Connor Beaulieu, assistant coach for the the Univ. of Texas women’s swim team spoke to us on April 10th. Connor is from the northeast and grew up swimming - that’s how his parents met. He wanted to be a lawyer growing up and took a job in a law firm after college, but started coaching at Yale for their club swim team. There he found a desire to continue with coaching instead of becoming a lawyer. He made it to UT soon thereafter, by starting with summer camp coaching first, and then he got position with women’s team.
UT has 14 national titles for its men’s team and 10 national titles for its women’s team. This is a great dynasty, which is unparalleled at any other school. In fact, Texas is standard to reach for when growing up swimming. More records have been broken at the UT pool than anywhere else.
The goals of women include going to the Olympics and winning medals, which adds a layer to coaching responsibilities. The coaches work towards helping them reach their dreams of making an Olympic team. Connor told us about swim team’s schedule and also weight room training; they are limited to 20 hours a week so out of pool activities are voluntary. They work on developing aerobic capacity and conditioning to recover quickly during first couple of months and then switch to swimming specifics. Connor discussed recruiting and how to determine promise from a younger age. He also told us some stories about specific swimmers. He also gave us some insight about Eddie Reese, the acclaimed long-time coach of the men’s team -- he no ego; doesn’t care about accolades; cares about his athletes and just wants them to do their best!
Connor is not paid yet as a coach because of NCAA rules, so he works at Rogue fitness and other part-time jobs to make money. He enjoys jobs where he can help others. Thanks to Shirley, who brought us such a wonderful speaker!