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Developing Olympians: Sergio Lopez on Coaching Ryan Murphy & Caeleb Dressel

In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.

Sergio Lopez has built up programs everywhere he’s been a head coach. Currently, he’s the head coach at Virginia Tech, but he also won a conference title while captaining the West Virginia program. His most legendary stop, though, may have been being the head coach at the Bolles School Sharks, where he coached Olympic champions Ryan Murphy, Caeleb Dressel, and Joseph Schooling, who were all in high school at the time.

Listen to Sergio think back to coaching Murphy and Dressel and what he recalls about what he learned as a coach by working with such immense talents.

  • 0:00 Sergio Lopez Introduction
  • 1:30 Preparing VT Swimmers for Paris
  • 7:50 Murphy & Dressel Making 3rd Olympics
  • 11:17 Managing Different Kinds of Athletes
  • 14:30 Developing High Schoolers
  • 20:13 Making a Plan for Murphy to Make the Olympics
  • 23:31 Watching Dressel Practice
  • 26:38 Relationship Now

 

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

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Meathead
3 months ago

One of the best coach’s in country

Just a swim mom
3 months ago

Such a great coach, person, and mentor to all the athletes whatever level. Sergio is the best of the best.

Rick Paine
3 months ago

great coach, great person

Tanner
3 months ago

Didn’t he also coach Condorelli and Schooling?

Z Tech
3 months ago

well this is a nonsequitor but the 2017 women’s 4×100 where sjostrom set the wr has just vanished from the web it seems…

Emily Se-Bom Lee
Reply to  Z Tech
3 months ago

find the swimswam article titled “Watch: Finals Races From The 2017 Budapest World Championships” and scroll down to the w4x100 free. no geoblock, but you’ll have to put up with rowdy

Long Strokes
3 months ago

Sergio has always been my favorite coach. I might be biased, but he’s the best unsung hero in the coaching world.

sadswammer
3 months ago

didn’t Santo also train there at around the same time?

Steve Nolan
Reply to  sadswammer
3 months ago

đź–•

Admin
Reply to  Steve Nolan
3 months ago

Was gonna delete this but now I see the context lol.

Shogun
3 months ago

Except he didn’t coach Caleb

LBSWIM
Reply to  Shogun
3 months ago

Caleb trained with the team, but just did not go to their high school was something I read awhile ago. Who trained him?

Bolles swammer
Reply to  LBSWIM
3 months ago

Jason calanog (now at South Carolina)

bobthebuilderrocks
Reply to  LBSWIM
3 months ago

Jason Calanog

Bob
Reply to  LBSWIM
3 months ago

Outside of meets, weekends, and summer + Christmas break training… the club and school kids are in fact quasi segregated. Just works to have them staggered out by a couple hours. Simple logistics, with a tinge of elitism lol.

Bolles swammer
Reply to  Shogun
3 months ago

So you didn’t watch the interview then? One of the first things he said about Caleb is how he wasn’t his primary coach, but he still had meaningful interactions. No where did he take credit

Shogun
Reply to  Bolles swammer
3 months ago

So you didn’t read the article then? One of the first lines in the article states Sergio “coached Olympic champion Caleb Dressel.” No interest in watching anything related to this bc the narrative is not accurate.

Bolles swammer
Reply to  Shogun
3 months ago

The article isn’t the main point of this publication, the podcast is… you weren’t interested in the first place because you just came to hate.

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