Former Auburn University head coach Brett Hawke is replacing Mark Schubert as the director of high performance at The Swim Team (TST) in Lake Forest, California.
Hawke has spent the last year in nearby Irvine as an online coach, working with fellow sprint enthusiast Dave Salo before he left to take the associate head coach job at Arizona State in May. The 49-year-old Australian spent more than a decade at Auburn, helping the Tigers win an NCAA title while head coach Richard Quick was away from the team battling a brain tumor.
Schubert’s TST group is coming off a mixed showing at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month. David Johnston made his first Olympic team courtesy of his runner-up finish in the 1500 free (15:02.42). Michael Brinegar scratched out of the 1500 free before news broke of his four-year doping suspension. There’s also Marwan El-Kamash, a 30-year-old Egyptian, who is competing in the 800 and 1500 free at the Paris Olympics.
Schubert launched TST in 2021 after retiring from nearby Mission Viejo. He took a six-month leave of absence in 2022 to coach in China.
TST’s pro group will likely look very different next month with Hawke taking over for the distance-oriented Schubert. Tryouts for TST’s elite developmental group will take place on Saturday morning, August 17, at El Toro High School. Hawke wrote on his Instagram that a “new pro team drops in Southern Cali September 2nd. Apply within. #la2028”
Hawke won three SEC titles at Auburn, earning conference Coach of the year in 2012. He resigned in 2018 after the Tiger women finished 16th at the NCAA Championships and the men placed 12th. The Auburn men placed top 10 in each of Hawke’s first eight seasons, but they placed 12th at his last two NCAA Championship meets. Their 98.5 points in 2018 were their fewest since 1992, when Auburn finished 15th and scored 85 points.
As a swimmer, Hawke was a two-time Olympian for Australia in 2000 and 2004. His lifetime best in the 50 free (22.07 from the 2004 Olympics) stood as the Oceanic record for four years before Eamon Sullivan blazed a world record of 21.28 in 2008. Hawke swam at Auburn from 1996-2000 and helped the Tigers capture a pair of national crowns.
Why is he so anti-distance swimmer? Is he saying he doesn’t want to coach any distance swimmers now?
He’s just such a bizarre dbag
Loser
By the way, no returns.
Lol
Hopefully taking this position precedes better meet behavior.
That tryout is going to be packed.
By packed I mean everyone who was there is going to pack up their things and tryouts will be empty
Is this normal to have tryouts for an elite team? Can’t remember any club in my area having them except for young age groupers
If I was running a pro team, I would absolutely run tryouts. We saw some real disasters when certain individuals weren’t a good personality fit at past attempts at big pro teams, so I think some vetting would be keen.
Explain?
Changing their distance specialization to sprint , but keeping their brand of controversial consistent
What has Hawke ever done that was controversial? You may not have liked him as a collegiate head coach but there was nothing controversial about his tenure, he just did not win enough.
He followed me around the Olympic Trials while working as credentialed media calling me a “pussy” over and over again. Is that controversial?
He coached Isaac Cooper out of an Olympic medal, is that controversial?
He blocked swimmers’ transfers if swimswam reported that they were transferring…is that controversial?
He had his swimmers taper with the diving team and they bombed at NCAAs…is that controversial?
He threw chairs…is that controversial?
His most famous athlete was caught doping…is that controversial?