How swim coach Bryan Gallow used swim training and positive values to win the Dulles district championship

The+varsity+swim+team+poses+with+their+first+place+trophy.+On+2022+February+5%2C+the+swim+team+won+the+Dulles+district+championship%2C+giving+them+the+chance+to+compete+in+the+Region+4c+championships+at+Cloud+Moore.+Photo+by+Kate+Cassidy.

The varsity swim team poses with their first place trophy. On 2022 February 5, the swim team won the Dulles district championship, giving them the chance to compete in the Region 4c championships at Cloud Moore. Photo by Kate Cassidy.

Injuries and the inability to practice certain swimming techniques all worked against this swim team, but against all odds they placed number 1 in the Dulles District championship swim meet. The “team is more strong and more together,” swim coach Bryan Gallow said. 

 

This team strength could stem from various reasons boosted by the coach’s unique style, like the extensive 4700 yard workouts supported by Gallow’s mentality of wanting correct form of repetitions over speed of them. “If you are just going through the motions it’s less efficient and you could get injured,” Gallow said.

 

Although these injuries are “always” happening, according to Gallow, but also saying these injuries are negatable, with muscle strains or just fatigue, “no one has truly gotten injured to where they just shut down.”

 

Through these injuries, Varsity swimmer sophomore Allen Crowst credits his coach as being the true reason why they won the Dulles district championship. Coach Gallow “taught us the nitty gritty things,” Crowst said.

 

Gallows disagrees, saying that in his 21 years of experience his most effective swimming technique is “building the person, not the athlete,” putting the coach-athlete relationship in top priority to have “people that have graduated still reach out to him” and make them “succeed in life.”

 

Gallows says that 90% of this ‘most talented team ever’ will stay for next year, getting the opportunity to “do better than they did last year.”

 

If these facts hold true, if the team can get past injuries and stay together as a team and make steady progress next year, and if the team can find a way to start practicing diving even though its prohibited at the swimming practice area at Ida Lee Sports Center, then they won’t even have to worry about winning district championships, for their chances given by Gallow of winning regionals would be an astounding “probably.”