Beryl Gastaldello Moving to Frisco, Texas to Train with Coley Stickels

2021 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Beryl Gastaldello will begin her training with her new coach Coley Stickels in Frisco, Texas, she said in an interview at the World Short Course Championships.

Gastaldello, a French Olympian, announced in November that she would be training under Stickels, but until now it wasn’t clear where the two would be.

Gastaldello had been training with the pro group at Texas A&M under Jason Calanog, who is an assistant coach of the men’s team. She swam at A&M as an undergraduate as well, though not with Calanog..

Stickels was the head coach of the University of Alabama’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving program for 18 months before resigning mid-season in 2020. He then focused on training individual athletes for the Tokyo Olympics and has been on staff with the Tokyo Frog Kings as head assistant coach under Dave Salo during the 2021 ISL season.

The 26-year-old Gastaldello is a versatile sprinter, specializing in free, backstroke and butterfly. As far as major international hardware goes, she has a bronze medal from the 4×100 free relay at the 2019 World Championships, two long course European Championships gold medals from the women’s and mixed 4×100 free relays in 2018, and seven short course European Championships medals. She owns three individual silver medals from short course Euros in the 100 free, 50 fly and 50 back, all from the 2018 competition.

At last weekend’s World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi, Gastaldello won a silver medal in the 100 IM.

Reported by Spencer Penland.

WOMEN’S 100 IM – FINALS

  • World Record: 56.51 – HOSSZU Katinka (HUN) 7 AUG 2017
  • Championship Record: 56.70 – HOSSZU Katinka (HUN) 5 DEC 2014
  • World Junior Record: 57.59 – SHKURDAI Anastasiya (BLR) 22 NOV 2020

Podium:

Israeli 18-year-old Anastasia Gorbenko is having a meet to remember. One of the stars of this meet, Gorbenko took over on the breaststroke leg of the race to take the lead heading into the final 25. She got her hand on the wall first, swimming a new personal best of 57.80. The swim also clipped the Israeli Record of 57.90, which Gorbenko held.

France’s Beryl Gastaldello earned Silver with a 57.96. The performance marks Gastaldello’s first-ever World Championships medal, short course or long course. Russia Swimming Federation picked up Bronze with a 58.15 from Mariia Kameneva.

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James MacQuitty
2 years ago

So I was flying this week and happened to be sitting next to American Tennis Player Reilly Opelka, we were talking and he said his strength and conditioning coach used to be a ‘really good swim coach’ but was now a tennis trainer. I thought that was really cool. I asked him about about his training and then asked, who his trainer was…. COLEY STICKLES! So maybe he’s not moving to Frisco?

justanopinion
2 years ago

Although the pot stirring is an interesting sidebar read for this post, truly am more interested about the fact he and she are as mentioned, headed to Frisco. Is he joining a Coaching Staff of one of the teams there? Frisco has 2 very large club programs which are also quite successful in their own right (Texas Ford Aquatics and Metroplex) based right there with 800-1000 swimmers each.
There truly isn’t much room (or pool time for that matter) for someone to form their own program in that part of the world these days.
Also, both these clubs have quality coaching staffs in place. So is someone at one of these teams leaving (or has left?).
Finally,… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by justanopinion
Troll E Stickels
2 years ago

You should all be ashamed of yourselves for bashing Coley. Without him we wouldn’t have resistance training, MB dryland, pull-ups, sprinting, USA swimming safe sport, the clean and jerk, and entertainment on swimswam comments.

Probably not Coley
Reply to  Troll E Stickels
2 years ago

Coley comment sections are the new Dean Farris comment sections!

Mac
2 years ago

Where is he currently coaching? The article refers to Frisco?

Think about it
2 years ago

Another swimmer that only cares about the end result and not the principles of the person training them. The fact that Stickels has a livelihood is sad. When will the sport support good morals.

Swimm
Reply to  Think about it
2 years ago

Stickels is just barely hanging around. It won’t be long until this last batch of pros retires and he doesn’t have anyone else to lean back on. No college coach will ever touch him with a 10 foot pole if they do their due diligence.

It’s a shame, because he has the potential to be one of the best coaches in the sport and continually shoots himself in the foot. His ego is too big and he is just not a nice person

Chas E
Reply to  Swimm
2 years ago

Ridiculous comment. He IS one of the best coaches in the sport and has been for a long time. For some one barely hanging on, his pros seemed to be doing pretty well.
You are assuming he even wants to coach college, and the ego/not being a nice person is so far from accurate and it’s not worth a retort.

Swimm
Reply to  Chas E
2 years ago

Lol how can you be one of the best coaches in the sport if you don’t even need a full hand to count the number of swimmers you’re currently the primary coach for?

BobbyJ
Reply to  Swimm
2 years ago

I think because the pro swimmers he does have are pretty darn good, and his track record is quite impressive with club and pro athletes.

The pro model situation with a club could work and would be a good fit with him and the team.

Swimm
Reply to  BobbyJ
2 years ago

Who are his current pro swimmers besides Gastaldello? And don’t say Seto, because we all know Stickels is not Seto’s primary coach

Admin
Reply to  BobbyJ
2 years ago

Just a reminder to everyone to please not create multiple usernames and have conversations with yourself in the same comment thread. Thanks!

Ghost
Reply to  BobbyJ
2 years ago

I missed something, exactly who is he training currently besides Beryl?

Admin
Reply to  Chas E
2 years ago

Just a reminder to everyone to please not create multiple usernames and have conversations with yourself in the same comment thread. Thanks!

Probably not Coley
Reply to  Chas E
2 years ago

Nuh-uh!

sophdog
Reply to  Swimm
2 years ago

ill-intentioned and ill-informed comment

Admin
Reply to  sophdog
2 years ago

Just a reminder to everyone to please not create multiple usernames and have conversations with yourself in the same comment thread. Thanks!

Swimm
Reply to  Braden Keith
2 years ago

Haha is this Coley creating multiple usernames to defend himself?

Admin
Reply to  Swimm
2 years ago

It would be a violation of our privacy policy for me to reveal the identity of a specific commenter without their permission.

Go away
Reply to  Think about it
2 years ago

This is unfair. Another person hiding behind a screen trying to cause harm to someone else’s life. Probably never really met him or you wouldn’t be saying this.

Can we please just be nice and mind your own business?

Ken Doll
Reply to  Go away
2 years ago

Upvote this comment if I should expose Coley’s username, downvote this comment if I should let him continue to whine about people being mean to him in the comments while he does the same to other coaches.

sophdog
Reply to  Ken Doll
2 years ago

are you related to Barbie? Otherwise, what’s your real name?

Ken Doll
Reply to  sophdog
2 years ago

Are you related to Chas E? Otherwise, what’s your real name? ;-);-);-)

samos
Reply to  Think about it
2 years ago

petty gossip based on innuendo.

sophdog
Reply to  Think about it
2 years ago

ill-informed and ill-intentioned

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

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