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Cal Brown’s posts about swim training have occasionally gotten under my skin. So I invited him onto The Swim Brief to explore the experiences behind his message—and where we actually disagree.

We talk about training volume, recovery days that aren’t really recovery, and what strength coaches hear from athletes that swim coaches might miss. Cal explains how he and his brother approach athletic development at Aqua Strength Performance, from mobility and jumping to leaving something in the tank.

But the heart of this conversation is why athletes keep showing up: having somewhere they can be themselves, feel understood, and talk honestly about what they’re going through. Along the way, I confront how much my own training resembles the approach I sometimes find myself criticizing.

Find Cal on Instagram: @calbrownfit.

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Juliet Suess returns for the second half of our Ted Lasso conversation, exploring who gets the freedom to coach differently—and who still has to prove they belong.

We dig into Alice Chilton’s development, disagree over Ted’s handling of her suspension, and consider what her promotion reveals about opportunity in coaching. Ted’s decision to step back opens a broader conversation about head coaches, assistants, and whether flexibility is something everyone deserves or a privilege reserved for the person in charge.

We also discuss competing without surrendering your life outside sport as well as recapping our favorite moments from the season and series.

Spoilers throughout for Ted Lasso season four.

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You can’t wait until championships to teach swimmers how to handle championships.

Wisconsin head coach Dr. Jack Brown joins Chris DeSantis to discuss why mental skills deserve the same deliberate practice as physical ones. Drawing on his own struggles as an elite swimmer, Jack explains why “just focus” often fails, how coaches accidentally amplify performance anxiety, and when goals stop helping athletes and start getting in their way.

They also explore Jack’s transition into head coaching, a disagreement over the development of elite female swimmers, and what it takes to build a coaching culture where commitment to winning can coexist with commitment to family.

Jack’s book, The Six Questions, is available on Amazon.