Great swimming. To me, it's a dance, it's an artistic expression. It is a symphony in the water. If at the end of these four years, all we did was make a good wrestler, we failed. If I made you just a good swimmer, then I messed up. Wow. If you take care of the seconds and minutes, the hours and days take care of themselves.
The work that you do in the dark, you prepare for the moments in the life. Olympic athletes, like you've seen the, the spectrum, your journey with Carmel swimming that you were the most proud of, what would that be?
From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between. This is Get IN, the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Hey everyone. before we get into today's episode, let's talk about an insurance company that I use and believe in Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.
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And do yourself a favor and connect with a dedicated Indiana Farm Bureau insurance agent near you. Just visit INFB.com to get connected to a local agent. Tell them Nate and the team of Get Indiana sent you Farm Bureau Insurance. Let's insurance together. Now let's get into this episode of Get IN Today I'm joined by Chris Plumb, head coach and CEO of Carmel Swim Club.
Since 2006, he has been helping build this program into one of the top swim clubs in the nation. He's a former All American swimmer from IU. Chris has led multiple athletes to Olympic Trials and served as a team USA coach at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He lives in Carmel with his wife and his two sons.
And today we're gonna be talking about the legacy that Carmel Swim has made over the last almost 40 years, and what brought him from Buffalo. Why you choose to stay in Indiana and how you build a culture of excellence. When you, we were just talking before air, when you are ranked top three in anything in the nation, you have my utmost respect and I'm really excited to get into how you do it.
Chris, welcome to the show. Yeah, thanks Nate. Happy to be here. Dude, this is awesome. I think for a long time, I mean, I think I first started, I mean, I didn't know anything about swimming right. But February was the 39th straight state championship for Carmel Girls Swimming, and it was the 11th straight for the boys.
Yep. And anytime I'm like, oh my gosh, like I gotta talk to, to like someone in this, this is crazy cool. And I, I think it's, it's so interesting that you can do something for almost 40 years. Like that's a dynasty. It's not just like a good team. It's not just like one good coach. Like it definitely is a well-oiled machine that takes a lot of different pieces.
Yeah. And I'm excited to dive into the pieces. The first thing we need to set the scene with is. Carmel Swim Club, which is an organization with 500 athletes. Yep. Versus Carmel High School, boys and girls Swimming like, like IHSAA. A lot of parents listen to this, like their kids probably compete and, and you guys might be like the like, oh yeah, Carmel's at this to me.
Like they're gonna bring, are they gonna bring their A team, their B team, whatever. So take us through how those two different Worlds interact with each other. Yeah. I mean, essentially Carmel Swim Club is the feeder program for Carmel High School. Uh, we're very fortunate to have the facilities at Carmel High School to use, have a 50 meter pool.
Uh, just built a brand new 50 meter pool and I'm sure, and that's Olympic size? Yeah, Olympic size. So 50 meters is the Olympic size. The Swim Club is a non-for-profit in the community, and I'm the head coach for both the swim club and the high school. So, uh, the high school hired me and the swim club hired me at the same time to, to basically run both organizations.
This was back in 2006. Yeah. The club is what age groups? Yeah, the club is basically anybody from kindergarten to 18. We do have some, uh, college swimmers in there and have had a professional, uh, swim with us. Oh. And yeah. Yep. Like a professional was like, yeah, I want to be in the, what's going on here? Did they graduate from purple?
Well, I mean, he basically was a, a swimmer that swam for me in high school. He graduated from the University of Texas. And he went pro and he signed a suit deal and he came back to swim for us, uh, to get ready for the Olympics. Who is this? Drew Kibler. Oh, that's pretty because I, I saw who else goes to the University of Texas?
Oh, I mean, all the swimmers go Really? Texas. Who knew that that swim, that Texas was a swimming powerhouse. Uh, I mean, they are, they are the powerhouse. Everyone would want to go swim for Texas. No way. Yeah, that's like the place, that is the place now. IU is coming along, so we're, we're getting there, right?
Yeah. Okay, so the Swim club is the non-profit from kindergarten all the way up to 18. Yep. A pro. Yeah. Yeah. And then that this year round, year round, like going on all the time, it's like this is like a club a AAU type thing. Correct. But then there's also Carmel High School swimming. How many boys and how many girls do you have come out for Carmel High School?
Swimming? Yeah. We basically have, um, 60 boys and 60 girls on the swim team. And then we probably had another 15 divers. So our, our team was comprised, you know, like 135. Athletes. Yeah, it's, it's a lot for a swim. We're probably the biggest in the state. Uh, but we actually have the capacity to do that. Yeah. I mean, how do you manage a hundred and let's say 20, even 16.
16 different swimmers. How do you manage practice with that many kids getting in the pool? Yeah, you gotta have a great coaching staff. You need people to work for you and get on the same page. And we have different groups. Um, you know, we want to match the skillset of the athlete with the practice, so. You know, we have with those groups, we kind of have like a, a, you know, the, the varsity team, so to speak.
And they So how many, how many kids are on the varsity team? Yeah, I would say that's probably 20 boys and 20 girls give or take. So top third kind of there like Yeah. Yeah. And but then how many go compete at a meet? Yeah. I mean, everyone competes at almost all of our meets. We do, when we go away, we divide our squad in half, we have a home meet.
Everybody competes, you know, you run JV heats you making sure everyone has, has an opportunity to, uh, to swim in the meet. Wow, okay. So top 20 are kind of in that varsity prac. Yeah. What, what are the varsity practice times? Like how many, how? 'cause I know that swimming is a grind. Yeah. And you have to be in the pool a lot.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's definitely a lot of work. I mean, we have practice, uh, either two hours and 30 minutes in the morning, or two hours and 15, uh, four days a week. And then we have practice every afternoon for an hour and 40, and then Saturday's, three hours. Yeah, it's a lot. Two, two hours and 30 minutes.
Two hours and 45 minutes in the morning. Yeah. Like I thought I was a strict coach. I do like an hour before school. Yeah. And like I was like, yeah, we're getting there. Two hour, almost three hours. What time were they getting there? So we had practice this morning from six to 8 30, 45 minutes of that was in the weight room.
And then what time did school start? Uh, starts at 9 0 5 at Carmel. Oh, that's nice. Oh, wait, start? Yeah. That, that's, that's nice. Yeah, we're like seven 50 I think at ard. So it's like, alright boys, we're getting here at four AM's, right? Yeah, it's early. Early boardings. Yeah. Okay. So that's an in, so four days a week, you have 2 45 ish before school and another almost two after school.
Yeah. Are you after school every day of the week? Yeah, we're after school. I mean, it basically we're like an hour, it's an hour and a half in the water, in the afternoons, um, and then three hours every Saturday, three hours every Saturday. Yeah. Wow. That's a, that's a grind. Oh my gosh. It takes what? It takes my man.
It, it takes what it takes. Okay. Has it always been like that? When you got there in 2006, was it like, was this something that you had to keep bolting pieces onto or was the, the standard already the standard had already been established? We were certainly a good team then, obviously when you win state championships that we were good, but we were not as good on the national level as we are today.
So one of the things we had to do is figure out how to do better outside of the pool. Like getting stronger, creating better athletes, and being someone who could, you know, jump better, flip, turn better, start better, have a, have a greater technique. So we spend a lot more time outside the pool. I would say at first.
Uh, and really made it about the quality of volume we were doing rather than just swimming up and down the pool. So you come in and, and get like, what was enticing about this job within Carmel? I mean, Carmel I thought to me, had everything you needed to be successful on the national level. It was really good on the state level, but it wasn't that national powerhouse.
But I saw all the potential. Um, it had everything you needed. It had, I mean, it had all the ingredients of a great cake, but it hadn't been baked the right way yet. And so, uh, I saw that as a great opportunity for me and working there two years before I got hired as head coach, I got to see firsthand, oh, we're doing that well, or we're not doing that well.
And so the opportunity for me was like, how do we make this better? And each year slowly evolve to create this national powerhouse. And I remember at the time there were two great swimmers in the state. Who were swam at the Olympic Trials and those girls kicked our butts at the state meet. And I was like, you know why they're, where are they from?
One was from Lafayette and one was from Center Grove and they were both in the Olympic Trial final. And our girls, you know, hadn't even been close to that. And I was like, if we want to start winning the meet easily and far and away. We need to be doing what they're doing for a long time. I mean, at that point in 2006, they had probably won ELE in the teens maybe.
Yeah. We won, we had won 20 at that point. Two six at that point. Two th Yeah. So like, and it's like, oh, you're gonna come in here and tell like we're already, we've won 20 state titles in a row. But you could win it based off of like, you might not have to have the number one swimmers, right. You could, uh, win it off of like, we have a lot of good swimmers where our depth was incredible.
My first year as head coach, we did not win a single event. You had no zero overall individual champions, zero individual or relay champions at the time. You just had enough like second, third force Exactly. To win by like volume. Yeah. Because you know, like you could have the best swimmer in Lafayette, they're just not gonna have 12 like really solid swimmers there.
Exactly. Yeah. I got you. Okay. And you were like, no, we need to be having champions. Well, yeah, I mean that we gotta start there. I mean, like, and like they, it doesn't feel, I mean, it feels good to win as a team, but it doesn't feel good not to have anybody. I mean, we had so many close seconds. I mean, it's still painful for me, you know, from that meet.
So like those girls, they felt motivated to get to that top level and like just everything that it took to get there. Like, and when you see a state champion, right? Instead, talk about these two. One was from Lafayette. Where was the other one from? Center Grove. Center Grove. Yeah. You think about them, at what point in their life did they have to commit to wanting to win an Indiana State title?
I think that happens a lot of time in the sport of swimming. Probably like in seventh and eighth grade. I, I thought it might've been earlier. Yeah. It's like if you're not committed by the time you're like 10 years old, like you're not gonna be able to do it. I mean, that's probably a misnomer. And I've seen plenty of people do great things.
I mean, there was a young lady, Kelly Pash, one of the most decorated. Swimmers in the state of Indiana. I mean, she played softball all the way till eighth grade. Molly Sweeney's a great swimmer for us now. She was an elite soccer player until eighth grade. And then by the time you kinda get into high school, it's like you gotta make a choice if you want to be elite at this elite.
Yeah. And it's like you could probably still be, maybe like you're playing all the sports, like a state place there. Maybe if you're like just a naturally good swimmer, but you're not gonna win the whole. Probably not. Wow. Now I'm sure there are. I'm sure there are. Someone's there to listen to this and be like, I got that.
Oh, I'm gonna prove that Carmel guy wrong. Yeah, and you could for sure. So it's not necessarily like, oh, at the time you like first step in the water, you have to be swimming 15 hours a week in a pool or whatever. No. And I don't want you to, I want you to enjoy other sports. You need to learn how to move your body.
I mean, this is an athletic endeavor and great swimming to me. It's a dance, it's an artistic expression. And like when you watch someone who's great at anything, the way they flow, the way they move it is, it is a, it's artwork. Yeah, right? It is. It is a symphony in the water or any, and I'm sure when you wrestling make someone who's great at it, they just move fluidly.
And so you have to learn how to move your body in a certain way. And I think sports teaches us that. And then like when you get really good at the end, you know, you're just focusing on your one sport. Hopefully you've had all the foundations of movement to be able to express that to the utmost capacity that, that's really interesting.
And it's like fine tweaking little pieces there, but it's like you take the thing, you learn from throwing a baseball or whatever into your, like, you know, there's, I see the relations there. Yeah. I mean like there are six fundamental movements. You need to be able to squat, hinge, lunge, and then push, pull, and then brace.
Like brace, like plank. Oh, core. Yeah. Core. Yeah. I mean, you have to be able to do all those things fundamentally well to be great in sport. Yeah. I mean, I saw we, again, I don't know if we were recording yet when we talked about learning how to swim for Ironman, like, which was one of the hardest things I've ever done as an adult.
Like I'm 20 at the time, I'm 26. Like getting into the pool to like actually swim. Yeah. Like not just like splash around in the water, like actually swim laps. And I'm like, I can't seem to get my hips out of the water. My legs are dangling. And I'm like, dude, this sucks. It's hard. Like there's definitely, I mean an art to this dance outside of just like the performance piece, right?
Like, you know, I'm sure we could get into like we are doing X amount of workouts and this type of thing, but a piece of like building a championship dynasty is culture. Building a culture that gets. You talk about eighth grade, it's kinda when they make the choice. 14, 13 year olds to be like, I'm committed to this because I see that there is a reward on the other side, and it's like swimming's a lolly.
No one, like there's no guys getting in the pool. Like, yeah, I'm doing this for the ladies. Yeah. Like there's no Friday night lights on a swim meet. Right. Similar to a wrestling match. Yeah. So it's like you're not doing this for external glory. I'd love to learn about what the culture looked like in 2006 and how you built and developed and molded this culture of championship mentality at Carmel.
It's really the standards that you set for, well, for me, as a coach and the standards that are set for the program, everybody thinks they hold themselves to high standards until you go see someone else holding themselves to a higher standard. So each and every year, my goal was to evolve the program and continually raise the standards year after year after year.
And this idea of, uh, can I like the constant and never ending improvement and you're just always trying to learn, get better. I mean, I took notes, I paid attention. I went around to any great swim program in the country, and I was on their pool deck for multiple days. What is this person doing well and how can I learn to bring that back?
Was it most of the influence coming from swim programs? Not just swim programs? I mean, like, I'm a huge sports advocate. I love sports. I, um, I'm a football guy. I mean, well, baseball, hockey. So like if there's someone out there doing something well, I wanna know why and how they're doing it so well. I mean, watching Tony Hawk.
Learn how to do his, I think it was 900, whatever, ridiculous escape or like his process and how he got there and how many times he had to fall. Like, if you're great at something, I am paying attention and I love to hear how you got there. So if there's a dock on it, I'm watching it. When anyone's successful at something for a long time, like Carmel swimming has been successful even before you got there.
Yeah. Like you, you can't, like 20 state championships in a row is success. Yeah. But being able to come in and say like, we have to continue to get better. A lot of times people can like, rest on their trophy case and be like, well we've done this. Like, and it's like, you know what works. But it's like next year we have to bolt something new on.
Yeah. Or strip something like, maybe we didn't like that. Right. And it, it's this constant evolution. I think that's really fascinating. Do you have a few. Like specific examples. Maybe there's coaches that see this and are like, oh, I wanna learn from, from the coaching legend of like ways that you've built good culture at Carmel.
It's all about relationships. So first you gotta have great relationships with your parents and your team. Communicate, this is what we're gonna do, this is why we're gonna do it, and this is how we're gonna do it, and we're gonna constantly learn. So just being upfront with your people and developing relationships.
I mean, like, if you're gonna ask somebody to come to practice that much, they better know that you care about them as a person and care about them. Their holistic development. Not just being an athlete, but being a better person. And the values that we get to teach. What's the, what's the value that you communicate to parents like, Hey mom, dad, you have a freshman.
They wanna swim at Carmel. This is gonna be worth it. Because of what? Because who they're gonna become along the way. Like you're gonna learn how to, how to show up on time. You're gonna learn how to communicate with adults. You're gonna learn how to be a great teammate. You're gonna learn the value of hard work.
And like the more work you put in that, the more you get out of it. And honestly today, when, if you can get kids away from their phones for hours at a day, that's a win. That's a huge win. Right. So where did you notice that change? Like where did you really feel like that is? Like a, the thing, the phone?
Yeah. I don't know. I, I think that the whole TikTok, I mean, it just, kids, when kids stop filming themselves, when they walk on pool deck doing their dance, I'm like, what is going on here? And it's like fun. And it's like a part of the culture that you've had to adapt with. For sure. Yeah. It's like, I'm a, I was a 2015 high school grad.
Yeah. And I'm like, we liked our phones, but it's also like, I can't tell if I'm just like biased because I'm like old now, like, oh, like back in my day we didn't dance on camera. Yeah. And now I'm like filming everything that I do because that's just the way the world works, I suppose then I, I always wonder like, we have that not issue, but it's something that we keep, might like, Hey, don't bring your phone in the room.
Right. Like, we don't need it right now. Like. Leave it out there and just disconnect for a little bit. Yeah. I mean, kids, let's talk to each other, right? Like, you know, like when, like when you go out to, you know, a team dinner and every kid's on their phone instead of talking to each other like this, this is a problem.
And I don't want to be like the curmudgeon coach that's like, but it's like, back in my day we used to have conversations, but they're, but they are having conversation. They're just like DMing it to each other. Yeah. They're, they're basically talking about you, the coach with texting on each other probably.
Yeah. Right. Yeah. Uh, okay. So, so that piece of culture of like, you buy into their whole person Yep. And you have these rules, or not rules, but like lessons Yeah. That have nothing to do with like, we're gonna get your kids a hundred meter time down. It's like they're gonna learn hard work, they're gonna learn timeliness, communicating.
Like all these life skills. We shake their hands every day after practice. Why? So they can look me in the eye. They can have a handshake and they have to talk, they have to talk to adults In high school, you don't appreciate. How important of a skill it is to talk to somebody and having that relationship.
But once you've done it, all the kids, when they come back, they go, thank you for teaching me that. I went to my college coach and I knew I could have that relationship. Like we talked about Drew Kibler earlier. He went to Texas and he would shake his coach's hand. He's like a legendary coach, Eddie Reese. He went to shake his coach's hand every day after practice.
And at first everyone was like, what is this guy doing? Who is this freshman on this team? You know, we're winning NCAA championships. And by when he left there, every kid was shaking coach's hand after practice. I'm like, how cool is that? That like he reshaped that culture and that's a matter of respect, right?
When the athlete comes to you and shakes your hand and you shake their hand, it's like, Hey, I respect you. Respect me. We're gonna leave this practice here and we're gonna come back tomorrow. And if it was good, great. If it wasn't, no, we're gonna leave it here. And we have that relationship and yeah, even the.
Angry, pissed off, like tough day. That's, those are obviously some of the best times to do it. Yeah. Because you have to like, after you get put 'em through like the, the freaking meat grinder. Yeah. And they have to come look at you like, yeah. Thanks coach. I appreciate you. Do you have advice, like specific advice, let's say there are coaches out there, whether it's, let's say like when things really become competitive.
Like we're not talking peewee, like second grade T-ball here. We're talking like, I feel like middle school-ish time things, people wanna win, they're keeping score. Mm-hmm. Do you have advice for coaches out there on how they can build a culture that's gonna help develop more than just star athletes? I mean, to me it's all about the process.
I mean, you hear that over and over again, but it is so true. If you take care of the seconds and minutes, the hours and days take care of themselves. Have you read, uh, chop wood carry water? Yes. Right? Where it's like you have to, you wanna be the best samurai or whatever. You have to chop wood carry water.
Yep. And it like always comes back to that finding enlightenment, chop wood carry water. Right? Yeah. Like, and it, it, it is so true because at the. You know, at the Olympic Trials to the first meet as your 10-year-old, essentially you're gonna get nervous. You're gonna start doubting yourself. You're not sure you're gonna be able to, to swim or compete at the way you want to compete.
And like what is the one thing, what is the things I can do in this moment right now that I believe in that I know can center myself so I can go be at my best? Right? If you're up there worrying about if you're at the plate, you don't worry about hitting the home run, you worry about putting the best swing on the ball that you can, right?
If you're behind the block and you're nervous, what? How do I, what are the three things I can do in this race and in whatever my time is, that's what it is. But if I can step there with confidence and trusting the things that I know that got me here, that's a win. And so trying to teach that over and over and over again, and like, I can read about a sunset, but until I go see a sunset and experience it, you don't know.
You could read about how to do this well, but until you experience your heart fluttering and looking around and. Two Olympic gold medalists next to you, and like, what do I do now? Until you go through it, you don't know it. So you've gotta actually go experience it and then learn. Ooh, that's, that's where I was not good.
That was not in a good head space then. And then, and then this trial and error at that point, the process like always getting, especially in sports, sports where, you know, it's not like you're doing this for the glitz and the glamor. Yeah, right. Like, I don't know how many people come to a Carmel swim meet on a Saturday morning, but I'm assuming it's similar to like a wrestling super dual, right?
Yeah. And it's like you have to just know this process and like, you're still getting nervous. You're, they're competing, you're doing all these things, but it's like you have just fallen so in love with the act of working hard that like, you know, you're gonna put together the best effort. Yeah. I, I, I think that's really good advice.
You are preparing for big moments, so. Like you, you're in that work and you're in the high school dual meet. But I mean, Indianapolis did a great job at the Olympic Trials. There were 20,000 people at Lucas Oil Stadium. Was that the coolest swim meet ever? It was the coolest swim meet ever. And like, you know, our swimmer, Aaron Shackell, won the 400 free.
He was the first Olympian of the meet. And so to watch, you know, the state of Indiana to get behind one of their own and cheer 'em on to victory and hit, I mean like the outpouring of emotion and the cheering, like, you know, I understand that there's a, where were you at during that? I was standing right on the, the finish across from the stands.
So like there's a coach's kind of viewing point and like, I mean there were three Carmel coaches there and we just, like one of my other coaches had a water bottle and he squeezed it so hard and it just burst open water on everybody. I mean, I like what he won. So it was just an incredible moment. So to me.
The work that you do in the dark, you prepare for the moments in the light. And, and that's true in anything that you're doing. Whether you're, you're trying to create a business, you're trying to do great in sport, you're getting a presentation, you've gotta do the work when no one's watching. So when the lights do come on, you're ready.
Well, I mean, how long have you known the Shackells? The Shackells came here three years ago. Three years ago? Yep. Okay. How old is, is Aaron a freshman? He is 20, 20, 21 years old. He's sophomore. Sophomore, yep. At ut, UT did not quite work out the way we expected, so he actually came home and he is swimming with us again, so.
Oh, heck yeah. Yeah. Okay. So he's a like in sophomore 20 Yeah. Range. Yep. Uh, and Alex is a senior Carmel senior in high school. Yeah. About to graduate. Yep. And they both end up, I mean, everyone knows, I feel like, knows the story, like both become Olympians. Yep. For you as a coach. Over the three, four years you've known them.
Like, did you know from the beginning like, wow, they're built different, like they're just like, prepared for this? Or is it like, did you see this evolution? I mean, it's kind of crazy because when they came here, Aaron was not this great swimmer. Um, he wasn't even sure if he was gonna make our high school team as a sophomore.
And Alex was like this young, I would say very talented, kind of like just energetic, a top swimmer, but not the top swimmer at her age. So they were on two totally different paths. So for Aaron to make it, it was like, where did this guy come from? And Alex was, was what were their high school up until, so we're gonna get us pre.
The trials. Yeah. What were the high school accolades of Aaron and what were the high school accolades of Alex to that point? Yeah, well, Aaron in his senior year actually broke the national high school record in the 200 free his senior year. But he, you didn't think he was gonna make, he didn't think he was gonna make the team as a sophomore.
I told him, I go, I was like, listen bud, your times aren't fast enough to make our team yet. So he and he changed it. I mean, it was like, you're gonna need some more time in the dark before you get to the light. That's right buddy. You got work to do. Um, and that's a true story. And his dad will, he, dad will confirm that you know, Alex.
She, you know, she made it after her, her junior year. So, uh, she had won, you know, 11 out of 12 state championships. Uh, lost to 50 free, got second. I just shouldn't say lose got second in the 50. It's, you're either the first. I love that. But that's the mentality you guys have, right? It's like winning, like is like, is winning, you know?
That's what, and it's like the, I love picking up those little things where it's like that's the standard. Yeah. Like after 20 years, well, plus another 20 years. Yeah. 40, almost 40 years. The standard isn't placing, the standard is winning. I mean like every, and everyone's on the real path, right. I hate to, I hate that win or lose mentality 'cause it's what did you learn?
And I think she probably learned more in the times she didn't win from the opportunities she did win. That's fair. Yeah. I mean, obviously Alex was a, she made the 2023 Worlds team. 2023 World. Okay. Yeah. So before the year, before the Olympic cycle? Yeah. She got, uh, did that fifth and the 200 free as it meet at I IU Natatorium.
Was that for an age group or is that like just open? No, that is the world team. So, so as a, this was bef this would be after her sophomore year. After her sophomore year. After her sophomore year. Yeah. She is the fifth fastest swimmer at the 200 Free in the world. In the United States. In the United States.
Yeah. Does that qualify her to go to the Yeah. So they took top six in the relay events. Yeah. Okay. So she was the fifth fastest in the na This is like grown women. Yeah. I mean, Kate, I mean, she was on a relay with Katie Ledecky. Right. So That's insane. Yeah. Uh, it's a great story though, 'cause she thought her best event and her best chance of making the Worlds was the 200 butterfly.
And she ended up getting like fifth or sixth and that, so she doesn't make the team. And then the next morning she swims at 200 free. I mean, she dropped like four seconds and after, after she swam, she goes. You know, Chris, everyone just told me, Hey, I got next year. I can make it. But they didn't know that I could do swim fast and 200 free and make this team.
I mean, like, that's who she is, right? Like I didn't do any of that. That's all, all her saying, okay, I might not have made it my best event, but I'm still making this team. That's, and she looks at you, says that, and you're like, yeah. I'm like, hey, let's go, let's go. Like some people, do you think that that's built, like do you think people just have that drive internally or is it something you can develop a lot of that is in with her, but you have to create a place where you give that permission to come out and, and express itself.
I don't know if you could just train someone to be that competitive, to want to win that bad, but I think that you can like put all the processes in to get better and win stuff and, and do well, but like. That almost like a Jordan mentality, right? The Kobe mentality. Like these elite. The elite of the elite of the elite.
I don't know, like I think you can nurture that and bring it up, but I think at some point they either like are just like stone cold killers or like you're just really good at your thing. Yeah. I don't know. That might be my perspective. Yeah, I would agree. I think nurturing out of them and learning, so how learning you have to teach them how to use it at the right place at the right time.
Uh, in those moments. And like, like, I mean, Jordan has said many times, he's like, I've missed many shots in my career, but that's why I'm successful. Like, 'cause he's willing to step up and take that. Mm-hmm. Because take that shot when it mattered where other people are like, no, give that ball to somebody else.
I mean, so she comes back before her junior year just being, you know, on at Worlds and then it's like Olympic. When did the conversa, I mean, was it always a conversation of like, we're getting, like the Olympic Trials is that's the destination we're going to Basically right after she was done swimming at Worlds.
I mean we were over in Japan. And like, all right. And you're just, and you're going along with all this, like, you're just like tag, like here. Yeah. I got selected to be a coach for that trip. So I was on that trip and that was a huge moment for me being on an international trip with the best coaches in the country and then being at a meet with the best swimmers in the world or at, and I'm like, holy cow, this is where I've always wanted to be.
And so like, like if you walk into a pool deck, like anywhere in the country, like do people like, oh, that's that Carmel guy. Like they know you. Yeah, I would hope so at this point. Yeah. I mean, come on. They're like, they know, like they know like Carmel swimming has a national and, and now an international brand.
Yeah. That's wild. So you're in Japan? Yep. And how does the, how do like Worlds and everything go? So basically in the morning they have, there's six people. They put four on a relay and they basically end up taking two from that relay to put 'em out at night. And she swim fast enough in the morning to make the final relay.
She gets a silver medal. She swam a great relay. She, she has a silver World medal. Silver world medal. Yeah. As a sophomore in high school. As a sophomore in high school. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, uh, you were just like, you find home, you're like, this is silly. This is crazy. Like, that's awesome. Yeah. It was a great moment.
And, and that was the first, uh, international medal for Carmel Swimming as far as I, as far as I know. So it was a great moment for, just, for our sport in our community. Okay. And then fast forward, she wins 11 out of 12 junior year of events. Yeah. She won four out of four that year, or four out of four, sorry.
Oh, 11 out of 12 in her high school career. Yeah, because you can only do four. Four, yeah. I got you. Yeah. So she goes four for four at at State. Yep. But it's like, that's just, that's February, that's the warmup for what's coming to Indianapolis with Olympic Swim Trial. Yeah. And so, I mean, she does that, but like.
I mean, most times you taper and rest athletes for that. Mate, she swims right through it. She's did doubles all that week. She's in the weight room. I mean, so most times, you know, she wins four state. You're like, 'cause that is like the pinnacle for a lot of people. Yeah. And it's like she's hitting doubles, like, oh I'm gonna, and she wins all four events.
Yep. But it's like this, that was like a good training day. Like we got our medals, yada, yada, yada. But it's like, uh, 'cause when was that in June? That, yeah, that was in February. And then the trials are in June. It crash in June. So she's like, that's the destination. We had that conversation way in advance.
You have to prepare, you know, 'cause like you get to the end, you're like, oh, well I better rest or I better taper. And you're like, no, this is what we talked about before. We're not gonna do that. We're going to, you gotta keep whatever your primary objective is in mind and you can't s sacrifice the short term for the long term.
And so we knew all along that was the meat. Wow. Okay. So you continues training. Getting ready to go. Yep. Uh, swim. I, how cool is it that it was right here in Indianapolis? Uh, I mean, that's the great thing is the amateur sports capital of the world lived up to its hype selling out Lucas Oil Stadium and, uh, the largest mean having a swimming pool in a football stadium like crazy.
The largest, that was the largest swim meet in, in the world, like largest swim in the world ever. Ever. Yeah. Yeah. Come on. Yeah, that was sick. It was so cool. I was down there, I think I was down there. Was Aaron? Day one? Day one. Yeah. I think I was there for that one, which was cool because I mean, anytime you see anyone that was like, 'cause IU as a swim club, I think.
Yep, yep. Um, and I ended up, I saw anyone that had ties to Indiana or like from Carmel. Yeah. Which there were a lot, like, there was a, there's a, some pretty cool swimming happening in the Hoosier state. I was just, I was pumping. Yeah. I think Indiana had the most Olympian swimmers in the US than any other state in the country.
How many of them came through at some point? Carmel Swim Club? Just three. Okay. Just three. I know, I know. Um, okay. So, uh, that moment preparedness, like, what are you saying to Alex and Aaron, like as they're getting ready to go compete for the, for a place in the Olympics? I mean, it's just what we talked about earlier to handle the moment in front of you.
Do what got you here, trust the process. And there's some, there's some tough moments in there. I mean, um. Aaron made the 400 free, and they're like, we're trying to make the relay for the, for the four by two. He was so wiped out for making the team. He was just, I mean, he, um, ended up getting eighth, so I mean like that was a tough moment for him.
Top six make the team and the relay, he got eighth, so he didn't get the opportunity to swim that relay at the Olympics. So I know going into this year, he's got a different frame of mind and he'll be much more in tune with how to balance his energy throughout the entire meet rather than just, you know, after you make the Olympic team.
I can't imagine his outpouring of emotion. You, you're already gotta do media. He was in media till like 1:00 AM and you had to swim the next day at like nine. So like, they're just exhausted and, and it's kinda like you get outta your rhythm a little bit when you talk about like chopped wood carry water.
I chop wood, carry water, do media till 1:00 AM Yeah. I don't think that was in the book. No. You know, you don't. And that, that, I mean, I did not know that. I mean, that's the things I had to learn as a coach to help prepare for. Yeah. Look, I mean, you've like, I don't like that. Those are your first Olympians. I had actually Jake Mitchell in 20 20, 20 21 make the Olympic team.
Um, that was my first Olympian then. Yeah. Yeah. So you've had three? Yeah, four total. Four. Uh, who's the other one? Drew Kibler. Oh, yeah. From, this was like early days. Yeah. Drew made it 21 and 24. Yep. Oh, 21. Okay. So all recently then? Yeah. Wow. That's so cool. Um, so four Olympians come through and that's like, you talk about the standard.
Yeah, the standard. Like, and, and I think sometimes coaches can get caught into like this team of destiny, right? Where it's like, we're gonna put it all together in one year and this is gonna be the team. It's like, this was a vision that started in 2006. Yeah. And now it, here it is. 15 years later after that, like an Olympian.
Did any of those guys grow up like right here in central Indiana? Yeah. So Jake and Drew, uh, grew up, yeah. In, in central Indiana. So Jake and Drew probably got into the pool for the first time right around 2000. I don't know if they were like little kids by then, you know? Yeah. I mean, it's probably the mid two thousands.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's like coming full circle where it's like they went through. 20 years of Carmel swimming to get to that point. Yeah, like that's crazy. Hey, Indiana, if you're a business owner with big plans, listen up. Whether you're expanding, renovating, or breaking ground on something brand new, you need a banking team that's ready to back your vision.
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That's elements.org/getin. Biz elements financial, like a bank only better federally insured by nnc UA and equal housing lender. Now let's get back into the episode. Yeah, it's, I mean, it's, it's a great feeling for them and to represent the state in the swimming. The rich Hi. History of swimming for them was huge.
Um, and to be a part of their process and watching them grow up. I remember watching Jake at 1314, we were doing this relay and we were so far behind and he just caught this kid and ran him down in the last 50. And I'm like, that kid's got something. Like just what we were talking about. That kid has something special and how do we cultivate that for him to make the Olympic team, how many kids go through Carmel High School swimming and don't make the varsity like the ones, Hey, how many kids did you take to like put into sectional?
Yeah, although, I mean there's only like 14 or 15 that is the unique part of Carmel Swimming, you know, only the top get to go, but everyone's a part of it and we like to say, you know, one team and it's a lot like, how do you get, so this is interesting. Yeah. And I'm, I'm actually very curious, how do you get a high school kid to buy into mornings, nights, weekends?
And like they don't even, that is, they don't even get Right, but they're not gonna compete. Like there's no per, there's already minimal personal glory. There is no personal glory because you don't get to get in the pool for sectional, right? Yeah. If your goal is winning a state title, yeah. Obviously you have other kids that whose goals are far superior, but like the average high school kid wants to win state.
In our sport, time matters. So if you can improve your time, I always say your best time is your own world record. How do you beat your own world record? Right? Yeah. And that's how you can measure success. Yeah. I guess that is the interesting piece about swimming. It's like if you're on, let's say like the, a dynasty football program and you don't play.
Yeah. You can't really tell if you're getting better or not. Right. But you have a, you have a standard, like do you have kids that don't, uh, swim in sectionals that go under to swim in college? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. And, and you got time to develop maybe your freshman, sophomore year, you don't make it, but can you work your way to making way on the team by the time you're a junior or senior?
Oh man, that happens all the time. So like, put it in perspective for us this past year. When you think you're taking, how many total events are there in swimming? Yeah, so there's 11, uh, swimming events with three relays and eight individual events. Eight individual events, three relays. Yep. How many gold medals did Carmel take for boys and for girls?
On the girls, we won four individual and three relays. So seven out of the 11. Okay. Yeah. Yep. And then the poise, I think. We won, uh, three individual and three relays, 50% of the gold medals. That's, there you go. I guess so. That's pretty cool. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah, and that's hard 'cause there's some great swimming in Indiana.
I mean, like the teams around us. Fisher is a great team center. Grove Zionsville, uh, the team's up North Penn. Do you feel that though, when they look at you and they're like, they like everyone, oh, we're hated. No one likes Carmel swimming. No offense, right? Like because but it is, it's all from a place of like, uh, aspiration, right?
Like they want to build this, they want to be swim city, USA, you know? Yeah. And no one's actively booing us, but Reggie Jackson, the great baseball player from the Yankee says they don't boo nobodies. And so when Carmel wins. Like, everyone's like, eh, good job. And when someone else wins, like, I mean, the place for rep.
So, uh, you know, yeah. It's like, uh, that feeling. Let to say it's like, uh, a nowhere small, tiny, like Triton High School is where I went to Triton High School, swimming. They don't even have a swim team, so this was perfect. If it's like a Carmel kid and a Triton kid, and the Triton kid like just knows out in front, like the place goes crazy, the place goes crazy.
I mean, it does, I mean, there's no question about it. It's a sign of respect. So I have to play up into that. And like, we always say A, B, C, anybody but Carmel. Um, well, and I love that they don't boo nobodies, they don't boo noddies. Right. You, you take it as like, it is a sign of respect. And like I grew up a Bills fan.
Do I hate the Patriots? Yes. But do I respect them? Yes, I really do. I mean, I wanna learn from what they're doing. So, which is, it's crazy how competitive high school sports, like I love it. I just get so like, I mean, wrestling's a winter sport and I just get so ingrained into everything and it's like, oh, I get fired up about it.
And, but then I think the, the coolest piece of the whole thing, right? Yes, you want to obviously win state championships, win medals, all stuff, but is the development, like when you meet someone at 13, 14 years old as a freshman and when they leave your program, whether they leave it as an Olympian, literally people are leaving high school as Olympians.
Alex, that's crazy. Like, and I say crazy in like the best way. Crazy. Um, or they're leaving as like a never made the actual varsity team, but like are a different person who got a lot better at swimming and. Gained this real world experience and lessons like I think that the character development, yeah, of kids is amazing.
That's way more important than the actual winning is who they become along the way. And what skills were you able to learn? You know, some of these people have a fear of competing and maybe they've competed for the first time. I do think high school sports, sports in general teaches you how to manage time, how to create relationships, this thing that ultimately lead to success down the road.
Certainly grades are important, school is important, but also learning too. Put in hard work to do things that you don't think you could do to make sure you have good being a good teammate. All those things to me. Allow you to be a successful human down the road. And that is what the importance of putting your young, your children in sports.
That is just to me, I mean, obviously I'm a huge proponent of sport, but it it's because you become a better person along the way. Yeah. And, and I always look all of our parents in the eyes, and I say, if at the end of these four years, all we did was make a good wrestler, we failed. We failed. Yeah. If I made you just a good swimmer, then I messed up.
Yeah. If like, if at the end, like the, the thing is we're saying like, oh, X amount seconds off a time or whatever, like, no. And those are the best, um, the best feedback to get too is like this, like being the first one in the, like, I actually wanna dive in. Yeah. Like, is there like a, a kid or two that is doing something?
And like, it's, it's not necessarily swimming in the pool. Obviously Olympians like, we're not gonna, we we've, we're gonna finish out that piece too. But like, are there any kids that have come through Carmel Swimming that are just doing crazy cool stuff because of the lessons and they've come back and talk to you about it?
I get to see it now. Come full circle and now I'm coaching children's, the kids, I coach their children, which is just a wild experience. But getting their PhD from Harvard and chemistry, right? I mean that's a huge, I mean, I couldn't imagine those types of things. Um, the lawyers that have coming through, the doctors, uh, the business, you know, starting their businesses, they're just grateful for the time and the relationships that we have.
And I love seeing them going on and doing those things in the world. Yeah. We have to give one special shout out. She would be mad if I didn't, we have to shout out Mary Woods. Yeah. So Depaw grad 2015, uh, she was in our friend group and she ended up becoming like. One of, one of, if not the youngest division one swimming coach in the nation at slu.
Yeah. Which is crazy. Yeah. I mean, Mary was one, Mary was one of those swimmers who started out as a freshman, not on that sectional team, and worked her way up through the program to being a high school finalist and then going on to swim for DePaul. And like, if you would've told me that she would go to be a swim coach at uh, St.
Louis, I'd be like her. Really? But I mean, she, she found it and I saw her and her dad, 'cause they were volunteering at the Olympic Trial, so she was so happy to see me. I have this picture with her when she was in high school and, uh, with another coach, and we took that same picture with, with her and the other coach at trial.
So just to have those moments with those athletes is, is just special. Yeah. It, it's, uh, it's cool. And building the, it all starts from the time of like the suffering, like in the pool in the morning, like yada yada, like all that stuff to then like, oh. It opens doors that you probably didn't think about, like when we were graduating from Nepal.
I don't know if like, that was like, what did you wanna be when you grow up like a a d one swim? Like, that's, that's what I wanna go do. Um, super cool. We'll round it out. Talk about was there pressure maybe as Alex started her senior year, um, with an Olympic, two Olympic medals, two Olympic medals. Yeah. With two Olympic medals coming back into high school.
And how do you as a coach, like a healthy amount of pressure is good, but also like a 17, 18-year-old kid, see every time you get in the pool, everyone's like, yeah, that's the Olympic, that's the Olympian. Like, how do you do that? Yeah. I mean, I think she's handled it extremely well in terms of, you know, understanding.
Uh, what she, you know, the eyes are on her. I mean, she goes to a, a swim meet now and everyone wants to take a picture with her. Uh, I mean, like before, you know, you go to swim, meet people, like, whatever, and like, you know, you go to a high school swim meet, like there's el shackle over there, but, you know, having your, like, she walks on the pool deck and everyone's like, like it, I imagine they like hush.
Yeah. It's, and it, it's happening. But, you know, I think she's just kind of grown, used to it and just become a part of who she is and it, it just, you know, you don't wanna say it's, it's normal, right? But she's done a great job to me of just handling that. It's mounting again. Now, can you be a success again?
I mean, that's the real challenge. Like, you've done it once and people aren't gonna be like, Hey. And what and what's the next goal? World Trials. World Championship Trials here in Indy. Uh, the first weekend in June. Let's go at IU Natatorium. Mm-hmm. So we wanna make more events. We want to have, we wanna get some medals at the meet.
Hey, I was gonna say, like, if that's for her, and you also have, there's another event coming that Carmel you are hosting the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup or something like that. Yeah, yeah. Talk to us about that. Yeah. That's something that Carmel's hosting a, a leg of it, right? Yeah. So the World Cup, um, is this, it's three meets in three different cities, uh, in October.
And the world's best swimmers compete against each other. And Carmel High School is hosting the very first leg of that, uh, the first week in October, which is an incredible experience for us. And just a great, uh, kudos to the city, to the high school for building this great auditorium that can host. The world's best meet and it's gonna be on tv.
I mean like, like who, what type of people should we expect to be swimming there? Like Yeah, like our Olympic team. I would expect many of our Olympic athletes to be at the meet. So the, the, the, the person who won the most medals, the last Olympics in swimming was named Leon Marchand from France, uh, broke Michael Phelps's World Records in the 400.
Im at that meet, he will be swimming in that meet. Summer McIntosh, who broke, uh, several world records in Olympic gold medalist, she'll be at that. Meet Regan Smith, who's an Olympic medal, uh, I think she's multiple gold, multiple silver medals. She'll be at that meeting. So what does that mean for your program?
Like you're bringing in like, I'm just like envisioning this and it's like, oh man, that's like. Peyton Manning going to play football there, you know? Right. Yeah. It'd be like, Hey, Peyton Manning's gonna go throw some passes to you or something. Right. Like competing in like, or like is like on staff at like, you know, like they're just being in the environment.
Yeah. Like, you know at your, like the high school. That's great. Well, I think to me there's so much power and seeing it firsthand and you go, you kind of realize, well they're just human. Like you grow up thinking they're superheroes and they're just people just like you and me. I think that it speaks to the city of Carmel and to me, the state really.
'cause I think the whole state had this, you know, you wanna be the amateur sports capital of the world and building the natatorium and the track. Just that idea to me has spread to the sports now throughout the state. And for Carmel to kind of be one of the leaders in this, in the swimming pool and building.
We're one of the first high schools to build the 50, and now we have a new 50 meter pool. So. To have that and to get that confirmation that right, we're on the right track. 'cause the world's best are coming to Carmel, which is just nuts when you say it out loud. And, and the fun part is with all the pools and the aquatics center up there, not, it's not just for the pros, right?
You also do a lot for young youth getting people in the pool. Talk to me about that. Yeah, I mean, to me, like that is the great part about swimming. It is a lifelong sport and it's a sport that you should learn how to do, number one for your own safety. I mean, drowning is one of the leading causes of death in children.
So if you do not learn how to swim as a child, you are, you are essentially putting your, you're risking your life. In some ways, those videos on Instagram where they just like toss like a little kid in fully cloth and they get their head above. I'm like, that kid's like two years old. You can learn, you can learn how to swim at, at an extremely young age, and you need to, it is a lifesaving skill.
And if, I don't even care if swimming's not for you, but to learn that lifesaving skill is just vital. And so at the Carmel Swim Academy, which is a, a pool we own and run, uh, in Carmel, we teach swim lessons at a young age. It's warm water, it's an inviting environment. And just learning how to swim to me is just so important in having that life skill in.
It's a great to me aerobic exercise too. So it is a great balance you can learn at, at, at a young age. Yeah. And I would say, so like that starts throughout the summer. Is that all year round that you can send your kids to It's year round. At what age does it start? We start, uh, as young as like two. You have two year olds.
Uh, we, well, we do have, we do have, uh, you know, aqua, I mean basically you have like parent child Yeah. Like bring your child into the water and get their face in. Yeah. And all that stuff. So yeah. Wow. That's wild. And then you guys run that, uh, like does it pick up in the summer? Like people do lessons? It's year round.
Uh, but you know, obviously when school's out, we have lessons that are all day. Yeah, but we, uh, yeah, it's just nonstop. And there's an interesting piece of that. I think we looked up, um, you can quote me if I'm wrong, but like, you also want to make that, um, accessible for all income levels and, and still, right?
Yes, we do offer free swim lessons to anybody who are on free or reduced lunch. It's great. 'cause no one knows, like, we don't tell anybody if you just apply, you're just part of the regular program. We, we were so passionate about that, uh, and being able to teach all people that valuable life skill and our free slim lesson program is just something I, to me, one of the things I'm most proud of that we do.
Yeah. I, well, I mean, if you think about it, who are the type of people that have pools at their house? It's like, it's not the free and reduced lunch No. Or the majority part. Yeah. So it's like maybe you go to the pool with your family, uh, once a summer or like once a month during the summer and it doesn't become like accessible and you don't have the like, and then you probably don't get the lessons and, and then you end up being an adult.
And you're, it all, you're how to swim and you're like, it's too Ironman. Right. So I think that is impactful of, of the accessibility because you do need the pool. You know, like you can't just, like, I couldn't just go out in my Yeah. Neighborhood and it's not like going to run. Right? Yeah. Yeah. You, you need a facility for this to happen.
Yeah. I think that's super, super cool. And that makes a huge impact. Um, are there other ways that the, I know it's a whole nonprofit, is there other ways that you guys are making an impact in the community? Offer adult lessons too, which, yeah. I mean, we are teaching adults how to swim. Sign me up. You need to get over there, Nate.
Yeah. Help you with that iron man. Yeah. I mean, I think that's, that's a huge part of what we're doing. Again, I think just learning how to swim and, and we, the stories again, it's just like. Here's something I'm comfortable at, even at maybe people at 45 50. But I wanna learn how to do it. So yeah. And we we're teaching that youth Swim lessons at two years old to Olympic athletes.
Like you've seen the, the spectrum, you've been associated with Carmel swimming now for over two decades. If there was a thing, one piece of your journey with Carmel Swimming that you were the most proud of, what would that be? I'm just proud of the transformation that people go through through the program.
I mean, ultimately the Olympics are nice. The gold medals are nice. State championships are nice, but someone saying, Hey, you changed my life. That's, that's it. Right. And that's why you coach. That's why I coach, you know, I coach. 'cause I wanna help people. Yeah. And helping people be the very best you can be.
And how do you measure that? You get to measure that. With time and, and competitiveness, but ultimately who they become is way more important. Yeah. And I think that, um, some people don't understand high school sports. They don't understand sport in general. It's just like a beautiful environment that like gives you adversity and struggle and success and victory and failure and all of these like, great.
But it's in a play setting. Yeah. Like, it's not that it is high stakes, but not that high stakes, you know? Right. And it's like this great teacher, especially before you're, you know, out in the world on your own of like, oh, this is how I handle difficult situations that are kind of manufactured adversity to then take that out in the world when life manufactures head adversity and throws it at you.
I agree. And I, you know, I don't really think I truly appreciated that until I had my own children and it was like, oh, we have. My child's up all night not feeling well, and I still have to go to work. Right. It's like, you know, I guess what, I have a tough practice and I gotta go take this test. I, I mean, I think having, going through those moments helps you prepare to be an adult too.
And a parent. Yeah. 39 state championships for the women. Let's hope. Fingers crossed. You know, you guys keep the, the streak alive in, in double that time in 40 years, right? What do you hope the legacy that you leave behind of Carmel Swim is? Man, I hope they say the success was unmatched, but who, uh, he helped people become what's greater?
That's what I hope they say. We developed really good athletes, but we developed even better human beings. People. That's what I hope they say. The Chris Plumb auditorium. Right? There you go. Right. Yeah. There's been jokes about that with the statues and stuff, but, uh, I That's not happened yet. Yeah. It comes with time.
I think. I think the rule is 50. I think it's 50 state championships in a row, and then it's like guaranteed. Like I don't make the rules. I just enforce 'em. Right. All right. Uh, we've come to the end of the show. We have a couple fun segments here. Okay. Um, a lot, a lot about Indiana and, and some other ones.
So the first one's our younger years segment. This is brought to you by our friends at Orr Fellowship. They're a great organization here in Indiana helping develop young business leaders across the state. Chris, what advice would you give to your 22-year-old self? Don't be afraid to do the work. Get your hands dirty.
Do the things that, um, you might think you're above. And just get in there and, and, and learn and do the things and, and dive in headfirst in whatever you're doing. And the second thing I would tell myself is just to truly value and invest. In relationships with the people around you. You go to school, I got, I took these classes, I got this grade that's gonna help me be successful.
And it's important, but who you meet along the way. And like, I would've gone back and, and probably the people older and my professors and teachers and coaches and spent more time having them teach me what I probably didn't want to hear at that time. Right. So that would be, yeah, that would be my advice.
That's advice. Really good advice. Advice. Uh, I think when that like switch flips and you wanna spend time with older, wiser, you know? Yeah. Like people just have different experiences. It actually is very, very impactful. Yeah. We've come to the lightning round. We have some fast-paced fun questions for you here.
So if it, if it wasn't swimming, what Olympic event would you want to compete in? Ooh, Olympic event. Well, good thing golf is not an Olympic event because that, that's what I would choose to date. I, you know, I grew up, I was also a tennis player, so I mean, they got tennis now. Uh, but like speed skating I thought was the coolest thing.
So I'd probably say speed skating. I just had, uh, Quinn Heimer, he is like a 15-year-old, basically prodigy speed skater. He's just crazy. He's like preparing to do the world trials and try to make it to the Olympics and speed skating. And he's like similar to the swimmers where he is like swimming or he's skating fucking 10 hours a day or something like that.
It's crazy. I know Carmel gets Carmel gets a lot of hate. Yeah, Carmel gets a lot of hate. Not even just swimming, just like in general. Roundabouts, all nine yards. What's a place people need to visit in Carmel that would change their perspective on the city? The area where Sun King is and Fork + Ale, where the Monon meets.
I mean that little downtown area. It is just such a cool, unique place to hang out, grab a drink, grab some food, let your kids run around. And I love that space going down there. 'cause kids are people having a great time just hanging out in Carmel. And it is not pretentious at all. Mid, mid, that Midtown, Carmel, Midtown area.
Yeah. Yeah. That place is pretty, they put like. Cool stuff. Was there like an Olympic, was there like an Olympic screening at that point? There was. That's pretty sick. Yeah. I mean, I, I remember watching Jake Mitchell in 21 and we put the Olympics on there and watched him swim. I mean, that was, that was great.
That's pretty cool. I think it's the piece that, that just gets people a little bit on edges, like all the statues that are around there. It's just like, that's interesting. It's something for sure. Yeah. I mean, I kinda of laughed at him at first, but like when you're walking around you go, wow, this is just nice and, and, and like, it's just cool.
You mentioned a little bit, I think it might've been before we started recording, but who's the most inspiring swimmer of all time? I mean, I think Mark Spitz was probably the most inspiring swimmer of all time, but my, my guy who I looked most up to was Pablo Morales, who won the 100 butterfly, ended up making the team in 1984, not making the team in 1988, and then going on to win gold in 1992 or something like, you know, something along those lines.
But like anybody to me who didn't get something and then had to spend four more years in our sport where like you didn't know how to make a living that time was, was just a. Incredible mentor for me. If you had to pin it all down to one race, what is the most memorable race you've watched? I would have to say Jake Mitchell, 400 free, and this is kind of a deep story.
In 2021, Jake Mitchell ended up getting second place in the trials, but he did not have a time to go fast enough to make it. He had to go this a standard and he did not have the time. Ultimately, they said we'll do a special time trial, and if Jake goes this time, he can go to the Olympics. So we're at the Olympic Trials 2021.
They basically say to the crowd, it's an Omaha, if you want to stay, we're gonna do this time trial. If not, you can go. So some people stay, some people go. But Jake walks out to this pool. There's one chair, there's one guy, and this is it to make the Olympic team. And if he goes this time, he makes it. And if he doesn't, he makes the Olympic team.
So talk about pressure watching Jake make the Olympic team in that moment was, to me the most memorable race I've ever seen and I've ever been a part of racing against himself. Racing against himself and the, and like, so every 50 in the 400 is eight laughs. And every 50 they put your split up. And so like the crowd kind of knows what's going on.
So he flips at the a hundred, they're like, okay. And he flips at the 200 and everyone starts standing up and cheering. And at the 300 everyone goes. Everyone goes like, this kid could actually make it. And everyone starts cha standing up and cheering and everyone gets going. And when he touched the wall.
The place erupts. And, uh, I mean, I ran down on the pool deck and gave him a big hug. And so like that is, and that was the first Olympic swimmer I've ever had. So to me that was just an incredible, memorable experience, one that I won't ever forget. Wow. That is like, gives me like fired up a little bit. It should, like, I mean, like I have it on video and this guy was filming from up above to see myself start jumping higher and higher as he, uh, as he is about to make it legendary.
Uh, these are the final three questions that we ask everyone who comes on the show. First one is, what is something the world needs to know about Indiana? How great the people in Indiana are. The Hoosier hospitality to me is a real thing. Uh, ever since I came here in 1993, uh, I just felt like this was a home away from home initially for me.
And now it is home, but like. Just the people here are so great and they're just down to earth and, and they're just great people. And, and it's one of the reasons I came back. This is a time where you get to shed some light on something that maybe not, doesn't get enough love or more people need to check out.
What is a hidden gem in Indiana? I love the, uh, quarries down in Bloomington. The quarries. The quarries, yeah. You get to jump off the, the quarries and the towers in there. Wow. And the caves in Bloomington exploring around Bloomington is, uh, really cool and unique. It had the no trespassing signs, but in college you just, you didn't, you didn't do that.
Yeah, I didn't see that. Right. Yeah. But if, um, you know, when you watch Breaking Away, when they're jumping off the quarries, have you seen Breaking Away? What's Breaking Away? You need to watch Breaking Away. It is, uh, Dennis Quaid and it's a movie about Little 500. Oh yes. Okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They jump off the quarries there.
I mean, that is a, a cool spot. And we went in the caves down there and that is a, uh, super cool, but that whole Hoosier National Forest. The cave system. Uh, it's just a beautiful part of, of the state of Indiana that I love going down to great stuff. Uh, final questions where you get to share the love with someone else who is doing some big things.
Yeah. And we find new guests and different opportunities there. And so who is the Hoosier that we need to keep on our radar? Someone who's doing big things. Yeah. Peter Dunn or Pete the Planner. Peter Dunn is my brother-in-law and uh, I've watched him, you know, start out as a, uh, he would, he tried. He, well, he did sell me on whole life insurance.
He did? Yeah. Right. He was quite the salesman and now he is created this whole financial wellness network and, uh, just incredibly impressed with all that he's done. Uh, he did so me on whole life. That's so good as sales. But he is. Yeah, absolutely. Well, and he's like, I have heard him speak a few times. He's so funny.
He is a funny guy. He's like relatable. Yeah, he's very relatable. He is always cracking jokes. So anytime we get together as families, you know, you're. You better be, uh, on your, on, on your game here with his wit. Heck yeah. I love it. Pete, the planner. He needs to be a guest. I need to get Yeah, you need to get him on.
He'd be great for your show. Um, I love it. Uh, Chris, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing about the legacy thus far of Carmel swimming. I mean from literally Olympians to helping people get their first dip a toe in the pool, right? Yeah, yeah. Like, uh, I think that it's a, an incredible organization.
The culture that you've built and the, the clear pride you take in not only improving times. But in developing good human beings that are gonna go out and do big things in society, I'm sure that, uh, hopefully lots of, uh, Carmel Swim alumni listen to this and, uh, think back to the ways that you impacted their lives.
I can clearly see that you've done that. So many athletes, you talk about 500 current athletes in the club. Um, and, and more to come. Yeah. So keep up all the great work. Keep representing Indiana on a global stage from the Olympics to Worlds to swim trials, to the World Cup that's coming to Carmel. Yep.
This October. And don't forget swimming lessons. Yep. Within it's Carmel Swim Club. Carmel Swim Academy. Yep. Don't forget about that. You can get your kids from two to adults. If you're training for your Ironman and you need some, uh, some extra help, help there. That's right. Make it happen. Uh, appreciate you.
Where can people find you, connect with you and learn more about Carmel Swimming? Yeah. carmelswimclub.org. Uh, you can start there. Uh, you can find me on. Instagram. Yeah, there it is. At cwplumb. And my, well X handle right now is CSC Swim Coach. Heck yeah. I love it. Thank you for all you do and keep up the hard work.
Alright, thank you Nate. Thank you for listening to this episode of Get IN. If you'd like what you heard, make sure you leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations@sweetwater.com.
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