crdesantis's blog

Faithful followers have probably noticed a sharp change over the last few months. Its been nearly a month since the last full post and even before that my pace had slowed to a trickle. The truth is, I'm at a crossroads that I knew I would get to. I just thought it was farther in the future. Let me explain.

USA Swimming released the criteria that they will use to choose our next National Team Director today. The posting is full of generalities, but is it possible to read between the lines and see what USA Swimming is looking for?

I never thought I would be typing these words. Mark Schubert is out as National Team Director, and I think he got a raw deal. Although I've disagreed with a number of decisions that Mark has made during his tenure, the secrecy that surrounded his firing is just another example of the dangerous precedent being set in Colorado Springs.

Before I pat myself on the back for being the first swim blogger outside of the country to be all over this Faroe Islands phenomenon, I have to apologize. Since getting married my blog updates have been sparse and punctuated by grouchy facebook messages. Well, hopefully it all stops to day with this rambling, shoot from the hip post. Lets get to it:

With the Commonwealth games done, its time to wrap up 2010's Long Course swimming season in a bow and make hasty, purely subjective judgments on everything that happened. I'm going to pay particular attention the hometown team (USA), but its impossible to discuss where we are without considering the rest of the world. First, I'll discuss the overall state of team USA and then jump around with random quick hit thoughts in true attention deficit style.

Writer's Note: I am not so insane that I actually wrote a blog about Swimming on my wedding day. I wrote this blog on the Wednesday before my wedding and sent it to The Athlete Village to  post for me on my actual wedding day.

I'm getting married. That I'm writing about it in this space begs the obvious reaction: "great, good for you, but what does it have to do with swimming?". That's precisely what I mean to write about. My life is inextricably tied up in swimming, and so it will be there in many ways this weekend.

TO:                  National Team Athletes & Coaches

                        National Team Steering Committee

FROM:             Chuck Wielgus, Executive Director

The final full day for everyone included a five hour session including officer reports, elections, legislation and concluded with the USA Swimming Banquet and naming of Swimmer of the Year. Budgetary constraints led to our LSCs planned early departure, leaving after the business meeting and missing the banquet.

Officer Reports

The coaches meeting started off with Coach Rose reporting the state of
the starts, turns and underwater performance of the Jr Pan Pac team.
The consensus amongst those coaches present was that USA Swimming was
not on par with the Aussies and many of the Japanese in the execution
of these elements. According to footage and first hand accounts,
Americans out swam everyone in the middle, but failed in the starts
and exchanges category. Interestingly, the blame got put on USA
Swimming by several people stating footage of the best is not being

The USA Swimming Blogger X Blogs are a series of journal entries from an anonymous coach at the USA Swimming convention. He is checking in daily by e-mail with me to give these reports: