Coach Rich, can you speak about the history of Minuteman Masters? How did it start and where are you now? What is the coaching philosophy and focus?
I formed Minuteman in 1998 with the assistance of friend Marc Broudy. Minuteman began with just three workouts per week at Hanscom AFB catering to a younger age group looking for something to do after work. I can remember our first night at Hanscom. We must have had 30 to 35 swimmers ready to go. Marc and I came on deck and proceeded to run the workout like an age group workout. The next night we walked on deck there were maybe 10 to 15 swimmers that came back for more. Marc and I took the hint and formulated a plan to start slow and aim big with our workout plan. I am amazed as I look back over the years at how our club has matured. Beginning with just a handful of twenty or thirty somethings to what we have today; swimmers ranging in age from their 20’s to 70’s, and in ability from beginner fitness swimmers to a world champion triathlete. I am proud to say that Minuteman has matured into a program that can help all athletes realize their goal. Goals may be as simple as diving off the blocks with goggles staying on or swimming their first 200 fly. The coaching philosophy for Minuteman has focused on individual accomplishments through a team environment. All of our coaches have swum in the Minuteman program and take an enormous amount of pride in what they bring to the deck. I have learned a lot from their individual styles of coaching and give them creative liberty in writing their own workouts. They are all skilled and know how to bring the most out of each athlete. In addition, several of our coaches are ASCA certified at Level 3 or higher which puts them in the top 15% of coaches in the country. They continue to educate themselves on and off deck and its amazing what they bring back to the deck. We all follow one seasonal plan but the variety within the plan is the spice that puts Minuteman in motion. Rather than writing an essay on what our coaches bring to each workout. I asked them a few questions.
What do you enjoy most about coaching with Minuteman?
I like the challenge of so many different ages, levels of experience, and the variety of goals that the swimmers have.
What I enjoy most about coaching at Minuteman is the training opportunities that are given to each swimmer. Whether it be a new swimmer just learning to swim for fitness, or one training for National level meets and/or Ironman triathlons, Minuteman is able to provide for everyone.
Every day there is some new great accomplishment in the water. Recently, one of my swimmers finally learned how to complete a flip turn. The smile on her face was enough to keep me smiling the rest of the week. Now she is teaching other swimmers in her lane how to do the same.
What makes your coaching style unique?
I feel that I put the majority of responsibility onto the swimmer. I provide opportunities to advance technique, to establish a solid aerobic base, and to really reach and challenge oneself every workout that I coach. I truly believe that each swimmer will take as much as they want to from a session I have coached.
I think my style of coaching is unique because not only am I a coach, I’m a Minuteman swimmer. I see both aspects of a workout swimming in the morning and coaching in the evening.
Coming from an age group swimming background, this is an opportunity for me to place an emphasis on correct technique.
I push my swimmers, whether beginner or veteran, to really find out how good they are. Every swimmer has some great moment waiting to come out and for many swimmers, even those who have swum their whole life, they have no idea just how great they really are because no one has ever given them the chance to find out. No one who swims for me gets away with “calling it in”.
What do swimmers get out of a Minuteman workout?
Thoughtful technique, physical challenge, and camaraderie.
I think one thing that separates Minuteman from other masters swimming programs is our ability to give individualized coaching advice/technique to each of our swimmers in any given workout.
The bottom line is that Minuteman swimmers get out of a workout whatever they wish. . I find that many swimmers at Minuteman have very different goals, and our coaching staff is able to accommodate all of them.
They get some of the best Masters coaches on deck, paying full attention to what they are doing all the time. We put just as much emphasis on the slower swimmers as we do the fast ones. Each swimmer is asked to tell their respective coach(es) about their goals. Once we know your goal, we make sure you achieve it.
Why would you recommend Minuteman to other swimmers?
Minuteman constantly strives to challenge and improve your swimming, without losing focus on the fact that we are adults choosing to do this for the fun— the fun of facing a challenge and the fun of "playing" with a group of grown ups that share a similar attitude to fitness and play.
I would recommend Minuteman to other swimmers because we are bunch of hard working, easy going swimmers. Whatever you wish to achieve from swimming with us, Minuteman is there to help you the swimmer.
There is no pressure or emphasis on “winning it all”. If a swimmer’s goal is to win at a competition then we help them towards that goal. If a swimmer’s goal is to just get exercise or have fun, there is no pressure to compete. We have won our share of championships and found that there was no reward in that other than tired swimmers. Now, our emphasis is on the individuals and achieving their own goals.
Describe Minuteman in one sentence.
A Swim TEAM.
A quality program with professional coaches, hard-working athletes top-to-bottom, and unrivaled camaraderie.
Everything for everyone.
The best place to be at 5:30 in the morning or 7:00 at night.
Where does MMSC workout? What kinds of workouts do you guys do?
We train at Hanscom AFB in Bedford in a 6 lane 50 meter pool and at Regis College in a 6 lane 25 yard pool.
We offer a diverse amount of workouts that cater to; fitness swimmers, triathletes, and those training for swim meets that range from mini-meets to national championships.
Many teams have some sort of Mission Statement or defining statement about why they are here. What is the philosophy of Minuteman Masters?
Our mission statement is; “Developing individual potential as a team through swimming”
What are some of the greatest successes of Minuteman Masters?
Some of our greatest successes have happened at workouts. Our swimmers never cease to amaze me with what they can do amid their busy lives outside of swimming. Watching swimmers set PRs from the wall in a workout is just as exciting as some of our team successes that have included winning NEM SCY and SCM Championships.
Perhaps the greatest success of our program is the quality that we have continued to produce for so many years and the fact that we just keep getting better at what we do. There is no magic formula for success. It takes constant improvement.
What do you see in the future for Minuteman Masters?
A continued movement towards developing quality workout by workout. Minuteman will continue to be a team that does not simply collect your check and maybe a coach will talk to you. Rather we will continue striving to be a team where every person gets individual attention every day. We also foresee a bigger push towards utilizing more technology, such as Dartfish. Currently we videotape our swimmers at least twice a month and make those videos available for download. In addition, all of the coaches watch their swimmers' videos and can comment on them with the swimmer
What do Minuteman Masters swimmers do for fun outside of the pool?
Our swimmers sincerely enjoy each others’ company. Although we are one team, there are many smaller groups of athletes that meet regularly outside of the pool. Just-for-fun activities have included; ski trips, dinner parties, poker nights, and movie nights. On a larger scale, our team has gathered for an annual Holiday Bash and if you can believe it “pool” parties! We also have two BIG dinners each year, one after the SCM Championship Meet and of course, our now famous, Harvard Tailgate party/dinner.
All Masters swim programs, at one time or another, face difficulties in the ever evolving world of swimming. Some teams lose pool time, others simply just can't afford to run a program. What difficulties have you faced and what happened as a result?
Losing our Hanscom AFB training facility after September 11th has to top the list. Being a privately run organization gives us many great advantages such as choosing facilities that give us the most desirable pool time for masters’ swimmers. We were able to survive by building relationships with two pools in the community to hold us over until we could return to Hanscom. The experience definitely marked the maturity of our program through strength in our will to continue on and offer quality swimming to adults.
Can you share with our readers Minuteman workout information?
Monday Wednesday Friday at Hanscom
Drylands (4:45-5:30 optional)
Workout 5:30 AM – 7:15 AM and 7 PM -8:30 PM
Tuesday Thursday at Regis College
Drylands (5:00-5:30 optional)
5:30 AM – 7 AM
Saturday at Hanscom
8:30 AM – 10 AM
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