Two Sides of the Same Coin

One is extroverted, jovial and quick to crack a joke; the other is introverted, serious, and reluctant to lavish praise. One de-emphasizes the importance of swimming--his team plays Ultimate Frisbee every Friday afternoon instead of lifting weights; the other demands an almost totalitarian dedication from his swimmers. And while one is characterized as "just one of the guys," the other is described as radiating a "god-like" and "fear-some" presence during workouts.

Swimming coaches--and brothers--Randy and Eddie Reese are proof that there is more than one road to success. Although totally dissimilar in their approaches to swimming, both brothers have risen to prominence in the collegiate and AAU swimming world; while Eddie's University of Texas squad captured the NCAA Championship crown last month for the first time. Randy's University of Florida women's team took fifth place at the AIAW Championships, and his men finished third in the NCAA competition. In addition, Randy's Florida Aquatic Swim Team (FAST) and Eddie's Longhorn Aquatic Swim Team (LAST--Paul Bergen shares the coaching duties), consistently finish in the top three teams at the AAU Nationals.

Observers say that Randy, 34, and Eddie, 39, are two of the finest and most respected coaches in the country, and swimmers speculate that a team coached by the brothers would be unbeatable. When asked about possibly joining forces with his brother. Eddie laughingly sums up the differences between the two: "I'd like that a lot--Randy could do all the work while I went out hunting and fishing."

Even apart, the Reese brothers have caused quite a stir in the swimming world, especially because of their unorthodox and innovative training methods. Often borrowing and improving on each other's ideas, the Reeses have been known to have their swimmers pull themselves up football-stadium ramps on "body scooters," kick in the deep end of the pool with leg weights, and climb ropes wearing lead-filled hunting jackets to develop upper body strength. Randy invented special arm paddles which create water resistance while correcting strokes, and Eddie trained his Texas swimmers in a 16 2 3-yd.-long pool this year so that they could get used to swimming at the race speed created by frequent flip turns.

Except for their creativity and inventiveness, however, the Reese brothers have followed different paths in the development and coaching of their swimmers. Although praised as one of the toughest and most dedicated coaches in the country by his swimmers. Randy is generally considered very intense. driven, and hard to approach--a diametrical opposite of his brother.

"You really have to go out of your way to get to know Randy." Florida swimmer Amy Caulkins says. "He creates a natural distance between himself and the swimmers--it's like the generation gap with parents."

Florida women's captain Betsy Rapp agrees with Caulkins' assessment but is quick to point out that she has seen a large change in Randy's attitude since he first arrived at Florida three years ago. "He was always uptight, and he hated being here that first year," she says. "Now he likes college coaching a lot more, and he is happier around the swimmers."

One thing that makes Randy somewhat of an anomaly in the swimming world is that he is the only coach of a Top 10 men's team who also coaches a ranked women's squad. Although the training situation has had beneficial results, such as bringing the teams closer together, it has also created problems, including a feeling among some of the women that the men receive more attention.

Randy's extreme emphasis on weight control has particularly rankled females in the past. Last year, in an effort to get rid of the excess pounds on some his women swimmers. Randy introduced "Fat Patrol"--a policy that forced overweight women to swim 1000 yds. freestyle. interspersed with sit-ups or push-ups--after workouts.

In defense of his methods and the attitudes of some of the male swimmers--who often jeered and whistled during the "Fat Patrol" exercise--Randy says. "The guys felt that there was a non-effort among the heavier girls towards losing weight and it was starting to affect them in the pool. I feel that if I look at a girl and she doesn't appear fit, then she has a responsibility to the team to slim down."

It is these tough standards, as well as the national problem of a high attrition rate among female swimmers in college, that have combined to deplete and weaken Randy's women's team--11 of last year's 22-member squad chose to leave Florida or to quit swimming altogether this season.

"The problem wasn't me or out training program--the problem was that the swimmers who left weren't overly interested in being great anymore." Randy says. "When the desire and the dedication aren't there anymore, which was the case then they're better off not being here anyway."

It takes a thick-skinned and disciplined swimmer to thrive in Randy's program, a swimmer who can live without ever hearing a word of congratulation from the notoriously hard-to-please coach. But for the upward-bound athletes who are willing to commit their bodies and souls to Randy--like Tracy Caulkins, who will be joining her sister at Florida this fall--the results can be very heartening.

"He is the best coach I've ever been associated with." Florida freestyler John Morse says. "People do complain about him wanting 100 per cent all the time, but in the end everyone always returns to train with him because he is so good."

Randy hesitates when asked about the amount of commitment he expects from his swimmers: "I ask that they give a lot, but I think that I demand more from myself in terms of workouts I offer and the time that I invest in the program.

"I don't feel that it is unreasonable to give all of yourself to coaching and to expect at least that much from your swimmers," he insists.

In contrast to his younger brother's intensity. Texas coach Eddie Reese comes across as fun loving and low key, yet no less successful in the win-loss column. In three short years he has rocketed the Longhorn men swimmers from 22nd to first place in the national standings.

Eddie's secret appears to be a genuine amount of personal concern for his swimmers: "My main objective is to keep everyone happy," he says. "My philosophy has always been that the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, so I like to work a lot on an individual basis."

Working one on one with swimmers sometimes means a lot less pool and training time in Eddie's program. "If a guy comes in and doesn't want to swim one day. I'll talk to him for an hour and a half about how he's feeling and what's bothering him." Eddie says, "I think it's a lot more important to keep swimmers motivated than to just throw them into the pool every day."

Eddie's interest in "protecting the swimmers from the neck up" is reflected in the structure and variety of his practices. "I haven't repeated a workout in 16 years," he says. "I figure if I'm bored giving the workout, then the guys got bored half an hour earlier."

Not only does he alleviate boredom by constantly varying his workouts, but Eddie is also well known for his sharp wit and his ability to make everyone laugh--especially at himself. Former Harvard swim captain Richard Greer, who trained with Eddie for several years in Florida, says that the coach's contagious zest for life helps his swimmers.

"I think Eddie is the most popular swim coach in the country," he says. "You can always tell who Eddie is at a swim meet because so many people are clustered around him."

Texas breaststroker Nick Nevid praises Eddie's coaching style, saying that his easy-going nature and his obvious concern for the team's well-being has earned Eddie the Longhorn squad's whole-hearted allegiance. "Even if he sits in his office during a workout instead of watching us, we never goof off." Nevid says, adding, "I don't know any other coach who commands that kind of respect."

But calling Eddie easy going does not mean that he lacks intensity--the elder Reese brother runs what has been called "the hardest dry-land program in the country." In addition to free weights, nautilus work, stretching and running. Eddie is renowned for devising several demanding and unique exercises every year.

"We believe that our program is the best in the country," he says flatly.

Eddie is also a master at the tricky art of tapering. True to his stress on individuality. Eddie tapers each swimmer differently, pulling some out of the water completely and only moderately reducing the yardage and intensity for others. "I don't know how to taper at all," Eddie jokes, but it just seems to turn out right every year."

Although Eddie makes it all sound very easy, things turn out right for him and his brother only because they put so much of their own time and energy into creating successful programs. Long hours and emotional investments are as necessary in producing winning coaches as they are in creating good swimmers. As Eddie accurately says about both types of participants. "The best thing about swimming is that it parallels life in demonstrating that it is the hard-working person--not just the talented one--who is going to succeed in this world."