Swim Talk A2B - Episode 66: George Block
from Swim Talk A2Bwith Dana Abbott and Bob Button Hosted by Dana Abbott and Bob Button
We begin this episode with a lengthy recitation of achievements by this noted coach and educator, but here are some highlights, courtesy of ASCA: Coaching Since: 1977 Northside Aquatics Developed 52 Texas high school State (UIL) gold medalists. Coached over 285 high school All-Americans. USA Olympic Trials qualifiers in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. Produced 6 Olympians in three different sports (swimming, triathlon and pentathlon). Olympic swimmers from 3 different countries (USA, Nicaragua and Algeria) Coach George Block retired from the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas at the end of June 2009, where he served as the Director of Aquatics since 1977 and Assistant Director of Athletics since 1993. In that time, he developed the Northside Aquatic Center into an internationally recognized center for athlete development. Email us at: [email protected] Timeline for this episode: 00:01 – Disclaimer 00:21 – George Block bio 02:10 – San Antonio drownings 05:28 – Benefits of the sport 07:07 – Cell phone vs. swim lessons 08:03 – Introducing George Block 08:33 – Long course water 10:20 – AAAA 14:40 – The “D” word 15:15 – Northside Swim Center 16:11 – Acronym overload 20:13 – Limited Texas options 24:38 – WSCA & anti-doping 30:32 – New testing technology 33:44 – Long-term consequences 34:55 – Pan Zhanle 35:35 – Team USA issues 39:22 – Mike Unger 44:48 – Training the world 47:55 – What hasn’t changed? 50:13 – Flunking retirement 54:59 – Wrapping it up
Embed this episode
No transcript yet.