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Coleman’s Carpool: Nitro’s Mike Koleber Gives Sage Coaching Wisdom

In Coleman’s Carpool we get the insider’s perspective on your favorite swimmers. SwimSwam Head of Production, Coleman Hodges, invites swimmers to take a ride with him and talk about anything…except swimming. Mostly.

Nitro is one of the biggest swim programs in the country with around 1,800 swimmers. They’ve grown massively over the last 10 years and have established themselves as one of the top programs in the nation. At the head of that growth and success is Mike Koleber, head coach and owner. Mike rarely coaches anymore, but he does help out a tremendous amount with groups, lessons, and the overall culture of the club. When I met him, I was taken by his extreme genuine manner and chatty personality. He loved to talk about his club, and how his club does things, and why they do them that way. His philosophies all made a lot of sense to me, and I thought what he had to say was extremely insightful on how to run a successful program. It was really cool hearing him talk about his club so passionately and with so much vigor.

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GCoach
7 years ago

Great interview! However Nitro’s not the largest club in the Nation, there are 2000+ clubs out there…

PPSCOACH
7 years ago

Great guy, great program.

The music in and of itself is annoying, even more so when you’re trying to listen to someone with great insight, experience and wisdom.

PsychoDad
7 years ago

Nitro is successful because Mike implemented club policy that is based on:

1. You child can be as successful as s/he can – it is only up to him/her to decide what effort to put in. Nitro will provide the rest.
2. No favorites. We see kids multiple times state champions leave Nitro because they/parents asked for a special treatment.

Mike does not coach advanced swimmers anymore, but on any day, you can see him roaming sidelines, pulling out slow kids and fixing their technique in free lanes, one on one, or even jumping in the pool and coaching little ones. Mike also coaches for every holiday. Last Labor Day, our 15 old daughter went to practice with coach… Read more »

Matthew Connery
7 years ago

I think this could have been very informative if I didn’t have to struggle to hear what the coach is saying. The background music doesn’t need to be there!

Steve Nolan
Reply to  Matthew Connery
7 years ago

I usually watch/listen at 1.5-2x (because I am very busy, you see) and had to turn this one off at 2:40 b/c of how bad the music sounded at that speed, lolz.

Reply to  Coleman Hodges
7 years ago

CH, it’s your video and added audio track, couldn’t you remove it? It would be very much appreciated.

Coacherik
Reply to  Coleman Hodges
7 years ago

Thank you!

Sir Swimsalot
7 years ago

He’s such a awesome guy.

Texas Fight
7 years ago

Did you ask about Tim O’Brien? Or the child porn janitor?

Sir Swimsalot
Reply to  Texas Fight
7 years ago

While those things are wrong and should never be condoned, you probably don’t know him. I do. I have for many years. Take it from me he is not what you think he is.

Pissed off parent
Reply to  Sir Swimsalot
7 years ago

Whoa Whoa Whoa….. only 1800 swimmers at Nitro this must be a misprint. In July 2013 it was reported to Homeland Security investigating cameras in the girl’s locker room that 10,000 swimmers came thru the doors.
Like · Reply · 1 · 56 mins
Manage

Get it together it was the family locker room. Fake news
Like · Reply · 32 mins
Manage

Spit out the kool-aid it was the girl’s locker room and the family locker room if your daughter was there during that time frame, I wouldn’t call this fake news…. it is the real deal and I can prove it… the 10,000 swimmer number came right from Nitro.
Like · Reply… Read more »

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

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