Reinstatement of Coach Brandon

Coach Brandon is an excellent coach. Yes, he does make mistakes, but every young coach will make mistakes. Brandon has continuously grown as a coach during his time with BTA, and he will only continue to grow and improve. Brandon has the potential to blossom into one of the best coaches BTA has ever had. Without coach Brandon, there will be many swimmers left not only without a coach, but with unfulfilled goals. Please consider the team as a whole when discussing the reinstatement of Coach Brandon. 

We sent a letter to the board and are awaiting a response. We basically asked what procedures were followed. We will share the letter with anyone who wishes to see it.

What in the world is going on at BTA.  Are you going to choose the coaches with tremendous skill and ability to motivate swimmers to excel in technical excellence, or are you going to bicker over what must have been some petty personal internal squabble? 

Is the message you are teaching the kids here that you should be judged on your ability or more on the amount of politics you play?

As a parent of a National team member, I feel that this decision has not taken my expectations of the BTA Coaching staff into consideration.

My expectation of the coaching staff on the national team (besides developing my swimmer) is to open my kid's eyes to different styles of coaching precicely so that he can make the determination as to what he wants and doesn't want to experience if and when he commits to swimming for 4 years in college.  I think that Brandon has met those expectations and provides a very realistic picture of what they can expect from D1 college style coaching.  Does his coaching style always resonate with my kid's personality in particular? Frankly, no - not always. Has he helped to motivate and develop my swimmer? Absolutely, yes.  And that is great because that is real life and the lesson that true respect has to be EARNED is a life lesson that my son has learned from Brandon.  If he walks aways from swimming right now and this is the one thing he has learned from 10 years on this team then I will consider that money and time well spent.

I think Brandon works very hard to prepare these kids for the reality of swimming at a high level, and his experience coming right from a top D1 college program carries enormous credibility and realism.  I use the term realism because I feel that he represents the reality of what swimming D1 in college could be like for them.  Some kids will figure that a program like that (with the coaching style that comes with it) is absolutely what they want and desire.  For some kids, that level of intensity and commitment will not be what they want. There is no right or wrong, it's all about what fits for their personality. 

But if a key expectation is to prepare these kids for making the right decision for their collegiate-level swimming, then there is no question that Brandon meets and exceeds those expectations.  

This action (which appears to be sudden and was certainly unexpected) makes me question how much focus we are putting on coaching staff expectations and development on a long-term basis, a facet of the team which is critical for the future success and stability of this program.  

I feel the loss of Brandon frankly takes this team down a notch in credibility, and drastically weakens our ability to recruit coaching staff going forward.  

I am hoping that there is a proces for reconsidering this decision.

#11: -  

 I could not have said this better myself. Brandon prepares our kids for reality.

I agree with several of the comments posted, particularly number 11.  I think that the lessons Coach Brandon assists in providing go deeper with broader implications than D1 swimming.  It has been my experience that most successful people, by whatever means it is measured, have had someone or if lucky, a select group of individuals to prod them along, to push them into uncomfortable areas, whether physical or mental, to become something a little larger.  I doubt that most of us could claim we had the internal drive to achieve this on our own.  

Athletics to me, is one area that lets kids experience the dichotomy of emotions, the joy of success, the disappointments of failure, the frustrations and the patience, the drive that accompany the day in/day out grind to set yourself up for success all the time knowing it is not guaranteed.  We (and they) learn that the value of the process will resonate with us longer than these few years.  These are the lessons, which I think most parents want, for the kids to take away from their athletic experience.  

I firmly believe that Coach Brandon helped the coaching staff and we as parents provide these valuable lessons and given his personality (and age) is able to bond and connect with most of the swimmers to aid in its facilitation.  If Blue Tide does not rescind this decision and retain him, it is the loser from this apparently hasty decision.  

We have some big meets coming up. We need our coach back because he works us hard and makes us excited for our races. Coach Brandon is the best coach I have ever had and it feels like my big brother has been taken away. 

i am just requesting that the board opens up a discussion on this matter to the paying customer ie the parents so we know what is going on. Brandon is a young excellent coach who has continued to mature over the years with BTA. Is he tough? Yes. Does he always say things with the upmost maturity at times? No. But that's where the senior coaches and board steps in to help guide him so he can continue to improve to mature. How many of us made mistakes said things we wish we could take back early in our careers? I hope we get a chance as a team/BTA family to truly have an open dialogue about this issue and allow the entire team to be aware of  something as significant as firing one of our coaches. 

Everyone deserves to be heard. We as adults should respect each other and not fire someone over he ar says or pettiness. Children learn from us. I'm embarrassed of what they are learning from us. Children should be learning to be independent, strong and able to learn from criticize, praise from adult . .

#7: -  

 My words exactly. 

#11: -  

 I could not agree more.  Very well said.