Family & Friends.  This is one of my seven habits that I touch on at the swim clinics.  Many of you have heard me encourage you to be careful who you choose to spend your time with.  Today, I’m flying to CA to honor a coach who I think would have been a great person to spend time with!  As I prepare to preside over the funeral, I wanted to share the words written below by one of his former swimmers.  Today, the BREAKout! swim community remembers someone who was and would have been a great friend!

As you might well know by now, Kevin was an integral part of the history and amazing success at the Los Altos Aquatic Club program (and later, the formation of Los Altos Mountain View Aquatic Club in 1990). “KP”, as he was affectionately known, served as an assistant coach (pre-senior) from 1980 to 1981, becoming the head coach of LAAC in the autumn of ‘81. He served as the head coach for the next ten years, sending numerous age group swimmers to Far Westerns, Junior Nationals, Nationals, and the Olympic Trials, as well as untold numbers to NCAA programs throughout the country. I happened to be one of those kids he coached during this era.

I’d like to add that many of the team records that still stand to this day at LAAC were during KP’s tenure as head coach, and he essentially ensured that our program would stay very much relevant on the peninsula, if not nationally, for some time.

Perhaps most importantly, KP was directly responsible for the formidable and fulfilling lives of so many great alumni who called LAAC home. It was an honor to swim for Kevin Perry for seven years. I never considered swimming anywhere else. Because of KP, I made lifelong friendships that flourish today…. all because of the days, weeks, months and years I spent at the pool under the carefully guiding light of Kevin Perry. In my own life, I founded and built a successful advertising firm for which I recently sold. Our company’s philosophy of “we” was something I will never take credit for… the values my partners and I set forth came directly from the team philosophy KP instilled in his fine program from Day 1.

I am happy to say that I have now been coaching a Catholic high school swim team in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the past five years, having had a profound need to some how “pay it forward”, the values and morals that KP instilled in me and those I swam with. KP was my coach, teacher, mentor, and friend, and he will be profoundly missed, but never forgotten. What I teach to the young, impressionable minds of my own team at Judge Memorial (our motto being, “One Tribe”), quite simply, are the very same characteristics KP put forth before us in those most amazing days way back when at LAAC.

To him, it was far greater to send great minds out into the world than great swimmers, though he achieved both! I’ll never forget the gifts this man gave me… he was relentless in his pursuit of teaching life’s lessons.

For me, it’s clear what my mission is: to pass these traits onto the next generation of young minds, thus keeping the inspirational legacy and vision of KP alive and well!

There may be coaches out there who receive more notoriety than KP, but there will be no greater coach than KP.

All the best,

Matt Finnigan

I just returned from Waunakee and Greenville.  What an emotional weekend for me.  I spent the first day in Waunakee with Stephen Hall who pulled off the perfect trifeta.   Because I travel so much, I love maximizing my time in communities.  Not only do I love doing the swim clinics, I also love going into the schools and civic groups.  I was able to speak to about 500 students and then cheer on about 150 athletes at the Special Olympics Aquatics competition.  I screamed, cheered, hugged and even cried!  For five hours, I watched athletes compete with no reservations about their appearance or placement.

 They just jumped in the pool and raced all out and then jumped out like they all won a Beijing Olympic Medal.  No cameras…no money…no sponsors…just their family and friends cheering them on.  I couldn’t help but hug them as they got out of the water.

I hope that my enthusiasm for competition is contagious like theirs.  It is so fun to give your very best every time you get a chance; moreover, it’s fun to race someone who’s giving their very best!  Then when you touch the wall, if you get beat, you can be proud of yourself because it took someone’s VERY BEST to beat you!  Maybe next time your best will get you to the wall the fastest.  You just have to keep getting back on the blocks and trying.  There’s really no need to be disappointed when you give your very best every single time; remembering that some days our best for that day is not the same as the day before and that’s okay.

When you understand this kind of joy of competition, you’ll never get tired of racing.  Even when the Olympic glory is over, the joy of competition is still there.  So watch out BREAKout swimmers…I’m ready to race you!

Waunakee Rural Team didn’t disappoint.  Peter Vanderkaay and I had a blast with you guys and congratulations to MacKenzie and Thomas for getting the streamline awards.  A special thanks to the Hall and Duffy family for their amazing hospitality. 

I’m looking for some more swimmers to race in Greenville! I met up with Brendan and we had a blast with the 145 swimmers attending the clinic.  What a great turn out.  With this many swimmers, it’s really impressive when you win the streamline award.    Congratulations to Sam and Kellin.  Afterwards, Brendan and I had dinner with the Brown Family.  They have the most beautiful colonial home where we enjoyed a fabulous meal.  They were the winners of the team raffle to host Brendan and I for dinner.  It was wonderful.  Thank you so much for the nice evening.

The next morning, our flights left later so Brendan and I woke for a morning practice.  We had a special practice with Christine from the team who has her Trials cuts.  What a great workout.  Christine swam in the lane between the two of us.  Man, if I were her, I would have been so PUMPED!  What confidence she can have now leading into the Olympic Trials…she’s already workout with one of the best swimmers in the WORLD!  Best of luck Christine.

 I’m now home for 2 days and then jumping back on a plane.  Come back and I’ll tell you where I’m going next… 

This weekend, I’m traveling to one of our Mutual of Omaha’s Gold Medal Team athlete’s, Neil Walker, home state-Wisconsin. This will be a special trip. Not only will I be hosting a swim clinic, I will be helping with Area 6 District Aquatics Competition for the Special Olympics Wisconsin.

SOWI is a statewide organization providing persons with cognitive disabilities year-round sports training and competition. Individuals who are at least eight years old and are identified as having a cognitive disability are eligible for participation.

With seven Area offices throughout the state, Special Olympics Wisconsin serves nearly 10,000 athletes in nearly 220 communities statewide. SOWI is one of the 50 state programs and one of nearly 165 countries providing this opportunity to more than one million athletes worldwide. Their mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with cognitive disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

The joy these athletes display when they’re competing is what I wish every young person could feel. I can’t wait to see them swim “free”. Free from pressure, negative attitudes and stress. Free to be their BEST! I hope Waunakee Rural Aquatic Team is ready to hear this message! The great Peter Vanderkaay will be joining me on this event. I’m ready to find some great streamliners! After the clinic, I’m off to speak to a local school and then jumping on a plane to meet up with Brendan Hansen in Greenville, SC.

Here’s a little trivia for you: Long before white settlers arrived, the Cherokee lived and hunted at present-day Greenville. In 1773, the first European settler in the area, Richard Pearis, purchased 10 square miles along the Reedy River from three Cherokee chiefs. Pearis later operated a grist mill at the Upper Falls of the Reedy. In 1852, Furman Institution (now Furman University) bought the land. Three textile mills and a cotton warehouse operated in the early 1900s, all contributing to the pollution of the Reedy River. In 1967, the Carolina Foothills Garden Club reclaimed 26 acres for the current park, with the support of the City of Greenville, Furman University and the Planning Commission. Over the next 40 years, the Garden Club and the City of Greenville have worked with individuals, corporations and state and federal agencies to further develop the park, clean up the river and restore the historic Falls Cottage. In 1990, landscape architect Andrea Mains introduced the concept of transforming the park into a regional attraction, with beautiful public gardens and a pedestrian bridge. Greenville’s downtown public garden features the only curved, cantilevered pedestrian suspension bridge in the United States.

So if you’re interested in traveling to the clinic with Team Greenville to learn from the world’s GREATEST breastroker…you should checkout this beautiful bridge! Come back and find out who secured the streamline or spirit award! See ya when I get back!

My trip to Kings Mountain with the Sharks Aquatic Club  was wonderful.  My host Hope Toney was amazing.  Unfortunately, Hope had a death in her family leading up to the clinic and she still pulled off an amazing event.  Hope, thank you for all your hard work and I look forward to coming back.  I’m excited to see your son, Austin, in Greenville with Brendan Hansen next weekend.

It was also great to see coach Dave Messenger who I raced against in college.  Dave was a great breastroker for Georgia and is doing an excellent job with his Sharks Aquatic Club in Shelby. As I travel the country I keep running into old friends.  I love knowing that my friends are out coaching and giving great technique instruction.  I think this will only make for faster times and less frustration for swimmers in the future.

Streamline award winners were Annie and a tie for the
guys between Garrett and Ben. Great job you guys!

And on to Myrtle Beach, SC.

I was very impressed with coach James Smith and his team The Myrtle Beach Swim Team.  Big thanks to Melissa for her help and it was great to see some swimmers from one of  my first clinics 10 years ago from Portland, Maine who are now in college!!!  Carmen and Alicia and their super swim mom, Colette drove from hours away to do the clinic and say hi.  Of course they are now twenty something and swimming in college and they don’t look 10 years old anymore but it was great to see them!  Their stokes were awesome, so maybe my stroke technique tips helped!

Will and Keenan were the streamline cap award winners and we had a special match race with assistant coach Fabio who was a champion breastroker for Brazil.  When I was competing full-time, I used to fly to Brazil and race my great friend, Gustavo Borges.  Fabio is younger and would watch these match races so 10 years later here I am…racing him. 

Yes, we raced in my weakest stroke.  Although the breastroke is the most difficult for me, I didn’t pass up the challenge to race; however, I felt like we were rewinding my event with Ed Moses just a couple of weeks earlier in NY.  I killed him on the pull-out and then he spent the last 25 chasing me down.  Coming into the wall we were neck-and-neck.  As we both reached for the wall, we touched at the same time.  Coach Jim had to view his under water camera footage to determine the winner…it was FABIO! Great job buddy!

Hmm…maybe I should take up some hidden training on the breastroke.  My junior year in college, I would sit a few minutes each day on my feet to try and increase my flexibility. I swam my best breastroke that year.  Don’t be surprise if you see me sitting on my feet in airports across the country! My defeat might be captured on coach Jim’s camera but some really fun moments were captured by Chris and Mike from Swim Network.  So be sure to checkout

Another exciting aspect of this clinic was that the guys from swimnetwork.com came by to film our clinic.
So be sure to check it out on Chlorination.  And a special thanks Phil for the close races and his dad
for the awesome hotel room on the beach!  Myrtle Beach and coach Jim and his team rock!!

After flying across the country, I finally got to visit my friends,the Walker family, in NM and worked with Charger swim Team!! We did the clinic at the beautiful Alburquerque Academy pool and even though it was at high altitude(5500ft) and 25 meters we had a blast.
 The snacks were AWESOME so a big thanks to the parents!  And it’s easy to see why Coach Tom Cyprus and his team are successful.  They have some great strokes and great attitudes.  Streamline award winners were Ian and Brianna, and honorable mention is Duncan and Tiffany and Katie. 

After the clinic and 3 cities in 3 days, I got to eat some awesome Mexican food with the Walker family and other swimming friends and it was a great finish to another incredible Mutual of Omaha BreakOut! Swim Clinic weekend!

This weekend I’m hosting three swim clinics for three different clubs in three different states!

I’ll start my three day tour (Friday 4/4/08) in Kings Mountain, North Carolina with the Sharks Aquatic Club. Kings Mountain is located in the foothills of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains and is known to triathletes all over the country. For the ninth year in a row the city will host the Over the Mountain Triathlon. This year the Olympic length event has been chosen as a national qualifier for the USA Triathlon National Championship. While I’m in Kings Mountain, about 30 miles west of Charlotte, home to the UNC Tar Heels, the Tar Heels will be arriving in my city, San Antonio, TX, for the Final Four Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship. Go Tar Heels!   

Saturday (4/5/08) I will head south to the water loving city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There’s no shortage of water activities in this city, which boasts 60 miles of beach and eight fishing piers. If you prefer chlorine to salt water (like me) then you may prefer to spend the day at the Myrtle Beach Speedway– a pro and amateur asphalt race track sanctioned by NASCAR! Myrtle Beach is also home to some of the most beautiful golf courses in the country.

Chris Thompson will join me at the beach to host a clinic for the Myrtle Beach Swim Team. Chris is a bronze medalist and I look forward to seeing him again. 

I had the opportunity to encourage Chris before his race in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.  I could tell he was frustrated in the warm-up pool and his nerves were getting the best of him.  I pulled him aside and said, “Chris you can do this.  This is what all those miles of training prepared you to do.  This is your moment to have fun and enjoy your hardwork.”  I could actually see a peace come over Chris as he went on to race and won an Olympic bronze medal.  As the captain of the team, I was emotionally moved by his effort and extremely proud of him.  I’m excited that the Myrtle Beach swimmers will get a chance to meet him.   

Sunday (4/6/08) I’m off to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet the Charger Aquatics club and finish up my three day three state tour! Albuquerque is rooted in centuries of history. The sun shines 310 days a year- perfect for outdoor activities and swim clinics! The high desert air scented with sage and piñon, makes for a great destination for a Mutual of Omaha BREAKout! Swim Clinic.  I’m very excited to teach the Chargers and spend some time with Coach Tom Cyprus.

I’ll write more and let you know what swimmers walked away with the streamline and spirit awards on my three state tour.