinking about the well-being of the sport as a whole.
I see the ASA U meet getting more popular every year. Lots more swimmers will have nowhere else to swim if we keep heading in the direction we are now.
Watch John Leonard's proposal here. Yes, the entire thing. Then use my comments section to shoot holes in it if you can.
Does anyone else smell that smoke? Can an aquatic sport actually burn to the ground?
Mark Emmert is the new head of the NCAA. Anyone remember who he is? He was the President of the University of Washington when they cut their swimming program during it's most successful year ever. I know he wasn't in charge at the time, but didn't UW also refuse to allow the Goodwill Games pool to be built on campus for free back in 1990, forcing it to it's location in Federal Way? And then they used lack of facility as an argument to cut swimming multiple times before it was finally killed for real?
Ummm... I can't help getting a little Han Solo vibe when I say it: "I have a bad feeling about this."
A quote from an article about his hiring:
The NCAA distributes nearly 96 percent of all revenue back to member schools, Emmert said.
"The most important issue is to recognize the NCAA does in fact engage in a variety of activities that generate revenue, the basketball tournament being the most dominant one of those by far," he said. "That's not inconsistent at all with the goals and values of the NCAA."
"The question is, what do you do with those resources? If those resources are deployed toward advancing the values and interest of intercollegiate athletics and student athletes, I don't see an inherent contradiction there at all."Uh... yeah. I don't either unless the wrong people are deciding the priority list for what sports see the benefit. So far, the "values of the NCAA" is the part I am struggling with. Right now it almost seems that if a sport don't make money, it ain't got no value. If they had expanded to 96 teams in the men's tournament, I would have thrown up. There would have been almost half as many TEAMS in the championship for basketball as there are SWIMMERS in the D1 swim meet. Ouch. It's a good thing that was never a real possibility.
According to John Leonard on the MSS, when he talked about combining the men's and women's NCAA meets and possibly expanding the meets to allow conference champs with B cuts, former NCAA leader, Myles Brand, was an "enthusiastic supporter" of meet expansion and the idea of a temporary pool to host a major championship. I have a feeling that Mark Emmert is not going to be on board at all.
I think that when most people listen to Mr. Leonard's proposal, they stop listening as soon as one of his 5 points rubs them the wrong way. Listen carefully to what he is proposing. He says that the NCAA has "listed swimming as an endangered sport." The proposal is amazing and it goes right along with what we have been arguing about here all week. We need MAJOR changes like this to help our sport survive.
I hope that when the CSCAA votes next month, the stubborn coaches who like things the way they are don't politic and shut it down. This proposal is the first major thing I have heard in a long time that can take us in the right direction. Anyone who has a problem with "the girls invading the boys meet" is being selfish and is not really weighing out the positives. They are not thinking about the well-being of the sport as a whole.
I see the ASA U meet getting more popular every year. Lots more swimmers will have nowhere else to swim if we keep heading in the direction we are now.
Watch John Leonard's proposal here. Yes, the entire thing. Then use my comments section to shoot holes in it if you can.
In case you missed these...
Split Time: NCAA meet discussion
and "The Swim Brief" podcast I missed out on because I am a stupid idiot, is here.
and "The Swim Brief" podcast I missed out on because I am a stupid idiot, is here.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Would a Regional System Really Be That Bad?
Most of the comments in the last week agree that even if the “conference champs with B cuts” isn’t your favorite idea, we need to look at getting away from, or at least rethinking, our whacked out selection formula that Joe Pabst Blue Ribbon the sports fan and your Athletic Director will never understand.
When I say, “regional system” I know that since you are all swimmers, your first thought is probably the same as mine: “No one is going to support an idea that forces us to taper for a conference, then a regional, then nationals!” We all at least understand the concept of the regional system enough to understand that it means we have another step in the process, and for swimmers who meticulously plan tapers to peak at the right time, that is a scary prospect. What I am asking is for you to consider whether the benefits outweigh the negatives. It works on several levels.
If we were to divide the country up into regional meets and invite everyone with a B cut to those meets, we could let them all duke it out head to head to see who really deserves to be at the big show. Teams could pay their way to the regional and the NCAA would only pay for the final meet. The regional would be a part of the national meet, the same way the regional is considered a part of the national tournament for other sports. This way, everyone with a B cut is a “national qualifier“-- in fact, we would only need one cut.
The regional system addresses the concern that if conference champs with B cuts are allowed, teams might try to migrate to another conference for an easier chance at an automatic berth. It might also get rid of the idea that a team in a weaker conference gets to coast in to the meet, (as Texas is accused of now in the 3 team Big 12,) the same way individual swimmers might be able to do in the weaker mid-major conferences. Especially with the recent announcements of the possible realignment of the major conferences, we need to be aware of the effects this has. In the regional system, we could throw the conference alignments out the window during the post-season and assign teams to each region based on what would be the most even and fair.
In the regional system, we would be creating an “Olympic Trials” type atmosphere in that the stakes are high. If you don’t get the job done that day, your season is over. In this format, we might not be contributing to parity nearly as much as if we were allowing conference champs, but at least no one can say the small school kid didn’t get his chance. He was part of the “national selection meet” by participating at the regional and he raced those guys in person. Face to face. He had his legitimate shot.
The regional system would automatically get rid of the relay “loophole," simply because there would be no “bonus swims” just because you are there. Let them put whoever they want on a relay. No one swims an individual event unless they earned their spot in that event at the regional.
We would have to decide how many regional meets to have and how many swimmers we would want to move on to the big show in each event. We would also have to decide if we would want to take any more swimmers based on times to fill to a certain number. For example, I would prefer to see six regional meets. 5 per individual event qualify from each region, and then we take the next 5 fastest times to choose who gets in from the 6-7-8th places that are left in the regional final. That makes 35 spots at nationals, which equals the number who qualify for the diving events. Remember, diving already has a zone system that is very similar to this. For relays, I would like to see 3 from each regional to make 18, and then the next two fastest.
Those “next fastest times” would have to be times from the regional. Just like the others, you earn it that day or stay home. I would not be opposed to allowing swimmers in the B final, who missed the top 8 in the prelim, to take one of those “next fastest” spots even if he is 9th place at the regional. He would not have access to the automatic berth of a top 5 place, but he could still take a spot if he swam a fast enough time.
Why have a B final at the regional? I think that the regional should be scored just like any other championship meet. Why take that excitement away? Winning your regional should mean something too.
It is hard to do a cost analysis to know how many should qualify and how many relays to take, but it doesn’t really matter. The numbers could be worked out later. I would love to see more than 35 get in if it is not too outrageously expensive. I would like to see more like 48 individuals and 24 relays, but dollars are probably too much of an issue. Of course, with the new 10.8 billion dollar contract they just signed with CBS and Turner, the NCAA could probably afford to help us expand the meet. Right?
Some of you might also appreciate this aspect of it all if you were one of the unlucky swimmers who has been left hanging in this way: swimmers would know if they qualified immediately on that day! No more leaving swimmers to work out on their own, hanging in limbo for weeks before they know if they even have another meet to swim at! How stupid has that part of our system been! “Hey, you keep working out just in case while your teammates are all partying to celebrate the end of a great season!” That is torture! In a regional system, we know who is in when the dust settles that night!
Back to the issue of stretching a taper over conference, regional and nats… Has anyone ever asked a track coach how they manage that? Many of the swimmers who would potentially earn a spot have hit their B cuts in dual meets or December invites, and everyone will be in the same boat in that they will all have to decide for themselves how much rest to give their swimmers for the conference and regional. I think that risk ups the stakes a bit, wouldn’t you say? I think that would make it more interesting.
No matter what you think of the current system, you have to admit that there is some value in exploring this option. No crazy formula. No bonus swims. No one is left out of the post-season because we would have one Q time to reach the regional. No one leaves feeling they did not get a fair shake. Coaches are smart. They would adapt, and their swimmers would adapt with them. With a regional system, we are not addressing parity as much as in the “conference champs with B cuts” idea, but it would be easy to place some kind of roster limit, which is an idea that was brought up several times in the comments.
Mid-majors would have a fair shot because they would get to actually race the people they need to beat to get in, we would eliminate some of our loopholes that contribute to our lack of parity at the big meet, we would be nearing a more accepted method of qualification, and we just might have a shot at earning a few more fans from outside our fishbowl.
It is at least worth thinking it through. Lots of details to work out. Sound off below.
When I say, “regional system” I know that since you are all swimmers, your first thought is probably the same as mine: “No one is going to support an idea that forces us to taper for a conference, then a regional, then nationals!” We all at least understand the concept of the regional system enough to understand that it means we have another step in the process, and for swimmers who meticulously plan tapers to peak at the right time, that is a scary prospect. What I am asking is for you to consider whether the benefits outweigh the negatives. It works on several levels.
If we were to divide the country up into regional meets and invite everyone with a B cut to those meets, we could let them all duke it out head to head to see who really deserves to be at the big show. Teams could pay their way to the regional and the NCAA would only pay for the final meet. The regional would be a part of the national meet, the same way the regional is considered a part of the national tournament for other sports. This way, everyone with a B cut is a “national qualifier“-- in fact, we would only need one cut.
The regional system addresses the concern that if conference champs with B cuts are allowed, teams might try to migrate to another conference for an easier chance at an automatic berth. It might also get rid of the idea that a team in a weaker conference gets to coast in to the meet, (as Texas is accused of now in the 3 team Big 12,) the same way individual swimmers might be able to do in the weaker mid-major conferences. Especially with the recent announcements of the possible realignment of the major conferences, we need to be aware of the effects this has. In the regional system, we could throw the conference alignments out the window during the post-season and assign teams to each region based on what would be the most even and fair.
In the regional system, we would be creating an “Olympic Trials” type atmosphere in that the stakes are high. If you don’t get the job done that day, your season is over. In this format, we might not be contributing to parity nearly as much as if we were allowing conference champs, but at least no one can say the small school kid didn’t get his chance. He was part of the “national selection meet” by participating at the regional and he raced those guys in person. Face to face. He had his legitimate shot.
The regional system would automatically get rid of the relay “loophole," simply because there would be no “bonus swims” just because you are there. Let them put whoever they want on a relay. No one swims an individual event unless they earned their spot in that event at the regional.
We would have to decide how many regional meets to have and how many swimmers we would want to move on to the big show in each event. We would also have to decide if we would want to take any more swimmers based on times to fill to a certain number. For example, I would prefer to see six regional meets. 5 per individual event qualify from each region, and then we take the next 5 fastest times to choose who gets in from the 6-7-8th places that are left in the regional final. That makes 35 spots at nationals, which equals the number who qualify for the diving events. Remember, diving already has a zone system that is very similar to this. For relays, I would like to see 3 from each regional to make 18, and then the next two fastest.
Those “next fastest times” would have to be times from the regional. Just like the others, you earn it that day or stay home. I would not be opposed to allowing swimmers in the B final, who missed the top 8 in the prelim, to take one of those “next fastest” spots even if he is 9th place at the regional. He would not have access to the automatic berth of a top 5 place, but he could still take a spot if he swam a fast enough time.
Why have a B final at the regional? I think that the regional should be scored just like any other championship meet. Why take that excitement away? Winning your regional should mean something too.
It is hard to do a cost analysis to know how many should qualify and how many relays to take, but it doesn’t really matter. The numbers could be worked out later. I would love to see more than 35 get in if it is not too outrageously expensive. I would like to see more like 48 individuals and 24 relays, but dollars are probably too much of an issue. Of course, with the new 10.8 billion dollar contract they just signed with CBS and Turner, the NCAA could probably afford to help us expand the meet. Right?
Some of you might also appreciate this aspect of it all if you were one of the unlucky swimmers who has been left hanging in this way: swimmers would know if they qualified immediately on that day! No more leaving swimmers to work out on their own, hanging in limbo for weeks before they know if they even have another meet to swim at! How stupid has that part of our system been! “Hey, you keep working out just in case while your teammates are all partying to celebrate the end of a great season!” That is torture! In a regional system, we know who is in when the dust settles that night!
Back to the issue of stretching a taper over conference, regional and nats… Has anyone ever asked a track coach how they manage that? Many of the swimmers who would potentially earn a spot have hit their B cuts in dual meets or December invites, and everyone will be in the same boat in that they will all have to decide for themselves how much rest to give their swimmers for the conference and regional. I think that risk ups the stakes a bit, wouldn’t you say? I think that would make it more interesting.
No matter what you think of the current system, you have to admit that there is some value in exploring this option. No crazy formula. No bonus swims. No one is left out of the post-season because we would have one Q time to reach the regional. No one leaves feeling they did not get a fair shake. Coaches are smart. They would adapt, and their swimmers would adapt with them. With a regional system, we are not addressing parity as much as in the “conference champs with B cuts” idea, but it would be easy to place some kind of roster limit, which is an idea that was brought up several times in the comments.
Mid-majors would have a fair shot because they would get to actually race the people they need to beat to get in, we would eliminate some of our loopholes that contribute to our lack of parity at the big meet, we would be nearing a more accepted method of qualification, and we just might have a shot at earning a few more fans from outside our fishbowl.
It is at least worth thinking it through. Lots of details to work out. Sound off below.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I missed my chance to be on The Swim Brief!
So… I didn’t make it on the Swim Brief pod cast the other night, (my bad,) but I at least got confirmation that Chris, Mike and Garrett talked about the “conference champs with B cuts” idea. I haven’t heard it yet, but it will be up in the next couple of days at The Athlete Village and on itunes. I was a little bummed that I missed it because I was excited all day about having my chance to pretend I was in the same room as some of the smartest guys in swimming. I had even prepared an awesome rant for them. I rehearsed while I was driving to my meeting. I am pretty sure I would have nailed it. As soon as they brought up the topic of changing the D1 selection system, I was gonna say this:
“Here is what the problem boils down to, guys. The fact is, the mid-majors work harder than everyone else! Everyone knows they are better looking than everyone else! In my opinion, they deserve a free pass to the Division 1 meet! We oughtta be flying all those mid-major kids out there and putting ‘em up on the medal stand and taking pictures. We should be buying them medals and flowers and having a gigantic parade. Hell, we should get their girlfriends out there too and send them on a shopping spree because that is what you do for people when they're that awesome.
The mid-majors are bad-asses and it is time all the big schools learned to face their fears and come to terms with it. What in the hell are they so scared of, huh? Come on, Gregg Troy! Come on, Eddie Reese! You know it’s true! You know that if Fat Jack and his Bad News Bears show up, they are gonna raid your pic-a-nic basket and eat your damn lunch! Deal with it and change the damn system already!”
No, really. I would have nailed it. I was even gonna slam my fist on the table, and maybe start talking about myself in the third person, Craig Lord style. Hells ya. I was ready.
Please realize it’s a joke, big guys. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. It’s all in fun. But you know, if Eddie Reese calls Jack and sets up a dual because I threw down the gauntlet... well, I hope they have it in Springfield so I can head over there and watch. :)
“Here is what the problem boils down to, guys. The fact is, the mid-majors work harder than everyone else! Everyone knows they are better looking than everyone else! In my opinion, they deserve a free pass to the Division 1 meet! We oughtta be flying all those mid-major kids out there and putting ‘em up on the medal stand and taking pictures. We should be buying them medals and flowers and having a gigantic parade. Hell, we should get their girlfriends out there too and send them on a shopping spree because that is what you do for people when they're that awesome.
The mid-majors are bad-asses and it is time all the big schools learned to face their fears and come to terms with it. What in the hell are they so scared of, huh? Come on, Gregg Troy! Come on, Eddie Reese! You know it’s true! You know that if Fat Jack and his Bad News Bears show up, they are gonna raid your pic-a-nic basket and eat your damn lunch! Deal with it and change the damn system already!”
No, really. I would have nailed it. I was even gonna slam my fist on the table, and maybe start talking about myself in the third person, Craig Lord style. Hells ya. I was ready.
Please realize it’s a joke, big guys. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. It’s all in fun. But you know, if Eddie Reese calls Jack and sets up a dual because I threw down the gauntlet... well, I hope they have it in Springfield so I can head over there and watch. :)
Friday, April 23, 2010
Keep the discussion moving!
Sorry for the delay on the regional system post. It might have to wait until after the weekend. If I get a chance to finish it, I will post. To keep the discussion chugging along, be sure to tune in to Split Time on SwimmingWorld.TV this weekend. Garrett skyped me to talk about the issues. It does not go into as much detail as the comments have here, but hopefully it will bring more people in on the discussion and we will hear more great ideas. I really feel that getting everyone's thoughts out there is an important thing. Keep the ideas coming.
Also, Garrett McCaffrey, Mike Gustafson and Chris DeSantis might invite me in as a guest swim-geek on their weekly podcast "The Swim Brief" to do more of the same. Check out last week's inaugural episode here. No promises that I will be on the show, but I think they are gonna touch on the D1 meet topic either way.
While I am posting this, I have to include the link to the Swimming World's write up of the controversy at the ASA U National meet. Please go there and read the comments. It is hilarious and disturbing at the same time. I read it and immediately started thinking that this would make a great "Bad News Bears meets Major League" style swimming movie. I am hoping that someday the swim-nerds all get together and take this on as a project. I think that this could be the beginning of something really fun in the future. I have been boo'd at a swim meet before. Long story involving the "Cinci, Cinci, Cincinnati Parents!" (Do the parents for the Cinci team still do a cheer in the bleachers?) Anyway, I felt like a movie star that day. The ASA U meet sounds like it took that to a whole new level. Maybe next year they will settle their differences in the parking lot after they duke it out in the pool. :)
Also, Garrett McCaffrey, Mike Gustafson and Chris DeSantis might invite me in as a guest swim-geek on their weekly podcast "The Swim Brief" to do more of the same. Check out last week's inaugural episode here. No promises that I will be on the show, but I think they are gonna touch on the D1 meet topic either way.
While I am posting this, I have to include the link to the Swimming World's write up of the controversy at the ASA U National meet. Please go there and read the comments. It is hilarious and disturbing at the same time. I read it and immediately started thinking that this would make a great "Bad News Bears meets Major League" style swimming movie. I am hoping that someday the swim-nerds all get together and take this on as a project. I think that this could be the beginning of something really fun in the future. I have been boo'd at a swim meet before. Long story involving the "Cinci, Cinci, Cincinnati Parents!" (Do the parents for the Cinci team still do a cheer in the bleachers?) Anyway, I felt like a movie star that day. The ASA U meet sounds like it took that to a whole new level. Maybe next year they will settle their differences in the parking lot after they duke it out in the pool. :)
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