Postscript: Swimming Coach Deluged With Applicants

He is the man with the golden touch, the coach whose crop of 1984 Olympians brought home seven gold medallions. Since then, Mission Viejo Nadadores’ coach Mark Schubert has found himself deluged with applications from swimmers who have caught gold fever.

After all, the chance to train with the Nadadores could make or break one’s chances of being honed into an international champion.

Since its inception in 1968, the Nadadores have placed 15 swimmers on the U.S team, more than any other swim club can boast of. And last summer was no exception.

Combined, competitors Mary T. Meagher, Tiffany Cohen and Mike O’Brian brought home seven gold medallions. There were six Nadadores on the 48-member team.

But then great things are expected of those who follow forerunners Shirley Babashoff and Brian Goodell, who first put the Nadadores on the Olympic treasure map in the 1976 Montreal Games.

Applicant List Doubles

Schubert said his list of team applicants has doubled since last summer’s Olympic exposure, which was particularly conspicuous since the American team trained in Southern California, Nadadores territory.

“Since then, we’ve picked up about 160 new swimmers,” he said. But more than that have been rejected.

“It’s one of the toughest things that I’ve got to do, to take a swimmer who is very enthusiastic about swimming, and who is willing to do anything you want them to do, and tell him, ‘No, I can’t coach you,”’ he said.

“We’ve had to turn down over 200 this year,” he said. “We try to do it in a very positive manner, telling them that while they don’t qualify at this time, we’d be happy to talk to them (later).”

Everyone except children of Mission Viejo Recreation Center members, who have pool privileges, must pass his scrutiny before joining the 400-member team. “We’re very particular,” he said.

And impressive. So impressive, in fact, that other swim coaches, many from other countries, are clamoring for a chance to observe the Nadadores training at Marguerite Recreation Center.

No ‘Real Secrets’

Schubert is not uncomfortable that these coaches, whose teams compete against the United States in Olympic Games, are spying on his tactics.

“I don’t think that there are any real secrets to coaching,” he said. “Obviously, there are secrets to motivating people, but I’ve never been afraid to share. I’ve learned a lot from other coaches.” Among those who have sat in are coaches from Japan, Canada and Ecuador, the last of whom remained poolside for three months.

And if Schubert thinks coaches improve from international contact, he thinks that swimmers thrive on it. Nadadores come from all countries, as well. Nadadores-trained swimmers from Brazil, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden, to name a few, swam for their home countries during last summer’s Games. They numbered 18 in all.

While he might boast of the “camaraderie here, a lot of solid friendships” that cross international boundaries, “I was rooting American,” Schubert said.