Saturday, September 9, 2006; Page E02
The U.S. Olympic Committee chose two swimming coaches with immense experience to lead the 2008 Olympic team, because their task is tougher this time. Eddie Reese and Jack Bauerle will need to draw from all 55 years of their combined college coaching experience, both men said, if the United States hopes to maintain its reputation as a swimming juggernaut.
Reese and Bauerle celebrated their appointments as Olympic head coaches – Reese for the men’s team; Bauerle for the women’s – at a news conference yesterday afternoon at the National Press Club. But their enthusiasm was muted by a sobering realization: Their jobs are daunting.
“We have a pretty good idea where this team stands right now, and that idea is: We have to get a lot better,” said Bauerle, the head coach at the University of Georgia and an Olympic team assistant in 2000. "We feel like a little bit of an underdog right now. "
Both Reese and Bauerle said a strengthened international field will force the United States to strive for perfection in its preparation for 2008. “We need to do all the little things,” said USA Swimming General Manager Mark Schubert .
Reese and Bauerle are responsible for building team cohesion and for making sure swimmers peak at the right times.
Both Reese and Bauerle must juggle tight schedules in order to succeed in their new positions. The 2007 FINA world championships will be held in Australia starting March 17 – the same day the NCAA swimming championships are scheduled to end. Reese, the head coach at the men’s team at the University of Texas, said he will fly to Australia the day after the NCAA meet ends.
“It’s going to be a rough turnaround,” said Reese, who also served as head coach for the men’s Olympic team in 2004 and 1992. “It’s going to be like getting hit by a hammer when I wake up to take that flight, but I’m glad I get to do it.”
– Eli Saslow
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