Mary DeScenza joined me on Sunday, April 15 for another great BREAKout! Clinic.

We had a blast with the swimmers of the North Texas Nadadores in Southlake, Texas (outside of Dallas).

Mary is only the second female in history to win the 200 fly at NCAAs for four straight years! That’s pretty amazing, especially considering the fact that the only other woman to do it was “Madame Butterfly” herself, the legendary Mary T. Meagher! That’s pretty good company!

Mary was great with the kids and she really inspired them as she shared her experiences as one of our country’s top swimmers. Mary qualified for her first National Team at 16 years old and most recently, she represented Team USA at last month’s World Championships!

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The BREAKout! Clinic tour rolled through East Texas on Saturday, April 14!

I had the awesome privilege to hang out with the East Texas Dolphins of Nacogdoches! My younger sister attended college in Nacogdoches, so it was great to be back among the “piney woods” of East Texas.

About 50 hard-working swimmers attended the clinic and Carrie Scroggins did a wonderful job organizing and facilitating this event. Carrie is the head coach of the Nacogdoches H.S. Swim Team and Aquatics Director for the East Texas Dolphins.

The “best streamline” awards went to Hope and Lukas! Hope you guys enjoy your Team USA swim caps and keep up the great work! All the swimmers did a phenomenal job…and thank you for being such a fun group!

Can’t wait to get back to East TX!

Josh Davis

Well, it was great to be in my home state of Texas over the Easter weekend for another amazing BREAKout! Clinic.

My good buddy, Neil Walker, joined me in northwest Houston at one of the top clubs in the state, Klein Aquatics!

The kids were so pumped that Neil was there because he had just returned from the World Champs in Australia less than 48 hours earlier!

Neil was elected Captain of the U.S. World Champs Team and won a gold medal as part of the 4×100 Free Relay that set a World Championship record. And he brought his gold medal to show the Klein swimmers!!!

Neil’s 48.31 split in that relay was the 2nd fastest on the team (faster than Cullen Jones and Michael Phelps!). Neil had some great stories to share about his experience in Melbourne and what is was like to witness Michael Phelps’ historical performance.

Many thanks to Coach John Fedina for organizing the clinic, and to our wonderful host family on Friday night, the Yohos! Thank you Keith and the entire Yoho family!

The Klein Aquatics’ motto is, “Swimming like champions today, living like champions tomorrow.” I’m very proud of all the swimmers at the clinic last Saturday because they definitely swam like CHAMPIONS! Being a champion is not just having good technique and swimming fast…a champion is someone with a great attitude, someone who works hard, and someone who always does his or her very best.

At every BREAKout! Clinic, we always emphasize the importance of perfect streamline! At the end of the clinic, we award one boy and one girl with a USA swim cap for those that displayed the “best streamline.” Congratulations to Marjorie & Eli for demonstrating such great streamline throughout the entire clinic last Saturday!

A few more words about Neil Walker…

Neil and I share over 20 years of combined experience as members of the U.S. National Team and we both swam at the University of Texas. Neil is so good with young people and he is an amazing teacher. He has simply perfected all four strokes.

Neil and I divided the swimmers at one point and we raced every swimmer in about 5-6 heats each. I don’t know which was more fun for me…racing the kids or watching Neal race the kids…I’m telling you, his form is just flawless!

Towards the end of the day, I challeged Neal to a match race in the 50 back! Neil finished the race in 22.5 and my time was 23.5. Even though Neal smoked me, I should have expected it! Neil is only one of the fastest backstrokers of all time! I hope all swimmers realize how much fun racing can be, and that Neil and I can be friends and competitors at the same time.

Thank you, Klein Aquatics, for a great Easter weekend clinic!

Josh Davis

Josh Davis w/ Marjorie & Eli

Josh Davis, Keith, and Neil Walker

My friend, Randall Bal, joined me in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as we led a BREAKout! clinic on March 18 for the Snowfox Swim Team!

A Stanford alum, Randall is a sprinter extraordinaire, backstroke specialist, and an exceptional teacher.

“Did you know?” As a young swimmer growing up, Randall was a teammate of Summer Sanders!

I arrived in South Dakota after broadcasting the Men’s NCAA Championships for ESPN 360. As I was very inspired by the great swims in Minneapolis, I was even more impressed by these young people in Sioux Falls and their exemplary attitudes.

We had a great 4-hour clinic with the Snowfoxes, but near the end of our time there, I “threw down the gauntlet” and challenged Randall to a race in the 25 back and the 25 fly. With the help of supportive cheers from the swimmers in attendance, Randall out touched me in the back, but I finished just ahead of him in the fly!

Runetta and Joe were named the “Top Streamliners” of the day and received collector Olympic swim caps as their reward.

I want to specifically recognize Joe for his efforts. This young man had perfect streamlines throughout the entire clinic! Not only was his streamline great, but his attitude was even better! Thank you, Joe. I really appreciate your hard work and enthusiasm that day.

Coach Lindsie Micko did a super job organizing the event and she and her team were excellent hosts! We hope to return next year!!!

Josh Davis

I can’t thank Ed Moses and Ben Michaelson enough for the amazing clinic they led at the Westboro Tennis & Swim Club in Westborough, MA on March 24th.

After their clinic, here is some feedback we received from Coach Deb:

â??The clinic was AWESOME and we loved Ed and Ben. The kids are still talking about it! We are already setting up a date to have another clinic in the fall!â??

Ed and Ben both have unique stories about how they became two of the best swimmers in the world, but they do share one thing in common: a committment to pursuing excellence!

Ed is one of the most successful American breaststrokers of all time. At the 2000 Olympics, he captured a gold medal as part of the 400 medley relay team that set a world record, and he won a silver medal in the 100 breast. Ed is also a former world record holder in the 100 breast.

He was a big inspiration to the Westboro swimmers:

“Once I decided to commit to swimming full-time, I developed a principle called the ‘24-hour athlete’,” Ed said. “When I stood behind the blocks I wanted to know that I had done everything possible to be the best.”

“Hydration is a big key, 90 percent of your body is water,” Ed explained. “You sweat in the pool when you train but you don’t realize it. You have to replenish those fluids. I can’t remember the last time I showed up at practice without a water bottle. That would be like a football player showing up to practice without his helmet.”

During his senior year of high school, Ben was not recruited by the powerhouse Division I swimming programs, but he enrolled at Southern Connecticut State University(Division II) where he became extremely successful. Specializing in butterfly and freestyle, Ben was a two-time NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Year and still holds several Division II records. Ben won two gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Games as well as a gold medal at the 2004 Short Course World Championships.

A New England native himself, Ben could easily relate to the young swimmers of Westborough, MA:

“You’re not just an athlete from the time you walk into the pool until the time you leave it,” Ben explained. “It’s the things you do all day long, every day, that are going to make you successful.”

Ed & Ben really helped the Westboro swimmers to “breakout” out of some bad habits and their clinic was a huge motivational boost!

We can’t wait to come back to Westborough next fall!

Josh Davis

Ben Michaelson, Anna, Billie, Lauren, and Ed Moses

Ben Michaelson, Meia, and Ed Moses