Eight-time Olympic swim coach Mark Schubert is heading to American Renaissance Academy, a private K-12 school on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, following his latest stint leading a pro group with The Swim Team (TST) based out of Orange County, California.
Schubert recently met with American Renaissance Academy owners, toured their weight room and Kapolei Aquatics Center featuring a 50-meter pool, and was immediately sold. The 75-year-old distance guru bought a condo in the southwest corner of Oahu that same day.
According to Schubert, “three or four” families from TST are following him out to American Renaissance Academy. He also hopes that Paris 2024 Olympian David Johnston will join him in Oahu after he completes the 2024-25 season at the University of Texas. Schubert envisions his Hawaii training group becoming a hub for swimmers from Korea, Japan, and China as well as the United States given its mid-Pacific Ocean location between Asia and America.
Schubert is naming his latest pro group, “Podium Swim Club.” He’ll start his new role next month.
Schubert launched TST in connection with Saddleback El Toro Swim Team in 2021 after retiring from nearby Mission Viejo. He took a temporary leave of absence in 2022 to coach Chinese swimmers abroad. His longtime assistant, Fernando Soraggi, is also coming with him from California to Hawaii.
“I’m really excited and I think this a great opportunity,” said Schubert, whose new home will be five minutes from the beach.
Schubert’s time at TST came to an end this past summer after a disagreement with club management over money. He says he gave up six months of salary under the impression it would be distributed among assistants, but that arrangement never came to fruition. Sprint specialist Brett Hawke was hired as his replacement last month.
Schubert was the USA Swimming National Team head coach from 2006 until 2010. He was also previously the head coach at USC and the University of Texas. He served as a member of the US Olympic Team staff at the 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games. He also led the Mission Viejo Nadadores to nine national team titles in his first stint with the club, and coached swimmers like Janet Evans, Shirley Babashoff, Brian Goodell, Mike O’Brien, Sippy Woodhead, Kaitlin Sandeno, Jessica Hardy, Larsen Jensen, Erik Vendt, Lindsay (Benko) Mintenko, Ous Mellouli, and Dara Torres.
You know for real coaches coaching is life. So just continue to getterdone and develop more history. It’s not all about money like this case. It’s Fun to continue to getterdone
Love the people that use examples like this. “It’s not all about money” Passion for the work you do is a bonus, not an excuse to accept less pay. Imagine if someone rattled off “You know, for real teachers, teaching is life. It’s not all about money”.
I’m no Mark fan, or hater. I just believe that Mark would go away if somebody were doing it way better. That doesn’t seem to be the case.
^ agreed. Maybe he’s still coaching because he enjoys it 🤷♂️
We all have our critics, especially after 50 years on deck, but it’s a really small list who can match his results. Let’s start with 8x USA Olympic coach. The line starts on the right 😳
I’m no expert, but I don’t see anything wrong with Mark stretching his career out, as long as there are high level swimmers that think he is the best option for a distance program. What other coach is running a distance only pro group that has Marks record of accomplishments?
Bernd Berkhard in Germany.
The only example is in Germany? 👀 Keep doing what you are doing Mark, until we get a U.S. based program that does it better.
In the US, there’s really isn’t infrastructure to have a distance-only or sprint-only program. So you could say have left off “that has Mark’s record of accomplishments” (which is a very long list – acknowledged) and it still would have been true.
There are distance groups in the US having more success right now, though. The University of Florida, for example, where besides Finke and Whitlock incoming, has one other thing that Schubert’s most recent group didn’t have, which is also a world-class female distance swimmer (Katie Ledecky).
I definitely think there’s still a place in the world of swimming for a coach like Mark Schubert if he still wants to coach. I’m not saying that at all. I actually… Read more »
I can agree with that. There are still high level swimmers choosing Mark’s program, and that will continue until he retires probably. To make it sound like there are tons of other programs out there seems like a huge stretch.
Wow the comments section shows how much the swimming community is so so so supportive of one another.. 🙃
He’s an enabler of sexual abusers.
Good riddance. Coach of the Chinese swimmers!
nā ʻuhane in that rennisance academy pool. Nope.
“If tomorrow my company goes under, I will just start another paper company, and then another and another and another. I have no shortage of company names.”
Or paper.
The tale of most entrepreneurial swim coaches tbh; wet paper companies, “XYZ Athletics, LLC”, “ABC Racing Inc.” Most of which is sorta kinda on the books through Team Unify or some kind of software and the other money trail is loose ended Venmo transfers or even cash exchanges for some sort of private coaching situation.
“Look, it’s all very technical, just talk to my attorney about it, Ive got a practice to run here”
He built a great program at Mission in the 70s..he started with a few girls that moved from Flip Darrs program..already national level..then built up homegrown swimmers, along with smart international recruitment. Then swimmers came who didn’t really improve much..Janet Evans, swam under Bud McAllister when she swam her great 400m free..Mary T did not equal her 200 fly record under Mark..yet his program attracted the best, and his swimmers seem fiercely loyal.
He built a dynasty as a young fearless coach..he should go down as one of the greats..unfortunately, he took on administrative duties within USA swimming, which certainly tarnished his great coaching legacy.
When you have to go back *50 years* to talk about his glory days, that kind of proves the point most here are making.
If you had witnessed 8 world class swimmers racing up and down Mark’s pool this year and David dropping 10 seconds to take second at Trials, you might change your tune. I watched Will Gallant pull an 8:10 800 meters with a band and buoy. I watched everyone racing Hafnaoui and even beating him sometimes. Not everything went perfectly for sure, but I don’t think anyone, including Mark, has ever seen faster distance workouts twice a day. At one time we (actually, I) thought of going a 4 x 1500 relay and trying to break an hour. It might have happened! He’s also good at delegating and bringing in smart coaches to help. And if you don’t think he was… Read more »
Please.
Was Gallant wearing paddles when pulling? There’s a lot of people that could do that.
He said band and a buoy…
Rare awesome take from Stevie
The main problem with this post (and most others from this poster) is the continual comments on no one ever seeing faster PRACTICES. I love fast swimming in practice but if these were the best distance practices ever done then we should have seen much better in meet times.
👏👏👏👏💕If He was one nobody …. Nobody was going to care !!!!!!!
But He makes a turmoil n the swimming world 🌎
Love this