Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of the Minnesota Swimmin' Bobcast. I am your host, Mark Seawin, and I am joined today by head coach of Cretin Durham Hall, Mitchell Reynolds. Welcome, Mitchell. Mitchell Reynolds: Hey, Mark. Thanks for having me. I, yeah, I don't want to maybe kiss butt more than your typical guests too much, but I really am like honored to be on today. I ⁓ thank you. built a really incredible platform. Like I following along. I know it's a grassroots thing and you've had lots of help along the way. But yeah, I just feel really fortunate. Community, like swimming community, we'll get into it, but it's Minnesota Swim And Vibe: We are honored to have you on. Mitchell Reynolds: Gosh, is it not how we've made ⁓ best friends and our, you know, it's ⁓ that formative thing in life, that community you get through swimming. So I do, I'm honored to be on, so thank you. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Happy to have you and glad you're part of the Minnesota swimming community. Why don't you just kind of start out and familiarize some people with your swimming background ⁓ up through college and start with high school-ish. Or even when you're younger, if you're one of those kids that was like, I was swimming at 35, 50 freestyle at the age of three. You know, let's hear it. Mitchell Reynolds: Sure, Well, yeah, well, I have to look up my three-year-old time, though. I do, I guess I want to highlight my young life a little bit because I do surprise folks that I meet around periodically because I'm not a native Minnesotan. I grew up in Frederick, Maryland, which is kind of a medium-sized city in Western Maryland, about an hour northwest of Washington, D.C. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, I got it. Mitchell Reynolds: And I was the first in my family to swim competitively. My first of like canonical or formative moment that I remember in swimming was I was in it pretty young. I did well in lessons and joined a club team called Monocacy Aquatic Club. And my family and I joke about this like endlessly still to this day. I was kind of politely asked to not continue with little kid football. ⁓ be believe it or not, because I was in third grade and I, ⁓ was like too heavy to, ⁓ yeah. So I was, I was, unapologetically the big kid and, ⁓ they said that I would have to play with sixth graders, which is pretty unbelievable for third. ⁓ so, like that was kind of this like formative, like, ⁓ chip on your shoulder type moment, right? I was like, ⁓ man, I can't continue with the sport because I'm like, Minnesota Swim And Vibe: ⁓ no, you're the big kid. Yep. No. No, no. Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: you know, not fit enough or something. So at that point I became a year-round swimmer, ⁓ ended up staying on that Monocacy Aquatic Club for ⁓ the years through college. ⁓ swam at Frederick High School in Frederick, Maryland. Definitely had a little bit of a, I definitely a pretty steady like big fish in a small pond high school experience. was fortunate to be named like team MVP. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: awesome. Mitchell Reynolds: all the years and you know, ⁓ can look up the results. I was a five. I was a 500 guy and my second event would be two I am or two free. ⁓ yep. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ that was also formative in a way too, right? Because, Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Nice. What events were you jamming high school? Where at Mitchell always end up, you go two and five? Okay, pretty standard set. Mitchell Reynolds: Maryland, this is an interesting comparison to Minnesota. Maryland had a kind of unfortunate culture through policy, but also just casually through the clubs and stuff that student athletes had to choose between club and high school. So ⁓ was kind of a moment in my life where I chose high school ⁓ ⁓ a lot of long nights, a lot of busy weekdays, ⁓ to kind of half a club practice. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Yep. Mitchell Reynolds: late for warmups for a club, for a high school meet, that kind of thing. but, you know, I, remember thinking at that time that I was choosing like community and choosing culture and like to be present for this, like to be proud of the school I go to and represent that school was meaningful. and it, maybe it came at times at the expense of maximizing my, you know, club swimming. ⁓ but at any rate, that would, that, that was kind of a, a, an awesome chapter as well. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: a lot of my dear friends from that high school swim team. I went on to a D3 ⁓ liberal arts college in central Pennsylvania called Dickinson College. A percent a credit to the kind of character in the community that was built by then ⁓ Dickinson head Paul Richards. He's since retired. ⁓ I would love to highlight coach Richards more, but Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Okay. Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah. Swam all four years at Dickinson was fortunate to be a team captain had, you know, the 500 through 1650 records in my time there. They've since been broken. Um, yes, that is how it goes. Um, you know, which one I hold onto the longest was for club 10 and under two fly. I was like, yeah. And I held on to 10 and under two fly for a long time. And I checked bank at any rate, um, uh, after, after Minnesota Swim And Vibe: They all do get broken. That's just a fact. You're one of the three kids that did it. That's awesome. Mitchell Reynolds: college, had the edge to keep coaching, like I said, really inspired by my coach ⁓ the impact he had in my life. I have since been kind of summer's home from college. I was the head coach of a summer league team. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: lot of summer league swimming out in Maryland. It's a really big thing. Mitchell Reynolds: Yes, yeah, yeah. So I was the head coach of a team called the Hood College Hammerheads. swam at a D3. Yes. I coached, I was an assistant coach for a few years at a D3 institution right up the road from Dickinson after I got out of undergrad called Messiah University. Gosh, moved to Pittsburgh for like a year, kind of in the thick of COVID, coached some club swimming. And since I moved to Minnesota, Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Nice go hammerheads. Mitchell Reynolds: ⁓ the first thing I jumped in with, like, think maybe the fifth or sixth day I lived in Minnesota in 2022, started swimming masters with the masters group at Minnetonka. ⁓ yeah. And then, subsequently we came in assistant coach for the Breck school girls. I was an assistant coach for one year for the Bear Stangs, the Breck and Blake co-op team. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: familiar. Mitchell Reynolds: and I've been the head coach for the boys at Crete and Durham Hall for two years now. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: So it sounds like you've almost always kind of been drawn into the idea of coaching. What has driven that for you? Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah, I think a couple different things. mean, role models, right? I mean, that's the thing that think a lot of us come back to. Like 100%, I'm in this like fortunate camp of too many dimensions, but I have even enjoyed role models that I've known for less time, but have gotten close with in my kind of quick time here in Minnesota. But I think this is a good moment to highlight the impact my college coach had on me. So. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: Again, the head coach at Dickinson for I think about 28 years was a man named Paul Richards. He retired in 2020. And he just, you know, he cooked all the accolades, right? He coached it like countless D3 national meets. He is in all the regional Hall of Fame's like all that stuff. But the thing that I was thinking about as I was kind of as he invited me to be on the podcast is just last week, Coach Richard sent me his remarks. You know, he's in his early to mid seventies now, it's been retired for several years. He sent me his remarks cause he spoke last week at a gala for this human rights campaign. And he sent me these remarks and one that stood out to me that is like the why, the total my why for coaching. ⁓ wrote in these remarks that he sent me, nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. ⁓ that's just like, Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Wise words. Mitchell Reynolds: total coaching philosophy fuel, right? Like I, fast forward to me and now, the Cretin-Darum Hall boys, like the boys, I want them to know how much I care about their grades, their interests, like their relationships, their goals. only then does the swimming expertise stuff even matter, right? So I just was fortunate to have these, yeah, yeah. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Spot on. Spot on. Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah, fortunate to have these role models and have been got ⁓ is the community and it's, it's, ⁓ it's afforded me my friends, my, my partner in life. met through swimming and, ⁓ yeah, so I can share that with the next generation. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: That's awesome. In the moment when you're in college and you have this great coach, what did it feel like? What are the things that you saw from your coach that you're just like, this is so different and so special? What are some of those things? Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah. we all say it right because we're conditioned to say it, but like actually meant it academics first. ⁓ and it matters, right? I mean that, you know, we all want to preach that, but like when the rubber hits the road and there's a decisive moment between like, you know, ⁓ if it's as simple as letting the athlete off the hook for the one practice that coach thinks at the time is the make or break practice, right? But, letting prioritize that, that Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah? No? Yep. Mitchell Reynolds: thesis they got to work on or final project, whatever it might be. So, you know, I, it was taught from day one when I set foot at Dickinson that the who are the most successful on that swim team were also the students, and I say swim team because we didn't have diving. So it was, it was specifically a swim team, but right. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Right, you're not just isolating diving here, that you were just a swim team. Mitchell Reynolds: The athletes to look up to, the folks who were in captain positions, the folks who were on the record board on the A relays, whatever it might be, were the ones that were the most involved in other things on campus. ⁓ Tour guiding, yeah, yeah. ⁓ We had a big culture of folks on the swim team being tour guides for whatever reason, but involved with different affinity groups, Greek life, ⁓ study abroad was encouraged. I was the only person in my... Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, that holds true. Yep. Mitchell Reynolds: graduating class who didn't study abroad, which is now in hindsight regrettable. ⁓ so mean, that was it, right? Was that like, he ⁓ what he preached as far as like, you're here for the transformative chapter of your life and swimming will play a meaningful role, but I'm not gonna have swimming be the hurdle for you being involved in other things. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, no, that makes sense. And a lot of people do talk that. like you said, when the rubber hits the road and you have to make decisions, sometimes they don't ⁓ always support right choice in that. Yeah. So how has this transitioned into your first years of coaching in high school? What are some of the key things that you think you bring as a coach to your boys or to the girls when you're helping out with BRAC? Mitchell Reynolds: Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. So I mean, two different roles, right? Like it's totally like a hat that you take off for that week at Thanksgiving when the seasons change. For, you know, the Breck girls, as maybe you can tell, I'm sitting in my like swimming layer here. ⁓ I'm looking at a paper plate award. I've got the Glasgow paper plate awards I've gotten from the ⁓ girls. And candidly, the most recent one they gave me says the Diva award. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: You have to. Mitchell Reynolds: which I don't remember what I did to earn that. ⁓ But I think it characterizes like, I feel like my role with Breck has been like a culture setter, assistant coach. Like I'm silly with the girls ⁓ the buck doesn't stop with you when you're in that assistant coach role, right? Like a lot of the kind of heavier, you the tough phone calls with parents when unfortunately that type of thing does come up, that stuff land on you when you're an assistant. So I'm like, Minnesota Swim And Vibe: I don't know either. Mitchell Reynolds: You know, I try to be fun with that group, but I also try to be like that assistant who's all the way bought in and not, ⁓ Hey, you know, I'm just kind of here part-time or whatever. mean, I'm just like I would during the head coach season, I'll email the girls tips when, something reminds me of, ⁓ stroke or, know, their interest outside of swimming or so, know, I think that that's, ⁓ kind been my lane with the Brett girls. I've, I've obviously I could say more about, the Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: the how I've enjoyed the mentorship of Michelle Carlson and Brian, right. But, you know, with CDH talk about, guess, maybe some of my other strengths, you know, probably as far as like X's and O's go, tying back to that 500 free thing I mentioned 1650 in college. mean, I'm a pacing guy. ⁓ I. Yes, yeah, yeah, I am. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: The only math you know is clock math. Everything's base 60. Mitchell Reynolds: Yes, exactly. So yeah, if I'm like crunching numbers at the grocery store, go, all right, well, you know, three packs of ground beef would be. ⁓ Yep. Yep. See, I always had that internal clock. And so I think that's given me a kind of a pretty creative approach to, you know, like writing some mid D and distance sets and things like that to get the boys to think, think critically about like the intentionality behind their pacing. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Two minutes 30 seconds. Yeah Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: You know, I'd say a secret weapon that, this would just be advice broadly to coaches, although obviously folks are from like all different walks of life. mean, yeah, I'm fortunate to work at Crete and Durham Hall full time. ⁓ that's in my control, like, you know, you can always be communicative. Like it's not hard to write an email to check in with a family when something's on your mind. ⁓ you know, that kind of, that weekly emails one thing, but keeping a detailed calendar, Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: you know, not, you know, when it, when it comes up, calling Nicole, you know, kind of cold calling a parent if you need to check in about something. But I mean, that's been my, my bread and butter when I feel like lost during the high school season is that like, okay, just be communicative, like overshare over, over informed. Like here's where the bus is dropping us off. Here's what we're working, you know, writing to the families who may not be that swimming literate about, you like, here's what happens when we're doing this threshold training versus, you know, physiologically how your body reacts to the taper or things like that, you know, so. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, I love doing that. And the funny thing is, know, like, 75 % of the people aren't going to read it. But you're going to hit 25 % and they're going to have an epiphany that there's more to this sport than they just thought someone back and forth. It's worth it, though. And it's I think it's kind of self therapeutic just to kind of, you know, write that stuff down. And you're like, yeah, that is what we're kind of doing. And yeah, this is some stuff I need to be thoughtful of. Mitchell Reynolds: Right. Absolutely. Well, and I was just thinking about the last as kind of the calm after the storm of the boys season ending, I've been thinking about like, how can I streamline these like weekly emails, this this kind of big info blast I send out to dozens of families like, and I've been thinking about ways to incorporate AI, but ⁓ you know, what I keep coming back to is that point you just made, I think I'd miss the kind of cathartic like, like, you know, your thoughts on paper, like that time spent. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: having your Sunday morning coffee and writing to the team like that. And you would miss that. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: It is actually a very therapeutic time. Like I get up excited Sunday mornings to kind of lay that stuff out because it helps me personally organize my week a little better, maybe think through some things. Maybe once I see it in front of me, I'm like, well, maybe that's not the best idea. And some of that stuff. ⁓ plus with the other thing is it allows. ⁓ I'm a very hard line between. the team and the parents, right? I keep them in the bleachers really hard, but it's a chance for them to hear my voice in a way, and kind of some of the things that I talk about and I preach and the kids hear day after day. It gives them a little insight to that, which I find also kind of helpful too, which I'm sure Chad GPT could do a marked impression pretty well, but I like to have my own voice and it needs the spelling errors that I'm consistently good with. Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah. And you know what too, I've found if you're writing it in the team, weekly email or whatever it might be. And, you're putting pen to paper, you're like, ⁓ actually anxious to send this out to folks because it reads like a lot. Maybe it is a lot. So, ⁓ know, if you're putting, if you're saying, you know, for our eighth workout this week, we're going to go 30 minutes extra. Maybe it is too much if you're like embarrassed to send it out. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, it is. Maybe, yeah. We'll be playing water polo this week. Let's line it up, boys. Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah. trying to remind myself, you know, have those kind of check-in moments too, right? Minnesota Swim And Vibe: moment of humility where some of the areas you think you need to work on as a coach. Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah, yeah, good question. I think that I really have admired coaches who ⁓ that kind of consistent, kind of childish, like joy for the sport ⁓ that, you be it like, you know, like wearing the, wearing the funny, you know, outfit at the championship meet or just. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: BAH Mitchell Reynolds: you know, not being embarrassed to post something kind of silly on the team social media or whatever. am trying to remind my assistant coach during the boys season, Elena Paulson is really good about reminding me to not take myself too seriously. Right. I think when I with the CDH boys, there were some Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: some kind of basic needs we needed. We wanted the roster size to get healthier. We wanted some kind of more novice or intermediate level swimmers to get the mental reps of doing a prelims, finals meet, that kind of thing. So there were some kind of basic needs stuff, boxes that needed to be checked. And at times, I can be too much of a grouch or too much of a drill sergeant with losing my joy for the sport. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Nah. Mitchell Reynolds: You know, always trying to get better at that. think that'll come with time, right? Like now I can lean on that workout I wrote from year one or year two and I can come up with a silly thing I want to do today. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: If you're anything like me, like I responded well to the direct order slash heavy structure, high intensity stuff as a swimmer. And I catch myself assuming that, well, everyone would want to hear it that way, right? Not many people do, right? Mitchell Reynolds: Right, right. Right. I think that that's the like self, you know, the torture side of someone whose best event is the 1650, right? I didn't want to be miserable at practice. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Kind of, how are we going to build up a callus to this stuff? You're like, I can do these on the 110. What's this 115 crap? Right? Like most people don't think that way. Mitchell Reynolds: Yep. Yep. And of course, just, you know, I don't want to give like a short answer or whatever for, you know, areas for growth or ⁓ humility moment. I mean, I want to count. I want to not be like the siloed, like coach who thinks they know everything at my relatively novice age here. I want to the community further. That's why I was saying, I feel so fortunate to be on here with you, but, you know, join the committees. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: you know, network with the folks in your section or in your conference or whatever it might be. I mean, I want to be the arms wide open, like share resources guy too. So, you know, plenty of room to get better. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: That's awesome. And I think you kind of hit on the important thing is no matter how long you've coached, you know that there's always more you need to know. It never ends, right? Don't ever get to the point where you're like, I got this figured out. Cause you don't. I mean, it's endless. So that's the joy about swimming. Like when have you ever had the perfect swim where you couldn't possibly have gone ever any faster? And the answer is never, right? You always can go back and like, God, I could have done this a little better. Maybe only shaved a 10th off. Mitchell Reynolds: Yes. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: but it wasn't perfect, right? And we carry that as coaches. And that helps kind of drive us to realize that, yeah, there's always more to know. And the sport changes so damn much, right? If you look at some of the strokes from like 20 years ago, what they look like today, it doesn't even look remotely the same. Mitchell Reynolds: Yes. I know. And I, and I get in that lane of focusing on how I, I was raised by that more often than not kind of grouchy older male coach. and, I, and it was like, if the guy you're racing against did 10,000 laps to prepare and you did 11,000, you're going to win. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah! Yeah, and if you did 11, you might as well do 12, right? Mitchell Reynolds: So is nuance ⁓ backstroke wedges, like, know, kind of details that like distance swimmers ignore that stuff, right? So I'm trying to, you know, I'm trying to... Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah? Who fault starts in the mile? Nobody, unless you're trying to get out of it, which I have done. ⁓ yes. I did it once. I heard, I heard take your, and I was gone. I'm like, no, no, no, I'm disqualified. Help me. ⁓ Mitchell Reynolds: Right. So yeah, you're exactly. I'm sure. Geez. a few bits to go do the... ⁓ That's funny. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, you talked about roster building. want to hit on that a little bit because that's an intriguing thing. I don't know if a lot of coaches enough time in or think about it in different ways, but establishing that pipeline into your program to build numbers up because without numbers, it doesn't matter. It doesn't work at some point, right? Like you could have five great swimmers, but you're not going be able to do a lot, right? Mitchell Reynolds: Yes. Yeah. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: So what was your approach to building a roster and getting your numbers up? Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah, couple different things. I still want to get better, right? We have plenty of ways to go. If we measure ourselves against some of the teams at the top of the table in the state, can crunch the numbers. We have gotten closer, but long way to go. So I kind of have this project I'm starting to do the spreadsheet work for. I'm leaning on this Boys State Times database that's pretty helpful. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Fake news. Mitchell Reynolds: I've noticed a lot of college programs will make these, even just like these Instagram posts that'll say, this was Suzy's PR before the season and this is her new PR. I kind of want to start kind of a campaign like that just to celebrate like, this for folks who are, mean, CDH is a private school, right? It's a private nine through 12 Catholic school. Um, folks do have their choice to shop around if they're in that market of, potentially enrolling, um, at, at, at, at a, at at a private Catholic institution. Um, so I, you know, I want to leverage social media to kind of say like, Hey, here's the data. It's not my opinion that like the day we put, you know, water polo Tuesdays are fun, but, know, I, I want to share, overshare on social media about, um, kind of, uh, how we're improving, um, how this is a place where you know, not just sharing that ⁓ all state swimmer went from here to here, but sharing that our guy, you went from, you know, the JV conference meet to making his first section roster, right? ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. just as important, if not more, to be honest with you, right? Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: Right. That's the, that is the ⁓ foundation, right? So, you know, I want to try and leverage social media for that type of thing a little bit more in the off season. want, you know, there's present in the, the, you know, kind of sixth through eighth grade swimming scene. ⁓ this meet that I really think it was really worth my time to go just be present and cheer at this, CAA championships, this Catholic. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Sure. Mitchell Reynolds: Athletic Association a K through eight swim championship meet. believe it's like the first week of April and just wearing CDH gear and cheering, you know. ⁓ And that ultimately Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Visibility is a huge part, right? People aren't running around looking for swim programs to join. A of places don't even know your school has a swim program or swim and dive program. Get the brand out there. Mitchell Reynolds: Right. Yes, and ultimately just not being embarrassed to be communicative, right? Like I, in this fall, can remember like cold emailing, cold calling families who I said, hey, you know, I know your is at our school and we haven't met yet. ⁓ Which takes, it takes time. It takes being the creeper on Meet Mobile, right? ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. It does, yeah, and dealing with rejection because you'll get people that be like, no, but every now and then you'll hit and that might establish a new pipeline. You find out they've got five younger brothers, right? And if they have a good experience, the rest will follow. Mitchell Reynolds: Yes. Well, know, the the the of the private school landscape, right. But the you know, we compete for enrollment at Durham Hall. saying, you know, we compete for enrollment with a boys school that's been pretty strong at swimming. ⁓ So, ⁓ know, can you? Yeah, OK. How can you, ⁓ you know, the inroads with when folks have their their choice in the market, right? ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: because they'll all be too big to play football. Yeah. I know a couple of them. Yeah? Mitchell Reynolds: So just trying to be communicative, be present. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: That's great. ⁓ great strategy. Just the fact that you're putting so much thought into it is going to pay off. I don't think it's as hard as people make it out to be. But it puts us in kind of a spot where a lot of swim coaches aren't at their most comfortable doing. Right. Like, yeah. And stuff like that. And, know, I Mitchell Reynolds: Sure, sure. Not everyone's in enrollment management admissions. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: You got to put in the work to find where the CAA meet is or even if there is a CAA meet And then you got to clear the time to show up when you probably could find something better to do with your Saturday Maybe but there's a lot of value in that Or making the calls and hearing the no's and ⁓ all good stuff. ⁓ excited to watch the program continue to develop ⁓ For people that are let's say ⁓ sticking a toe in the water and thinking about getting into coaching Mitchell Reynolds: Yep. Yep. Thank you. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Right? Former swimmers, former divers, maybe they don't have all the time to do it. Maybe their job is to not do it. What's the best way for them to just get a little taste of it to see what it's like? Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah. I think more programs than not are in the market for ⁓ like part-time commitment assistant coach than maybe even post on their like job board. Right. ⁓ I know that I've been in that market my first two years at CDH and just haven't, you know, always had the most success making the right connection. But, ⁓ you know, a coach who's willing to be at one practice, one dual meet a week. maybe that might be kind of. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: Cause yeah, it's hard. And if you are in the seven to three school grind, it's a little bit easier to be a coach in than if you're in the nine to five, you know, corporate grind or whatever. ⁓ So, you know, just reaching out. mean, I have had a really amazing experience. Like first example that comes to mind, but in the conference we can beat on that suburban East conference, SEC conference, I'd 10 out of 10. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: It is. Mitchell Reynolds: coaches, head coaches in that conference would, they'd return an email from anyone any time of year. So just kind of reaching out to your nearby school, your alma mater, right? ⁓ you I think we all have our different reasons that we're drawn to coaching. ⁓ Some ⁓ are competitive and like want to, you know, want to show that they've got some special sauce. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, I wouldn't argue that. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: I also just think it's noble work and it's rewarding work to be involved in your community. Swimming, ⁓ some will do that through volunteering or politics whatever it might be. I mean, swimming to me is a no brainer lane if you've got any credential or background in the sport to do that kind of noble work of being a part of your community. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, I think it's a nice way to stay connected to the sport for those of that don't want to swim masters and get in the pool like me. The water is cold. I've been years, man. People keep asking. I'm like, unless the water is 84, I'm not getting in. I'll show up. I'm awake, but I'm not getting in the water. I hate cold water. But it's another way to stay connected. And I think there's a lot of value in keeping that connectivity to the sport. Mitchell Reynolds: Hey, I've seen you, I've seen you, I've seen you. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: when you're done actually competing in it. It's still so many of us, it's such a big anchor for us growing up that it keeps us tethered to kind of what we are and what we're about and it brings back some good memories and it's fun to watch other kids get to grow up in that too and help provide that environment for them. Mitchell Reynolds: Well, and it's, a, it can be a cliche, right? But we, we, ⁓ the years go by and I mean, you're like a data guy and everything, but the years go by and I'd say the most average swimmer doesn't remember like the decimal places after their PR or they don't remember it like the inconsequential club meet, what place they got, you know, but, you remember is like, that league meet that got thunderstormed out and everyone just like had a laugh and a cry and Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Yep. Mitchell Reynolds: You know, we remember the water polo at practice, you know. So if you someone who's been in the sport, ⁓ of my, you know, ⁓ I, be like a call out moment for all my, like, you guys know who you are. My best friends from college who have just like never considered coaching. ⁓ you ⁓ look back at the moments of joy, like the fun memories and don't consider dipping your toe in the water of coaching coming from the angle of the times when it was a grind or the times when you had to get up. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yep. Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: You know Minnesota Swim And Vibe: No, not at all. you don't remember that. I mean, you kind of remember that stuff, but it's not a priority. And I'm talking about like with me and the people that I swam with, it's a highly competitive group of people. Right. And nowadays, it's when you get to the college level, you're not just doing it because you don't have anything to do. Right. You have some free time. So I think I'll say you're competitive and driven people. But when you come out of it, all you ever talk about is the fun stuff and the memories and the stupid stuff. Mitchell Reynolds: and those competitive driven college teammates start to get fuzzy. And for some reason they go, no, that was the time. I definitely went that time. And you're like, no, you didn't go that time. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Every five years my old times get faster. It's so good. I used to be so fast now. I used to be okay, but now I used to be really fast. So that's the good news. ⁓ Mitchell Reynolds: ⁓ yeah. The boys all, the boys, I've kept a beard basically since I got out of college and stuff. The boys all just, I don't know if this is flattering because they think I'm mature or what. They're like, I don't know. You're like my parents age. And I know that you know I'm not. ⁓ But so I am in that unfortunate generation where you can find my times online with like two clicks pretty quickly. So it's Right. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: I like, yeah, right. Mine are still written on a cave wall somewhere, I think. That's probably where mine are. ⁓ But yeah, you can look exactly, they were typed out after the meet, I think. And then they'd make ditto copies. That's awesome. What's the big thing? What are we looking at for CDH next year? How are we going to take the step forward? ⁓ the goals? What's the plan? Mitchell Reynolds: in a rusted, shut file cabinet. ⁓ yeah, I appreciate you asking. ⁓ we will have for the first time, and I looked this up, ⁓ right before the call for the first time. I think it's about eight years. We're going to have. Diver slash divers on the roster. ⁓ do you gotta, you gotta like put in the, you know, put in the time to make that happen. ⁓ and I, I see the boys on the team that are, that are ready to try. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Perfect. You do. Mitchell Reynolds: Yeah, the average age of our section roster was a 10th grader. ⁓ We were the only, I'm going to say this and someone's going to email me or whatever, I think we were the only team in our section that advanced to seventh grader to finals, day two of section finals. So we are young, we a lot of enthusiasm and hard workers among the young core. ⁓ I think. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Perfect. You've got good bonds too. I'll say that. You know, I spend a lot of my time at meets just kind of watching teams, because that's really kind of where my curiosity lies is how they interact. got a tight group. They as one and it's pretty fun to watch. They're young. You can see that. But they're tight and they'll figure some of this stuff out, which should be pretty exciting. Sorry, I didn't mean to derail you there, but it was one of ⁓ my little when I was sitting back in state this year going. Mitchell Reynolds: appreciate it. The. ⁓ no, no, that's. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: That's some stuff right there. I wanna watch that. Mitchell Reynolds: And it's, mean, there's this, I shouldn't bring up this name because how do you pronounce this guy's name? Yanis Ante Di Campo, the Greek basketball player on the Milwaukee Bucks. He had that famous press conference where he was talking about like, success isn't binary, right? Like there's steps to success. It's not just like failure or succeed. And I have been hammering to the boys and there's so much buy-in that steps to success. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Mitchell Reynolds: You were only able to see our young core of guys at the state meet because we made the state meet. So we're in this steps. Now that we've got the mental reps, you're going to be the guy going to state for the second year in a row telling the new guy what it's like. And that's, mean, that is like the money chapter to be in. ⁓ And, you know, I'll qualify all that too with like a little sales pitchy, like, you know, CDH just as an institution. ⁓ Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah. Right. I love that. Mitchell Reynolds: you know, rigorous academics. It's a community first, diversity first, service oriented community. So I'm also just consistently trying to lean on the community engagement. you know, being a member of this team also means being a good sibling, a good son, you know, a a good, a good classmate, a respectful student. So, so we're in that kind of chapter two of. defining who we are and hoping and kind of manifesting a future where that's attractive folks who want to be a part of it. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: That's great. Well, you've had a great first couple of years. I know you're going to have a lot more. You're definitely one of those. And I know you're not like someone's parents age, right? So I will throw you in the younger coach category and a group of great coaches out there that I'm excited to see is kind of the core and the nucleus that leads Minnesota high school swimming into kind of whatever the next generation is. It's pretty exciting. And I'm happy to get to sit back and watch it with you guys. So thank you for taking Mitchell Reynolds: Thank you. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: in the time today and it was great learning about what you got going on and kind of where those roots came from. Those impressionable college coaches ⁓ seem to amazingly do wonders with people. Mitchell Reynolds: Yes. Of course. Yeah, and I appreciate being a part of that young cohort. want like coaches that see us on deck and go, you look like you might be about my age. you know, smile and a nod goes a long way. ⁓ There's another I'm years old. I don't know why it's like not a secret. ⁓ There's 29 year old coach out there named Reynolds. ⁓ Funny enough that ⁓ Catherine Reynolds. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, don't be shy. Yeah. No, not familiar. Mitchell Reynolds: that I'm rooting for her too and seeing. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah! Yeah, now that's another one too. We'll have her on once she gets herself settled in a little bit. Mitchell Reynolds: That sounds good. That's funny enough. That's, that's, that's our, people are going to be like, what's the joke? Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Is that hers? that her? God bless backstrokers. No, yeah. So Katie, his wife, will be taking over for me at Orono next year. And excited to see what she can do and keep building out that program. But we'll have her on shortly, I'm sure. Mitchell Reynolds: Appreciate that mark. Yeah, and I like I'll just reiterate like I appreciate the invite. I this community is special. I was kind of gave that quick glimpse about, you know, Maryland, having had that kind of a weird culture around if you had to had to pick club or had to pick high school. Gosh, I have seen countless high flyer stud swimmers in the high school Minnesota swimming community. It's it's it's good people. I got a shout out all the coaches that are Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yep. Mitchell Reynolds: you know, senior myself, folks that have been around quite a bit longer that have been really welcoming and really kind and, you know, invited me to get together for a coffee or whatever. And a lot of good people out here. And it's a joy to be a part of that community. Minnesota Swim And Vibe: Yeah, and let's keep bringing it together. believe when push comes to shove, that's going to be our greatest asset and our greatest strength is the community of swimming in the state, all working together to get some stuff done. And you're a piece of that. And that's awesome. All right. Thank you. Mitchell Reynolds: I appreciate that Mark. Thank you again.