Speakers
ISHOF Clinic
Eddie Reese
3x Olympic Head Coach
Eddie Reese's ability to train his athletes technically has been a big part of his success but his unique approach to swimming and training may be his best attribute. That combination is what makes Reese one of the world's finest coaches, regardless of sport. He possesses a thorough knowledge of swimming fundamentals, an eye for talent, a genuine care for his athletes, and the ability to communicate and motivate. Eddie Reese has established a tradition of excellence at the University of Texas and set the standard in collegiate swimming through his 46 years in Austin. A three-time United States Men's Olympic Team head coach, Reese is the winningest coach in the sport's history with 15 NCAA team titles, a figure that also positions Texas as the winningest NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving program. Reese's style has been the staple of the Longhorns program. Always calm, unflappable, amiable and quick with a joke, he is a man who likes to work hard but doesn't see why hard work must be dull. His Texas teams reflected the coach's personality. It is a loose bunch, but the team knows when to buckle down. In fact, Reese contends that his championship teams have excelled because they outworked everybody else. At Texas, team success derives from individual accomplishments. For Reese, the individual swimmers have priority. "I've always worried about the individual first," Reese said. "We don't talk about winning the NCAA Championship. We talk about what it takes for each individual to get better. What satisfies me as a coach is seeing people go faster than they ever have before. With that focus, we are in a battle for the championship every year. I like that, too." Reese came to Texas after a remarkable six-year rebuilding job at Auburn University. When he took the job at Auburn in 1972, he inherited a team that had not qualified a single swimmer for the finals or consolation finals of the Southeastern Conference Championships during the previous season. Six years later, the Tigers had produced four consecutive Top 10 showings at the NCAAs, culminating in a second-place finish in 1978. Prior to this he was a standout swimmer at the University of Florida where he graduated in 1963 and started his coaching career as an assistant coach. Reese and his wife, Elinor, have two daughters and four grandchildren. Eddie is also an avid fisher and hunter.
Mark Schubert
8x Olympic Head Coach
A native of Akron, Ohio, Mark attended the University of Kentucky where he swam and stayed on as an assistant coach after graduation. He later returned to Ohio where he coached Cuyahoga Falls High School and Waterwork Swim Club. A year later he made a bold move when he packed and moved to Southern California and took over a local rec team…the Mission Viejo Nadadores. In short order, they developed into a powerhouse winning 44 National Team Championships over the next thirteen years. Schubert then moved to Boca Raton, Florida to coach the newly created Mission Bay Makos. Here his teams won another 10 National Team Championships. The challenge of coaching college called and he went on to win NCAA’s team championships at the University of Texas and later at the University of Southern California. Over the years Mark has helped to develop numerous Olympians and world record holders (including Olympic gold medalists Brian Goodell, Shirley Babashoff, Janet Evans, Lenny Krayzelburg, Ous Mellouli, and Dara Torres to name a few). This resulted in his being named to eight USA Olympic Coaching Staffs. Because of his success and business acumen, he was asked to serve as USA Swimming’s National Team Director and Coach. He later went back into club coaching…first at Golden West Swim Club before returning to the Mission Viejo Nadadores. He is currently coaching The Swim Team (TST) in Lake Forest, California which recently qualified 2 swimmers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Dave Durden
At the recent Olympic Trials, Cal Aquatics placed 6 swimmers on the USA Olympic Team heading to Paris 2024. Durden speaks often about building relationships with his swimmers and growing those relationships in the course of their college careers and beyond as they transition into adult life or remain at Cal as professional athletes. Durden coaches each individual a bit differently, based on the relationship with a particular athlete and their shared experiences as a coach-swimmer duo. Maybe it’s working to build their confidence or maybe it’s honing in on a particular skill. Whatever the method, the results speak for themselves. California men’s swimming & diving under his guidance has established the Golden Bears as one of the premier collegiate and post-graduate programs in the country throughout the past 17 years. They have placed among the top two teams at the NCAA Championships each of the past 14 meets…winning 6 time. Durden has been named NCAA Coach of the Year six times during this span. For his efforts, Durden was charged with leading Team USA as the Head Men’s Coach for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The American men totaled 12 medals (8 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), including medals won by Cal greats Ryan Murphy and Tom Shields. In all, eight Cal swimmers reached the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while representing four different countries. Other Olympic medalists that Durden has coached prior to Tokyo are Anthony Ervin, Nathan Adrian, and Josh Prenot. At the recent Olympic Trials, Cal Aquatics had 6 swimmers make the USA team. Prior to his arrival in Berkeley, Dave served as an assistant coach at Auburn University and later as the head coach at the University of Maryland. A 1998 graduate of UC Irvine, Durden earned a degree in electrical engineering and was the Big West Conference champion in the 200 butterfly. He and his wife, Cathy, reside in Moraga with their two children.
Olympic Head Coach
Chris Plumb
USA Olympic Coach Paris 2024
Chris Plumb got his start at Carmel Swim Club as a part time age group coach in 2003. He took over as head coach of Carmel High School and Carmel Swim Club in 2006. Since then, Carmel has won 12 National and 29 Indiana State High School Championships. Overall, the girls’ team have won 37 consecutive state titles which is the longest winning streak nationally in any sport. Although successful prior to Chris’ arrival, the club team did not have a single individual qualify for Junior, Seniors, or Olympics Trials. Since then, they have had as many as 17 swimmers qualify for a single Olympic Trials, including two who represented the USA in the Tokyo Olympics. Overall, Carmel Swim Club has been a USA Swimming Gold Medal Club 10 times since 2010. Recently he placed 3 swimmers on the 2024 Paris Olympic Team and, as a result, was named to the Olympic coaching staff. Chris attended Indiana University where he was an All-American. He later served as an Assistant Coach at the University of Miami (FL) while working on his master’s degree. He then returned to Indiana as the head coach of the Bloomington South High School before moving to Carmel. Chris also founded the Carmel Swim Academy. He and his wife Emily have two sons William and Nicholas.
Bruce Gemmell
Olympic & World Championship
Head Coach
Bruce Gemmell has been involved in the sport for 50+ years as a swimmer, coach, and parent. He had a distinguished career in the 1980’s as a standout swimmer at the University of Michigan and was the 1982 Big Ten champion in the 400 individual medley. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1980 and 1984 but didn’t get near qualifying for either team. So he settled into a successful career as an engineering manager and consultant—he holds a dozen patents—while dabbling in coaching. His first coaching job was at Delaware Swim Team before moving on to Nation’s Capital Swim Club (NCAP) where he inherited a young Katie Ledecky who many consider to be the GOAT of female swimming. Because of his success with Katie and others, Bruce was named USAC and ASCA Coach of the Year 3 times. He has also been on the coaching staff st the 2016 Olympics and 2 World Championship Teams. In addition to the strong senior program, NCAP has had one of the top age group programs in the country over the years. They have been ranked #1 several times and have been a USA Swimming Gold Medal Team for 12 consecutive years. Bruce’s son Andrew who competed in the 1912 London Olympics and his daughter Erin who recently qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Lea Maurer
USC Head Coach
Lea Maurer finished her second year as the men’s and women’s head coach at the University of Southern California where her men’s team placed in the top 10 at the 2024 NCAA Championships. Prior to her tenure at Troy, Maurer was an Olympic gold medalist and later served as the Head Women’s Coach at Stanford for seven years. Lea (Loveless) Maurer was born in Yonkers, New York where she swam for John Collins at Badger Swim Club. She started her college career at the University of Florida before transferring to Stanford. Here she swam on 3 NCAA Championship teams while winning several individual events. Lea also won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. She graduated from Stanford with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies (1993) and a master’s in education (1994). Maurer began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Northwestern in 1994 before embarking on a highly successful 10-year run as the head boys’ and girls’ coach at Lake Forest (Ill.) High. Here her boys and girls teams won a mythical national titles along with 8 Illinois Swimming Association Coach of the Year honors. Among her star swimmers was eventual Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers. Lea is married to Erik Maurer, an NCAA champion, and they have two sons, Luke and Rex, who swam at Stanford.
Sergio Lopez
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4X Olympic Head Coach
Sergio Lopez Miro is a 4 time Olympic coach and a 2 time Olympian…winning a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Games. He was named Director of Virginia Tech Swimming and Diving in May of 2018. Since taking the helm, the Hokies have seen a quick raise in the national rankings, finishing in the top 10 the past 2 years. Internationally there were 10 swimmers coached by Lopez at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Sergio graduated from American University in 1992 with a degree in Kinesiology and was a 9 time All-American. He began his coaching career as a volunteer at Arizona in 1994 before becoming the technical director at the Cantabric Swimming Federation in Santander, Spain. He returned to the US as Head Coach of Hillenbrand Aquatics in Tucson, Arizona. He then rejoined the college ranks as an assistant at Northwestern. From here he became the Head Coach at the University of West Virginia where he was named Big 12 Coach of the Year 2 times. Lopez Miro then when to the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida where his boys claimed 4 SW Nationals Championships and his girls were runner-up 2 times. His list of notable pupils included Olympic gold medalists and NCAA champions Ryan Murphy and Joseph Schooling (of Singapore). He then took a position with the Singapore Swimming Association where he created and coached at their National Training Center. He then spent 2 years as the Associate Head Coach at Auburn before heading to Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. Sergio and his wife Sandy have two children…Harley and Cobi.
Elizabeth Beisel
3x Olympian
Elizabeth Beisel competed in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games. In 2012, she brought home two Olympic medals; a silver in the 400m Individual Medley, and a bronze in the 200m backstroke. At the 2016 Olympics, she was voted by her teammates to serve as Captain of the U.S. Olympic Team. Elizabeth was born and raised in Rhode Island. She attended the University of Florida where she won NCAA individual championships in the 200-yard backstroke and the 400-yard individual medley while earning eighteen All-American honors. She graduated with a 3.9 GPA and received recognition as a first-team Academic All-America. She was a member of the USA National team for 12 years and amassed a total of 14 U.S. National titles. Beisel also appeared as one of the castaways on the TV Show Survivor: She is also involved with philanthropic advocacy. She was the first and only women to swim the 12.5 miles to Block Island (Rhode Island) as a fund raiser for cancer research. Elizabeth is now a media contributor for NBC. She was a part of NBC’s 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Swimming coverage and is scheduled to be a correspondent/analyst at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She has also worked multiple Division 1 Swimming and Diving Conference Championships with ESPN. Beisel is a clinic favorite as she shares her experiences and knowledge with both coaches and swimmers. She is engaged to fellow Survivor participant, Jack Nichting.
Cullen Jones ​
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Olympic Gold Medalist
Cullen nearly drown when he was five years old which prompted his mother to enroll him in swimming classes. It didn’t take long before they realized his natural talent as a swimmer. Born in the Bronx, New York City, Cullen grew up in Irvington, New Jersey. He started his swimming career with the Metro Express Marlins (West Orange) and later swam with the Jersey Gators Swim Team (Cranford). After graduating from St. Benedict’s Prep School, he enrolled at North Carolina State University in 2002. As a member of the Wolfpack, he went on the win the NCAA Championships in the 50 freestyle. Cullen eventually graduated with a degree in English. At the 2008 US Olympic Trials Jones earned a spot on the US Olympic Team by placing 3rd in the 100 freestyle. In Beijing, Cullen was a member of the winning 4x100 free relay team. Four years later he qualified for the 2012 London Olympics. Here he won another gold medal swimming on the 4x100 medley relay breaking a world record in the process. He also earned a silver medal in the 50 freestyle and another as a member of the 4x100 freestyle relay. Throughout his career, Jones has been passionate about bringing more diversity to the sport of swimming. He serves as an Ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation and serves on their Board of Directors. Jones and his wife Rupi have a son Ayvn.
Dr. Genadijus
Sokolovas
Sports Psychologist
Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas (Dr G) is considered to be one of the world’s most accomplished sports physiologist. Genadijus was USA Swimming’s Director of Physiology & Director of Sport Science. Here he developed several innovative testing programs for USA Swimming’s Olympic and National Team members including Olympic gold medalists and world record holders Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, Jenny Thompson, Ryan Lochte, Aaron Peirsol, Gary Hall Jr., Anthony Ervin, Lenny Krayzelburg, and Cullen Jones. Overall, he has tested and worked with 115 Olympic Champions and 15,000+ swimmers from 125 countries, developed innovative swimming tests and databases. Dr. Sokolovas has provided testing feedback and advice to high schools, clubs, and universities such as Stanford, California Berkeley, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Southern California, Alabama, Auburn, Arizona, Arizona State, North Carolina, South Carolina. Dr G received his doctorate from the Russian Academy of Physical Education in Moscow where he used physiological, biochemical, and pedagogical testing programs to assess adaptation in swimming to different workloads. He received his BS and MS degrees from the Lithuanian University of Sport.
John Waldman
Fluid Mechanics (FM) is an aquatic consulting company that takes a unique visual approach to help competitive swimmers develop, achieve, and exceed their goals. Their swimmers have competed in every major international competition including the Olympics, World Championships, and World Games. FM was founded in 1987 by John B. Waldman, a renowned leader and visionary in competitive swimming instruction and a former world-ranked swimmer and record-holder at Indiana University. Waldman was mentored throughout his career by Dr. James E. Counsilman (four-timeme US Olympic Coach) – widely considered one of the most successful coaches of all time – who coached such swimming luminaries as Mark Spitz (7 gold medals 1972 Munich Olympics) along with gold medalists Gary Hall Sr., Charles Hickcox, and John Kinsella to name a few. FM uses a unique approach to dramatically improve swimmers' performance. Their visual training system, uses life-like avatars to teach the science of swimming. This ground- breaking system utilizes cutting edge technique, strength, in-water training methods, and mental strategies. With FM Animations, swimmers internalize advanced athletic concepts at-a-glance. Simply put, swimmers just see it, then do it.