New Gold Coach Aims to Challenge Young Swimmers; Impart Life Lessons

Chattahoochee Gold swim club is proud to welcome Coach Luke Osgood to its coaching staff at the Woodstock Aquatic Center. Coach Luke comes to Gold from the Dayton Raiders club team in Ohio. As a competitive swimmer, Luke was team captain of the Wright State University swim team and the team's MVP in 2014. To get to know Luke a little better, we did a little q-and-a with the new coach.

What made you come all the way to Georgia to coach with Chattahoochee Gold?

"I had been looking for a full time coaching position since I graduated from Wright State University in December 2016. I moved here because I wanted a fresh start in a new environment. I knew that this team would give me a lot more responsibility, and opportunity to grow as a coach. I knew I made the right decision when I told other teams where I would be working and they congratulated me, saying what an amazing program Pat (Chattahoochee Gold Owner & Head Coach Pat Murphy) has."

What are your responsibilities with the team?

"My responsibilities include administering swim workouts to the Technique & Fitness, Silver, and Sectional groups. I also help with maintenance around the Woodstock pool."

How has your background and previous experience prepared you for coaching Gold athletes?

"I have been involved in the sport of swimming my entire life. I have seen what a coach looks like that has respect from his athletes, and I have seen what one looks like that does not. I have learned that this sport is so much more than swimming in a cold pool. It is about molding young individuals into responsible members of society. There are so many life lessons to be learned from the sport of swimming."

What is your swim coaching philosophy?

"I, just like many other coaches, believe in starting every season with balance drills. Especially at a young age, this should be a majority of what a swimmer tries to obtain; proper body position and balance in the water.

One thing I would like a swimmer to understand is that true perfection is complex and dynamic. It is an expression of full commitment from who we are at that moment in time. Perfection today is different from perfection yesterday. We need to look at perfection like it is a bull’s eye on a dart board. Not a single point, but it is a small circle, containing an infinite number of different points within it. That same point will never be hit twice."

What are your goals for your swimmers at Chattahoochee Gold?

"My goals for my swimmers are simple. I want to teach them the art of swimming while also teaching them how to become healthy, competent, and responsible young adults. Swimming is a sport that presents many everyday challenges."

What is your proudest moment from swimming?

"If you would have asked me this question a year ago, my answer would have probably been different. Back then I would have said something along the lines of 'when I took second at my conference championships.' But now when I answer this question I can’t help but think about the life lessons I learned from the sport. I learned what a true friend really is. I learned how to separate a teammate from a friend and that is not an easy thing to do. I learned that talent only takes you so far, but those who want all the glory have to make sacrifices. You see I never was going to swim in college. I wasn't that talented as a swimmer. But then I got a call from Wright State saying that they were interested in me being on the team. This is where my respect for the sport changed. And where I met lifelong friends in the process."

What unique traits & knowledge do you bring to the Gold coaching staff?

"I feel that I will bring a lot of charisma to the Gold Staff; as well as innovative ideas and training tips. I am excited to implement them and also learn more under Pat Murphy."

What are your hopes & expectations with the team?

"My hopes are that the young athletes I coach take the challenges I present to them and use them to help solve real life challenges in the future. Hopefully they will find these challenges to be easier than anything they have ever done in a swim practice. If they can do this, they will become successful adults. I also hope to successfully convey all of my knowledge to those that I will be coaching. They deserve to know what I know, and much more."

Why is swim such a great sport?

"Swimming is a life-long sport that teaches individuals how to overcome difficult life challenges. Without this sport in my life, I don't know where I would be today. It has always been the one thing that I have identified myself as, 'a swimmer.'"

goldswim.com