Coaches Corner for March 16th: Chris Mann, Boone Boys Swimming

With us on Coach's Corner here in KWBG, get a chance to put a wrap on a really successful Boone Boys swimming season and Chris Mann joining us.

I think this was a season that we had kind of briefly talked about last year at the end of last year's Coach's Corner because there was a lot of anticipation. I know sometimes you can set the bar maybe a little bit too high.

I don't think with this year's team that was even possible. Chris, what a fantastic end of the year and I think about everything you could have wanted to have happen, happened this year.

Yeah, I mean you're not wrong and just looking back on the season and all the way back to last year, like I said, talking about it as we wrapped up the 24-25 season.

There were some unknowns coming into this season and we graduated nine seniors last year that were very heavy contributors to our team.

The way that our guys, the new guys that came in, filled spots that we needed filled as well as just everybody took a huge step forward this year. It was a true team effort across the board.

You look at all 22 of our guys really contributed our success this year and just really happy with how everything turned out. Was there a time this year, Chris, that you thought, okay, maybe this is that meet that we take a little bit of a step back and then it didn't happen?

Was there any of those opportunities that you thought, okay, maybe this is a week that we're not quite where I want us to be in yet? They just, they kept shining every single week and every weekend, Chris. Maybe that's a tough one to ask. They did.

I mean, coming out of Christmas break when we were really tired and exhausted and we went to the Des Moines East invite, which is actually like during break that last weekend.

We were pretty slow that day and it was kind of a defeating type day and we lost the meet on the very last relay to Southeast Polk by like two points.

That was the day that we were kind of like, all right, like we got through the hard training and then we were kind of worried, not worried, but just anxious to get to some meets a little bit later on where we could perform a little better.

Those meets, they came along and we were able to do that and get things back on the right track.

But yeah, for the most part, yeah, we just kept taking steps forward one meet at a time and I tell them all season long, this is not a sport where we are here to win meets along the way. That's kind of bonuses along the way.

Our whole focus is at the end of the season and being as fast as we can be at those last meets and we're able to do that. I feel like there can't be any more room on your wall to write names anymore. I don't know how you do it, Chris.

You know, there's a swim meet, I swear there's a picture a couple of days later about somebody putting a name up on the wall. Do we need more wall space is the question. I think we got plenty of wall space.

I'll invite as many of those guys that can, you know, we just try and throw carrots out in front of them and kids like to chase those goals and anytime I can put a goal down somewhere for them to chase, whether it's writing their name on a wall or signing our poster when they go a best time or, you know, different.

That's a great thing about time sports is you can always be after the next goal and it never ends. And so I just think that that's a really special thing about swimming is that you're never done. You're never done improving. You're never done reaching for that next goal.

And there's really no goals that are too big and no goals that are out of their reach. And we've been finding that out the last couple of years and it's been pretty special.

Chris, if you and I sat down in 20 years and had an interview and we kind of reminisced about what happened this past season, give me a couple of things. What do you think, though, that you'll be very vivid and you'll be able to recall almost immediately from this past year?

Well, we probably still will be talking in 20 years, but Carson, Carson coming back from his injury at the district meet and someone at the state meet and just lighting up our relays and just the grit that he had to take the whole week off of state swimming and come back and go lifetime best in those relays.

That is a story that one that I can never expect to come out of a swim season and you would never expect and there's probably coaches that have coached for 40 or 50 years that have never had something like that happen.

And just to be a part of that and to see a kid who has that much character and that much belief in themselves that they can come back from eight stitches on one Saturday to swimming on a fourth and fifth place relay the following Saturday and leading off those relays in huge times and as a senior, when we were at our banquet, it's almost like a story book ending even though we got injured but coming back.

Along with, we just had a group of guys that really, really believed in themselves this year and I've got a lot of belief in them, but they almost out believed me this year and outgrew what I thought was possible.

So just overall a great, great season that I'll remember for quite a while. Well, and I was looking back through our old texts and I was looking back through old results and everything else just trying to figure out what were the top moments.

There's such a tie, Chris, I think in first for so many of them. I think you brought up a great one with Mugginberg. I think with Clark, he's had so many records that it's just, I don't know why you don't just write Isaac Clark and just, we're good. That's fine.

He probably has pretty much everything.

Simon and Navnett's going to be a kid too from this year that I feel like you could put in just about anywhere and then what Brady Hyman was able to bring to the squad as well and I know I'm leaving out a bunch of kids but those are ones kind of off the top of my head, Chris, that just had such integral parts to why you placed, you know, why you had points at state, why you did what you did at state, why this season was so much fun.

Gosh, I know you need a whole village to usually do a great swim season but, boy, is this just testament to that.

Yeah, you know, sometimes when you bring that up, I get some goosebumps here and just kind of reliving some of those moments but, yeah, you look at a guy like Isaac and just a program changer and someone who, you know, in all sports, if you have that one kid who's kind of like way out in front, they really bring a lot of other kids along with them and show them what is possible and redefine in our program even for a smaller school like Boone what is possible and what can be done and the guys see that and then they have that belief and it just makes my job so much easier as a coach because they know that they can get that done.

You look at, like you said, like Simon who last year swam in one race at the state meet and this year swam in four and helped a relay get to the state meet and score points at a state meet that didn't have Isaac or Carson or Brady on the relay. Right.

You're looking at other guys that made it to the state meet and gave them the belief that, oh, you know, those guys are gone next year but we'll be back here again next year. Like we already did it.

Like we can do it again next year and be even better and so we got a lot of belief even headed into next year.

You know, we lose four great seniors with a lot of scoring, a lot of points scored and over the last two years I'm guessing we lost probably 85 to 90 percent of our scoring but the boys are still eager to come back next year and excited for what's to come next year and yeah, just a lot of things that went really well this year and just a team that really bonded and, you know, worked together.

You know, back to back conference champions and they're already talking, you know, they said, you know, a three-piece sounds nice and I said, well, we got a lot of work to do so but they're eager to fill in those spots which is what I like to see. Yeah, absolutely do.

Chris, thank you so much. It was such a fun season, not just, you know, when we started kind of talking about it actually this time last year but just getting into the season and then we talked around Christmas break and then I mean it just feels like swimming.

It takes a minute, it takes a minute, it takes a minute and then boom, so much stuff happens. So thanks for all the time. I know we had you on a bunch of different times, not usually your two-week break.

I know there was a little bit times where you're like, we're talking again, didn't we just do this? But I just appreciate you always doing that and it was such a fun year and I'll look forward to chatting with you again coming up for the girls season in November. Yeah, thanks.

Thanks for covering it, Ryan. Appreciate it. You bet. Chris Van again joining us. Boom Boy Swimming here on Coaches Corner.