In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges 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.
We sat down with Carle Fierro, the head coach of Westchester Aquatic Club. She explained her philosophy on training club swimmers, which might differ from a typical, high-yardage program. Carle has had successful age swimmers at young ages, including current Virginia super-star Kate Douglass and breakout 13-year-old Claire Weinstein.
You can check out what a week of Carle’s training looks like here.
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Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com
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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.
All the downvotes and negative comments about Carle are pathetic. She loves her swimmers, families and staff unconditionally. I would not have any of the success I found without her. I am happy and lucky to bring her knowledge to my club. We do ‘old school’ WEST practice a few times a week and the kids love to hate it! LOL
I know all the families that left and we are still friendly to this day. However, if you are making negative comments here just avoid me on deck. Thanks!
My favorite Carle quote about her LSC & NAG record kids leaving… ‘Take all you want, we’ll make more’ and it’s true.
🙂
Jonah Montgomery
QNS
Nothing but respect for Coach Fierro. However, we must acknowledge Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club in Stamford, CT – the club Douglass switched to. Fantastic coaches including Jamie Barone and Brennan Morris, both former swimmers under Bob Bowman at NBAC, who built a powerhouse club team placing top 3 at Junior Nationals in just 5 years (founded in 2012). A massive success that only those of us in the northeast may be aware of.
Wish we could all be “founders” of a club with a marketing machine like Chelsea Piers and the nicest facility in the state of Connecticut! 🙂
Fair enough, but if you were to chat with the more prominent swimmers that have moved through the team you would hear about the great impact Chelsea Piers had on their careers. The consensus seems to be they provided training that no other team in the local area could.
Jamie is a great coach, no doubt. But that’s a ridiculous claim, considering how many elite level swimmers have come out of CT. There are MANY programs putting kids at high levels, not just CPAC. The “consensus” of a few teenagers who did what Mommy and Daddy said was best holds little water, my friend.
Amazing podcast! I grew up swimming in Metro and now coach! Huge fan of what Carle has done for the sport! I was hoping she would go into more details about why Douglas left but I assume it was nothing personal and Kate outgrew the program.
Just like every 15 year old from that program….
Why do the older kids leave the program?
Two factors:
1) There’s always been a perception (I personally believe incorrectly) that Carle can’t get senior swimmers to the highest levels. She was exclusively a 10/under coach for years with Badger, so you know…stigma.
2) Parents are crazy and Badger creates Olympians- at least that’s what parents see and you know, every kid in Westchester County who excels at age 13 MUST be on their way to the Olympics and all 😉 … the kids who leave Carle predominantly end up at Badger. Not all, but most.
After losing my son, I have learned to put things in the proper perspective. After losing a loved one – what is REALLY considered a LOSS.
As for my coaching background, I began coaching in 1984, girls high school and then founded the boys high school program. I continued to coach HS from 1984-2010, so I do have experience coaching and connecting to older swimmers.
Yes, it’s disappointing to lose any athlete to another program. As for Kate, while I may have met her needs in the pool, she yearned to be on a larger senior team with more girls and boys her age and at her level. Her parents were extremely considerate and kind. We had an in-person meeting, they thanked me for… Read more »
My daughter is 15, are you implying I should move her to Badger? No thanks, she’s swimming well with Carle, LOVES Carle, and intends to stay. We’ve watched the times of the girls who have gone to swim with Badger…..
Great interview! Carle is such an inspiration!
Smart lady
wonderful interview!
Great interview with a pioneer female head coach. Coach Carle’s advice to swim parents about just loving their children is educational and informative.
How can there be down votes on this comment?
Sad people that come on swimswam to putdown someone.
I don’t know why people become so obsessed with downvotes. There seems to be a lot of ‘projecting’ about what the intention of a downvote is.