By Coleman Hodges on SwimSwam
In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges, Garrett McCaffrey, and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.
Bryan Christiansen is the Head Coach at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. The University added Men’s and Women’s swimming in 2021 and ’22-’23 was their first season competing. This is the second time that Quincy has started a swimming program. In 2015, they added Women’s swimming but cut it in 2017 due to budget issues. Bryan seems confident that won’t happen again. Including men this time is a big reason why. The support seems to be in place with scholarships, a full coaching staff, and enough budget for things like power towers and a training trip. But how does a college program start?
In this podcast, Bryan takes us through the year of coaching before he started coaching. Most of that year was spent recruiting and building a roster. Luckily, he has some experience with transitioning a program. Bryan came from Frostburg State University in Maryland. During his time there, the program transitioned from DII to DII. That experience gave him some patience in this first season at Quincy.
That first season went well for the program. You could almost say it went better than expected. Freshman Wyatt Walsh dropped 6 seconds in his 400 IM and 4 in his 200 IM, down to times that would have qualified for DII NCAAs. The only problem was that the first-year program fell two swimmers short of the required roster number to send an athlete to NCAAs. A tough lesson but in their very first season, it was a sign that things are going in the right direction. The program appears to be in a great place heading into season number two.
SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Podbean
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Google
- Click here to listen and subscribe on YouTube
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Listen Notes
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Stitcher
- Click here to listen and subscribe on iHeartRadio
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Amazon
- Click here to listen and subscribe on Pandora
Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
SwimSwam: Bryan Christiansen on Rebuilding Quincy University Swimming & Diving Program
You must be logged in to post a comment Login