Diablo Fit: Aquanuts Coach Tammy McGregor

The longtime coach of the Walnut Creek synchronized swimming juggernaut talks about training Olympians, prior to the team's big fundraiser this Saturday.

Tammy McGregor could easily be labeled a sovereign of swim. The Walnut Creek swim coach and Olympic gold medalist synchronized swimmer has been in the pool all her life. Since age seven she’s gone from basic swim lessons to being a part of the gold medal winning 1996 Olympic Team in Atlanta. Last year she was Head Coach for the 2008 US Olympic Team in Beijing. This Saturday, May 30, from 2–6 p.m. at Heather Farms, the team is holding their important, annual fundraising event, A Night of Champions, CLICK HERE for more information. 

Prior to the fundraiser, Diablo Fit talked with McGregor about her coaching experience.

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Diablo: How’d you get involved with synchronized swimming?

T.M.  I did mostly competitive swimming until about 7th grade and I was getting good at both but didn’t have time to do both. And that’s when I choose to move into synchronized swimming because it was more interesting and creative to me.

Do have any philosophy behind training?

For my coaching I just try to incorporate all the great things I was exposed to as an athlete and things I was exposed to along the way. I think going from an Olympic athlete to a coach is a really valuable relationship.

How much time do you’re athletes dedicate to training?

If you’re at the Olympic level you’re talking six days a week, six to eight hours a day, so I’d say 40 on average per week. However, at the 13 to 15 age level, they're doing probably 18 hours a week because they’re also in school.

What do most people miss when they look at the sport?

I think most people see elite synchronized swimming and they don’t see what it looks like when you first start and how many years it takes to get to that level where something is truly perfect. I think what people probably don’t understand is that even though it’s a performance sport, it’s also very athletic.
Sometimes when [the swimmers ] make it look easy it kind of gives the illusion that it is easy when in reality it’s not so.

There are a lot of synchronized swim instructors and team all across the nation. What separates an Olympic synchronized swimmer from an advanced recreational synchronized swimmer? What sacrifices do they make that others don’t?

I think a lot of it is just drive and lifestyle. The average Olympic athlete is so tired at the end of the day that what they’re going to watch on T.V. isn’t even an option cause they’re going to fall asleep. Their training is first and foremost. You’re giving up prom you’re giving up college, or at least normal college life of going out and having fun, because you’re so exhausted from being in the pool. So a lot of people say they want to be an Olympian but to actually live that lifestyle is a completely different level of dedication. It’s really you’re whole life, you don’t just turn 20 and say I want to become an Olympian.

What are some of you’re favorite moments as coach?

As a coach watching my team get to have that magical moment where they were able to achieve something that they didn’t think was possible or that I didn’t think was possible. That’s always amazing.

Kim Probst, the former U.S. team captain is taking the reigns as head coach of the U.S. Olympic team. What’s the transition been like?

Well the first year is always the worst so she’s almost at the end of that (McGregor laughs) But I think she’s already found her nitch. She was a great choreographer as an athlete and she’s getting even better now that she’s captain of her own ship. It’s cool to watch that talent develop and to watch her go through what I was going through when I was coach.
My former coach mentored me when I was the Olympic Coach and now I’m kind of mentoring Kim so it’s sort of like this generational thing.

For more information about McGregor and the Aquanuts program, go to aquanuts.org. For more info on Saturday's fundraiser, go to aquanuts.org/2009noc.php.

 

 

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