Ray Looze on In-Season Racing: “You can only go to the well so many times”

Indiana vs. Texas

After a historically fast dual meet in Austin, Ray Looze admitted that his Hoosiers got what they came for (which was top-level racing) but they have a lot to work on moving forward.

We’ve seen in-season swimming have an explosion in recent seasons, seeing times in October and early November that we didn’t used to see until conference championships in February and March. While Ray Looze values suiting up and racing in November, he does note that “you can only go to the well so many times”, indicating that his team is still very much focused on their results at the end of the season.

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Weinstein-Madden-Ledecky-Gemmell
1 month ago

Swimming fans will be able to witness whether “fast times” are posted at the Tennessee Invitational later this month. As for the University of Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh ……

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Weinstein-Madden-Ledecky-Gemmell
1 month ago

As for the unwarranted criticism, I remember Eddie Reese reference the month of November as Slovember.

HasbeenHorn
1 month ago

Does that line about not going any faster the rest of the year go on the locker room whiteboard or the back of a T-shirt?

IU top opp
1 month ago

Brian Benzing

Last edited 1 month ago by IU top opp
Long Strokes
1 month ago

They got what they came for, which was the L

This Guy
1 month ago

So if I’m reading this statement correctly, Looze is alluding to that he thinks his team will be better prepared come Championship season. Well good news for us fans, swimming is a timed sport and we will know exactly where those chips fall in just a few short months!

I’m here for all this silly coaching squabbles (U of Cincy as well). The best part of our sport is that the scoreboard doesn’t lie so at the end of the season we can all do a nice little evaluation

Or we could look at previous years results and realize that this complaining is all pointless and already disproven over and over again……..

Cookie
1 month ago

Ray is definitely right about this and it’s the very reason that many athletes, regardless of talent, don’t improve their high school times in college. The coaches that continue to have their swimmers suit up and rest for in season dual meets or invitationals so they look good to their athletic directors are killing the college coaching profession…

Admin
Reply to  Cookie
1 month ago

I’m confused, because “the coaches” include “Bob Bowman” and “their swimmers” include “the NCAA Championship winning men’s team and a whole bunch of Olympic medalists in Paris.”

Ditto, but Todd DeSorbo.

The two NCAA Championship winning teams last season, and the United States’ two most successful programs at the Olympics, both swam fast a lot last season, and both suited up a lot last season.

Weinstein-Madden-Ledecky-Gemmell
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 month ago

The female athletes, such as Gretchen Walsh, are able to swim fast all season for the University of Virginia. However, that’s not been the case this season for the likes of Keating, Parker, Tiltmann who have provided valuable depth points in the past that win NCAA DI titles.

swimgeek
Reply to  Cookie
1 month ago

Hey, the 1980s called and wants their coaching philosophy back.
Even without new NCAA swimming survival concerns, the “swim fast once per season” mentality has always been the WORST thing about our sport in terms of athlete satisfaction and retention. In a challenging NCAA environment making 90% of the meets slow and meaningless might be fatal for college swimming.

Adam Pine
Reply to  Cookie
1 month ago

Name 1 college coach that does this? Name 1 that prioritizes looking good for AD’s as opposed to prioritizing long term development for their swimmers.
Traditional coaches bury their swimmers in work and only the strongest survive.
You’re telling an athlete that you’re only able to swim fast a few times a year.
As Braden Points out. De Sorbo and Bowman amongst others would suggest otherwise. Racing fast is fun, being destroyed by your coaches week in and week out because you’re “training” and developing a base isn’t. There are points where that training is beneficial but not year round.

Mikeh
1 month ago

Bizarre statement that some of the swimmers there won’t go faster the rest of the season. Is he suggesting the Texas actually rested for this meet?

Admin
Reply to  Mikeh
1 month ago

An Indiana swimmer dropped that in the comments after the loss so seems to be the team’s takeaway from the meet?

bobthebuilderrocks
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 month ago

Weirdos

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

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