Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast brings you the latest interviews from Swimming’s biggest legends of the past, superstars of the pool today and rising stars of the future. You won’t hear interviews like this anywhere else. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSzKiUIcFaRK-66bIGnzkZg/featured?view_as=subscriber
Episodes
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I preview this weeks 2023 Australian Swimming World Champs Trials down in Melbourne, as the best Aussie swimmers battle it out to be on the plane to Japan.
During this chat, Shannon casts his eye over the swimmers competing in Melbourne, and give us his top races to watch and why.
We also discover and discuss a few events through the program that really need to be strengthened in terms of depth as we look ahead to 2024 Olympics and beyond.
Great chat, don't miss it
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Saturday Jun 10, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I continue our discussion on transitioning your program from a top age group to a top open age program. Shannon takes us through his 4 year plan which started in 2000 and carried onto 2004 in Athens. he shares with us his goals that were set, what brought about this mindset and the risks he took in pursuit of his teams dreams.
This week has great insights for all those coaches looking to help progress their top age group talent through to making senior teams, from a man who has done it himself.
Great episode, don't miss it
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I discuss the Rugby League State of Origin NSW v QLD and things we can learn and adapt to swimming as coaches.
We discuss transitioning from a successful age group program into a successful open squad program and how you go about it, things to look at and knowing when your program isn't suitable for open athletes
We are also joined by a very special guest NSW Swimming Coaching Director Jon Shaw. Jon joins us to discuss the Blues loss, and gives us his thoughts on transitioning our NSW swimmers from top Age group swimmers to top Open level swimmers, and what the future looks like.
Friday May 26, 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I go through some listener questions as we do another round of Ask Shannon Anything.
In this podcast we discuss what other sport Shannon would coach if he could, what country he would like to coach in, whether he likes music on pool deck and his favourite kick set.
We also dive into Swimming Australia's Long Term Athlete Development Model for coaches, and if we are really rewarding the athletes and programs who takes a short term approach, as well as a question sure to fire Shannon up again, When will NSW be stronger than QLD in the pool?
Don't miss this weeks episode, it's going to get you talking
Monday May 22, 2023
Monday May 22, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I are back from our break to discuss all things Sydney Open, including Bronte Campbell's big return to competition after 18months.
We go back and discuss Australian Age and Open Champs from the Gold Coast in April, and as the name of todays show suggests, Shannon gets fired up about a few things which we wont spoil for you here, you will just have to listen.
And we finish with a great chat about coaches work life balance, taking breaks and not burning yourself out.
Excited to be back, hope you all enjoy
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
Tuesday Apr 18, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I discuss Bronte Campbells decision to train for the Paris Olympics 2024 and to partner up with none other than the host of the podcast himself Mr Shannon Rollason.
Shannon takes us through how this partnership came about, and how excited he is for the challenge of trying to help Bronte go through to her 4th Olympic Games in Paris
We also discuss Erika Fairweather and Summer McIntosh phenomenal swimming over the past week and how that helps make the Womens 400m Freestyle final in Paris even more exciting
All that and a whole lot more
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week as we get closer to Australian Age and Open Championships on the Gold Coast, Shannon and I are joined by swimming statistician and historian David Clark as we look back at the rich history of the Australian Swimming Championships.
From the most successful Aussies of all time, to some outrages historic events that used to be in the program, David takes us on a ride through Australia's amazing swimming history and the evolution of the sport in our country.
Definitely not one to miss as we gear up for Nationals on the Gold Coast
Friday Mar 31, 2023
Friday Mar 31, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week as we get closer to Australian Age and Open Championships on the Gold Coast, Shannon and I follow up our first episode on tapering (1 year ago) with another chat on the best ways to LAND YOU PLANE and execute your tapers the best way you can. We go into key areas coaches should be focusing on 1 week out from competition. NO GO areas for coaches during taper time. Some great advice for swimmers and coaches around when to arrive at the competition and areas to remember during the big week of racing.
Given the big news week in swimming, Shannon also discusses Summer McIntosh amazing 400m Freestyle world record in Toronto, and the breaking news of Adam Peaty stepping away from the pool for a while, and what coaches can do to look for warning signs of fatigue and burn out in our athletes.
Its a packed show, don't miss it
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
(Apologies for the poor audio quality on my part, had the microphone volume down too low, rookie error)
This week, off the back of Kaylee McKeown's phenomenal 200m Backstroke World Record at NSW State Open Champs, Shannon and I discuss her amazing swim and also cover world records that he has seen over his years on pool deck.
We cover the best world records Shannon has been a part of, as well as the ones he has been lucky enough to see. We talk about the hardest records to break, the next one to fall and the athletes who have the most world records of all time.
All that and a whole lot more (again apologies about the audio quality on my end, then again my be a good thing to not hear me as clearly haha)
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I discuss the art of coaching athletes and being master motivators. Shannon takes us through some of his best coaching moments of motivating and getting the best out of his athletes, as well as some of the best inspirational speeches he has heard over time.
We talk about what makes the best coaches successful, and what traits all the masters in their craft have.
We talk about fear of failing both for swimmers and coaches, coaching individually in a team environment, favourite quotes and a whole lot more.
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I discuss technology in swimming, whether that's training aids or the future of competitions and should we be looking to constantly be progressing and going faster.
Shannon talks to us about what phase coaches should be looking at training wise right now, as we gear up for Nationals here in Australia. Shannon gives us his advise and thoughts as we look ahead to the Gold Coast in April.
We also get into the swimming calendar, and ways we can look at making it financially more appropriate for swimming families.
All that and a whole lot more, don't miss it
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
The Shannon Rollason Podcast is back in 2023 and on a new home here on the Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast network.
This week Shannon and I discuss what we have been up to during our time away from the microphones. We look back at World Short Course Champs in Melbourne, NSW State Age Champs from December, and discuss the success of his daughter and how he manages separating coaching and parenting.
We also discuss training camps and how to get the most out of them
All that and so much more, don't miss our first episode back for the new year, it's going to be a big year ahead.
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Special treat for all those missing Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
This week Shannon is joined by International Swimming Hall Of Famer and one of USA best ever coaches David Marsh.
Shannon and David discuss his recent success with the Men's Cal Bears team at the NCAA's, as well as their take on what makes USA swimming the powerhouse that it is. David gives us his favourite swimmers of all time to watch as a fan of the sport, as well as his top tips when it comes to Sprint Freestyle, Breaststroke and Tapers.
David speaks to us about what continues to drive him as a coach and mentor as someone who has coached over 50 Olympians during his hall of fame career. We also discuss emotional control as a coach and how important it is during a big week of racing at big meets.
Shannon and David continue to talk on a range of topics, and it's a must for all coaches and fans of our sport as these two legendary coaches bring the knowledge and experience. DONT MISS THIS ONE
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Special treat for all those missing Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
In this episode Shannon takes us through his philosophies and training methods when it comes to the stroke most people have a love hate relationship with Breaststroke.
From development to elite racing, Shannon talks us through what he looks for in identifying a breaststroker, and then how he goes about developing them through your program.
We also touch on World Champs, and the implications that has on Australia and trials.
Switching it up a bit in 2022, and this podcast is for all the coaches out there. Enjoy.
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Monday Dec 12, 2022
Special treat for all those missing Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
This week Shannon welcomes special guest, Australian Swimming Legend, former athlete of Shannon's squad and 2 time Olympian Tarnee White.
In this rare interview with the Olympic and Comm Games Gold medallist, Shannon and Tarnee discuss her amazing career in the pool from it's beginnings up in Redcliffe training with legendary Aussie Coach Ken Wood and the phenomenally talented squad they had up there.
We speak about Tarnee's transition into Shannon's squad in 2003, and the incredible 6 year journey that would follow including hurdles, challenges, triumphs and success.
Tarnee has a tremendous story to tell and one i think that shows the level of determination and commitment she truely had as an athlete, and I'm sure as you listen to this chat you won't be able to help but admire her as we did for being a strong, resilient athlete, that would be a perfect role model for any aspiring athlete coming through squads today.
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Special treat for all those missing Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
This week on The Shannon Rollason Podcast it's all about Landing Your Planes smoothly during taper time.
Here in Australia we are coming up on 2022 NSW and QLD State Age Champs this week, and this week Shannon gives us his thoughts and insights into how he views tapering and the processes he uses to land his plane safely.
From volume to intensity, length of taper and the differences even for strokes, Shannon covers it all this week and just in time for all the coaches listening and wondering if they have nailed their tapers for their athletes as we arrive at State Age time.
All that and a whole lot more.
Sunday Dec 04, 2022
Sunday Dec 04, 2022
Special treat for all those missing Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
This week on The Shannon Rollason Podcast, Shannon takes us through his philosophies and programs when it comes to Sprint Freestyle.
Shannon gives us an in depth look at qualities he looks for in identifying potential sprinters in your program, and the how he programs and plans for them whether they are a 50/100 swimmer or 100/200 swimmer and the differences he see's between the two. We also go through some of the best male and female sprinters of all time in our opinion, as well as some of the champion sprinters Shannon has coached during his career.
We also discuss Ash Barty's shock retirement and the notion of Slaying Your Dragon, what that means and how understanding what your dragon is could help you as a coach in the future.
All that and a whole lot more, don't miss it
Thursday Dec 01, 2022
Thursday Dec 01, 2022
Special treat for all those missing Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
Joining Shannon this week on the podcast is Scotland's Head Coach for the the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and Coach of Duncan Scott the most successful British Olympian from a single Olympics in Tokyo, our special guest today is none other than Steven Tigg.
In this episode Steven and Shannon talk about the success of Duncan Scott and his progression throughout the years in the pool. Steven's long term plan for Duncan when they started working together 18 years ago and how he keeps their partnership innovative and progressing.
The coaches discuss plans for this year with World Champs and Comm Games, what is a priority and what may not be. What events will be prioritised for Duncan's program this year as well.
And Steven gives us a great insight into areas that coaches need to be conscious of when working with their athletes whether that be talking too much and over coaching, or sometimes being too reserved and missing the opportunity to step in and give corrections when they are needed.
Steven also gives us an insight into working with our Aussie swimmers whilst he was the Head Coach of London Roar in last seasons ISL competition.
A great chat with to coaches with a wealth of knowledge and experience at the highest levels
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Wednesday Nov 16, 2022
Special treat for all those missing Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast
Welcome to The Shannon Rollason Podcast, a swimming podcast like no other.
This Episode 1 and todays stories come from the Iconic 2004 Athens Olympic Games which was 17 years ago.
Shannon gives us his insights into the lead up to the games including the long term goal setting that took place around winning the Women's 4x100 Freestyle relay for Australia, and how much work went into achieving that goal.
We get his unique perspective on Jodie Henry winning Gold for Australia in the Women's 100m Freestyle, from the training, to the race itself and all the stories in between.
Along with Shannon's own athletes we discuss Thorpie's false start at trials in the Men's 400m Freestyle, the famous full body race suits from back in the day, the conditions in Athens with the village and the venues, as well as his take on some of the Iconic races including the race of the century, and Petria Thomas Gold winning performance in the Women's 100m Butterfly.
You might have heard a lot of swimming podcasts, but you have never heard one like this. Amazing stories from a great time in our sport, from a man who is one of the best in the world, and was a part of all the legendary moments.
Friday May 06, 2022
Friday May 06, 2022
Season 5 Episode 9 (Part 2), we continue our chat with 4 time Australian coach of the year, and one of the best in the business Stephan Widmer.
In this part one podcast Stephan talks to us about some of the amazing swimmers he has had the pleasure of working with like Libby Trickett, Christian Sprenger, Melanie Schlanger and Jess Schipper among many others.
We also get into his time with Swimming Queensland and helping mentor coaches, as well as many other great pieces of advice from one of the sharpest minds in the swimming business.
Don't miss our awesome part two chat with Stephan Widmer
Friday Apr 15, 2022
Friday Apr 15, 2022
Season 5 Episode 8 (Part 1), we chat with 4 time Australian coach of the year, and one of the best in the business Stephan Widmer.
In this part one podcast Stephan talks to us about last years Tokyo 2020 Olympic games and how he saw the swimming in the pool, as well as Joseph Schoolings performance following his Gold medal in 2016.
We go through his early days in Switzerland as a swimmer and then transitioning into a coach and how his thirst for knowledge and competitive nature lead him to Australia in 1997, and the rest they say is history. We discuss his early days learning from Scott Volkers and other legendary Australian coaches upon his arrival.
We talk coaching philosophies as well his thoughts on Australian swimming when he arrived, and his thoughts on it today in 2022. Stephan also gives us a great insight into his thoughts on training speed in Freestyle, his training sets and programs as well as what he looks for technically.
Don't miss part one of my chat with one of the sharpest coaching minds in the world of swimming and a man with so much knowledge and experience that we don't hear enough from these days.
Friday Apr 01, 2022
Friday Apr 01, 2022
Season 5 Episode 7, we chat to Australia 2020 Tokyo Olympian for the 10km Marathon Swim, Kai Edwards
In this podcast we chat to Kai about his move down Sydney to train with long-time coach Chris Nesbit at Carlile. We discuss the Tokyo hangover after the games and what lead to his decision to come to Sydney from the Gold Coast.
We also discuss his Tokyo experience from his first Olympic games, the atmosphere, the conditions, the flying fish and how he handled it all. As well as some of his favourite sets to help him get ready for those long gruelling events in the open water.
Kai talks us through qualifying for his first games, how the selection process works and how it felt qualifying for his first games over in Portugal.
We also talk Motorbikes, life away from the pool, future aspirations and a whole lot more.
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Season 5 Episode 6, we chat we Olympic Gold Medallist from Tokyo 2020 from the Women's 4x100 Medley Relay, and Australian Champion Chelsea Hodges.
In this podcast we chat with Chelsea about where she is at right now with World Champ and Comm Games trials now just over a month away, and discuss her success at the recent NSW State Open Champs in Sydney.
Chelsea takes us back to her beginnings in the pool and we hear the amazing story of the adversities she has had to overcome through her development years in the pool particularly in her teenage years with major injury and surgery.
We discuss her long time partnership with coach Sean Eels and how that helped get her to her first ever Olympic Games in Tokyo, qualifying for the 100m Breaststroke and giving her a spot on the Women's 4x100 Medley Relay team.
Chelsea gives us a great insight into the euphoria of making her first ever Olympics at trials in Adelaide with a 1.05.99, to being at Tokyo competing and possibly not letting herself feel the moments as much as she would have liked during her heat and semi final swim, just missing the final of the Women's 100m Breaststroke by 0.02.
She then share's her "I had a point to prove" mentality stepping out on deck with Kaylee McKeown, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell for the Women's 4x100 Medley relay, where along with the 3 other girls she absolutely smashed it splitting 1.05.57 and helping her team finish the games with a Gold medal and Olympic record.
All that and a whole lot more, as we go one on one with one of the brightest talents on the Dolphins swim team, and one of the nicest humans you will be fortunate to meet.
Friday Mar 04, 2022
Friday Mar 04, 2022
Season 5 Ep 5, we head over to the US and chat with 3 very talented young Aussie stars who are in college competing right now for their respective teams, we have Charlie Hawke with Alabama University, Charli Brown with Arizona State and Alex Quach with Ohio State.
In this podcast the 3 young stars give us their unique insight into training and competing over in the US college programs. How are they different from where they have come from, and what they have learned so far from their teammates and coaches.
The swimmers also tell us what it's like racing short course yards, and what element of the college system they would like to see implemented back home here in Australia.
We also play a quick game of who does it better, Aussies or the US, and have plenty more laughs along the way.
Loved this chat, and so proud of our young Aussie stars over in the US kicking goals.
Friday Feb 18, 2022
Friday Feb 18, 2022
Season 5 Episode 4, we chat to Aussie young gun and record breaker from Bond University Flynn Southam.
In this podcast we discuss Flynn's, success in the pool at such a young age and goals he and his coaches Kyle Samuelson and Chris Mooney have for the next few years and beyond.
We also discuss his coaches influence on his swimming so far particularly Kyle, and what he has learnt since Olympic Gold medal winning coach Chris Mooney has come to Bond.
We discuss the ups and downs, and difficult periods he went through particularly during Covid lockdown in 2020. Flynn opens up and gives us an insight into how he was thinking during this time, and what strategies he employed to bring himself back out of them.
We talk race plans as well as areas of his racing Flynn feels he can still improve a lot.
And we talk about his mentor program MAD, how it started and why he loves it so much.
To find out more about MAD please head to https://www.flynnsoutham.com/