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
Thursday Aug 03, 2023
Thursday Aug 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 go through what was a phenomenal performance from the Aussie swim team at the 2023 Fukuoka World Swimming Champs last week.
We go through the amazing world records, Shannon's lane 1 conspiracies, Cam McEvoys blistering Australian record of 21.06, The swimming bunker, as well as the surprising performances from some of the worlds young stars that didn't fire.
We also cover the US team results, Dean Boxall's amazing coaching performance, and what the World Champs results mean for Paris 2024.
All that and a whole lot more
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Wednesday Jul 26, 2023
Join us as we go LIVE on pool deck at the 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, with World Aquatics commentator and Off The Blocks favourite Bobby Hurley.
Bobby gives us his thoughts immediately following night 3 of finals which saw some phenomenal racing. An upset in the men's 200 free with Romanian star David Popovici missing the medals as England go 1-2 with Matt Richards and Tom Dean.
Katie Ledecky dominates her 5th 1500m World championship
And Kaylee McKeown get redemption in the 100m Backstroke winning Gold for Australia in a Championships Record
We also look back on the amazing night that was Night 1, where we saw the emergence of an Aussie Star in Sam Short winning a closely fought 400m Freestyle beating out Haffnoui.
Ariarne Titmus dominates what was meant to be the race of the century and became a race of Ariarne and the world record as she reclaimed the world record and her status ontop of the mountain in the 400m.
Leon Marchand's historic 400m IM, claiming the oldest standing world record of Michael Phelps and doing it with MP watching on pool deck.
and of course the Men's and Women's 4x100 Freestyle relays winning Gold, and the girls doing it in another World record time.
Don't miss this great recap, with the man on deck in Fukuoka killing it on commentary, Bobby Hurley
Saturday Jul 22, 2023
Saturday Jul 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 we discuss the controversy coming out of the US trials around the massive amount of DQ's in Breaststroke events. Why are they being DQ'd? Can they be avoided? How should we be using technology in swimming? Will this carry over to World Champs in just a few days?
We also discuss the disappointment of Melbourne pulling out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Chelsea Gubecka's phenomenal effort to win Silver in Japan in the 10km open water event and qualify herself for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
World Champs in Fukuoka, potential new strokes in swimming, athletes dislike for distance kick and a whole lot more.
Don't miss this weeks ep
Thursday Jul 20, 2023
Thursday Jul 20, 2023
Welcome back to Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast as we kick off Season 6 with a bang, previewing the 2023 Fukuoka World Swimming Championships with none other than former World Champion and World Record Holder Bobby Hurley.
Bobby Hurley and I preview the upcoming world champs and the mouth-watering superstar match ups that are coming our way starting Sunday 23rd July in Japan. Bobby will also be commentating the championships for World Aquatics and their live broadcast in Fukuoka.
From the Women's 400 Freestyle with legends Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus trying to take down young superstar and world record holder Summer McIntosh, to the Men's 100 Freestyle with our own Kyle Chalmers taking on Romanian superstar and world record holder David Popovici. What records can Leon Marchand break as he looks to stamp his authority on the world champs ahead of what will be a massive 2024 Paris home games for the French superstar.
We talk Kaylee Mckeown v Regan Smith in the Women's 100 and 200 Backstroke, as well as Cam McEvoy amazing comeback on the world stage heading in as the fastest 50m Freestyle qualifier.
This without a doubt is going to be an eventful, emotional, spectacular World Champs with all the young stars colliding with legends all on the road to 2024 Paris Olympics, who will come out on top DON'T MISS a minute of the action.
Friday Jul 14, 2023
Friday Jul 14, 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 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Shannon and I are joined by swimming statistician and historian David Clark once again, as we look back at the rich history of the World Swimming Championships.
In this part two episode, David, Shannon and I have a look back at Montreal 2005 and Australia's continued success there with Grant Hackett winning a 4th consecutive 1500m Free, through to 2022 in Budapest and we also do a quick look ahead to Fukuoka and what is to come in 1 weeks time.
From the success of 2007 in Melbourne to the controversy of 2009 in Rome where the super suits overshadowed the years racing. From James Magnussen winning the men's 100m Free in Shanghai 2011 to the emergence of a young Katie Ledecky in 2013 at Barcelona. As well as Bronte Campbells massive meet in 2015 Kazan through to more controversy in 2019 Gwangju with Mack Horton refusing to stand on the podium with Sun Yang following the men's 400m Free. This episode covers it all
If you are a lover of swimming and the history of the sport, this is the podcast for you, don't miss part two
Friday Jul 07, 2023
Friday Jul 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 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Shannon and I are joined by swimming statistician and historian David Clark once again, as we look back at the rich history of the World Swimming Championships.
In this part one episode, David, Shannon and I have a look back at how the World champs started way back in 1973 in Belgrade through to 2003 in Barcelona.
David gives us a great insight into some of the great stories and performances that have helped shape not just swimming here in Australia but indeed the world.
From the East German controversies in the 70s and 80s, to milestones in Australian history with Stephen Holland who won our first ever World Champs Gold Medal in the 1500m Free.
We cover the less successful champs for Australia through the mid 80s through to the resurgence in mid 90s and early 00s with Thorpe, Hackett, O'Neil, Perkins, Riley.
If you are a lover of swimming and the history of the sport, this is the podcast for you, don't miss part one
Friday Jun 30, 2023
Friday Jun 30, 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 look back at 2003 Barcelona World Champs on the 20 year anniversary. This was Shannon's first Long Course World Champs on the Australian team, and he takes us through his memories of big event.
From his own results with Alice Mills, Jodie Henry and Mel Houghton, to some of the big races between Alexander Popov, Ian Thorpe and Pieter Van Den Hoogenband and the girls relays where Australia are beginning their charge towards the top.
In this great look back, Shannon gives us some insights into being on his first Worlds team and why the experience was like from a coaches perspective as well as some fun stories along the way
Don't miss this
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Tuesday Jun 27, 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 look back on the Aussie trials for World Champs in a few weeks.
Shannon talks so us about how his team went down in Melbourne, as well as some big races from other athletes that caught his eye.
Cam McEvoy 50m Free, Kaylee McKeown dominates, Mollie O'Callaghan makes her mark and Sam Short arrives as the dominant middle and distance male in Australia
All that and a whole lot more
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