When Great Swim Coaches go to the 'Big Pool'

Coach Rathke

I really don't recall when Brian Rathke become a role model, it seemed like he was there forever sometimes boldly in front and other time quietly in the background, but always there. 

Somewhere in those early AAU age group years he kept order. Those formative silly days, he corralled us from running around the pool deck, stopped us from snapping each other with towels to often, kept the atomic sit-ups and if got into real trouble the famous "60 second" treatment wasn't far behind. By todays standards... well thats something we swimmers keep to ourselves. Lets suffice it to say with Brian you knew where the rules were and where you stood.

As we got older he kept us on task both in school and in the pool, keeping us focused on doing well while teaching us life lessons. He used swimming as a teaching tool to focus us on how to achieve goals, do well in life, sometimes outside of our comfort zone.

I remember early on learning that he was one of the fastest 50 butter flyers in the world, until this guy named Mark Spitz came along. I was always awed by this and impressed as he would challenge us kids to races and easily whack us off one at a time. I don't think anyone ever beat him? 

At the same time he somehow understood that fun and tradition was essential to life, a way to mark our path for others to follow. He let us play, grow, and have fun. Yet you always knew he expected more, better, faster. Somehow he fostered a group of kids into fierce competitors that respected each other making us into winners with the winningest duel meet record in the history of Indiana and perhaps the country. Yet none of us were olympians, a few state champions, but always a team. Lets be honest we were average kids he molded into winners.

As we graduated and went our own ways, some kept in touch regularly, others less so but as the years came on and we would run into one another the conversation would naturally drift back to coach. What’s he up to, how’s he doing, still swimming – nope but his kids are, who’s winning for him now, etc. Some went on to coach and even became more successful. Was he the only influence? Of course not.  Chris Shorthouse himself a kind persistent leader was always present. Older swimmers who learned under Brian gave lessons to us younger kids along the way, names like Gibson, Neff, and Fult to name a few.

Swimming is one of the unique activities in life that forces someone to display themselves publicly forcing you to become confident, a better human both inside and out. Bryan took each one of us, like an unpainted canvass and added color, texture, waves. Working with parents, teachers, and friends to support and guide us to adulthood.

Nowhere across this spectrum of lives do you find a loser, a failure. Sure we are all different but thats life. That’s really the amazing takeaway.

Thank you coach. Ill see you someday, but not just yet, Ive got some more laps to swim.

Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the water. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions. 

Brian saw each of us perhaps like a Starfish?

Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching.  As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea.  The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning!  May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.” The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

Adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley (1907 – 1977)

In the beginning....God made the earth, then God made man and man wanted to go for a swim

Welcome


I am inviting you to share (should you choose) in one of my life dreams - to swim the English Channel. Perhaps while sharing this journey we may both be inspired.

This journey while rigorous will be fun, filled with many ups and downs but ultimately no different than life itself. It is the journey that defines oneself.

Please know upfront five things are important to me: my family, my god, your friendship, my community and the journey. Everything else follows. I have the utmost respect to know the first four tenants of my journey lead to the last and this is why I ask for your support?


Lets answer that nagging question WHY? For a moment, open your mind to when you were young and dreamed. As you got older you began to ask yourself, Why ......(you fill in the blank)? Seeking knowledge may have been your answer but deeper, wasn't there more? And today your wise enough to know it is the journey that matters as the result is a forgone conclusion to a successful journey?


For me "why" is simple - Can I swim across the English Channel? Asking"why" presumes you have an outcome, end or result already in mind otherwise why ask the question? Its the "how" that matters isn't it?


My journey is to fulfill one of my life long dreams - swimming the English Channel. It began many years ago when my parents signed me up for swim lessons in Indiana. Their desire to raise their kids in small town America was strong and grew from their up-bringing in rural Midwest states. Later they signed me up for the local swim club with the usual parental desire of helping their child become a better person by learning "life skills" via a sport that creates this opportunity through personal focus, challenge and team work. Thus my journey began and I didn't even know it?


So here are the first steps of my plan.

This blog will be the central place to update folks on where I am in this journey and to hopefully receive feedback. Ultimately I hope to incorporate charitable and maybe even sponsorship features.

During this investigation phase getting the logistic's understood and time table is key. I am already swimming an average 20,000 yards per week (11 miles for you land lubbers) but this is just the beginning. I need to do this for a year to get the base needed and then increase up to 38,000 yards as the event nears. I am gathering input from many places, former channel swimmers, teammates on the local Masters swim club - some of whom are really good coaches and swimmers in their own rite, doctors, physiologists, etc. I am seeking the advice from actual channel experiences to formulate the road map.

Physical preparation is a two year effort and will have many hard tests just to check on progress, give myself an at ta-boy once and awhile and to ensure I scale-up correctly. In this early stage, I plan for one month of work for each mile but this will change as advice warrants. I would like to devise milestones along the way that build endurance, physical, cold water and mental experiences into the journey. For this I plan to seek input from those who have come before me like Marcia Cleveland, multi-time channel swimmer and author of Dover Solo who lives here locally among others.

Weather is a huge part of the equation during the swim and this I cannot control unless Poseidon or Oceanus decide to help. I will continue to swim in all types of good and bad weather, day or night and wavy or calm as I understand the channel can change very quickly.

The cold is another key factor and this requires steady acclamation leading up to the event. Warm showers are a thing of the past and finding cold swims 56f + are preferred. This will mean early spring and late fall practices in nearby Lake Michigan.