Welcome to Beyond the Whistles.
The angle we take on swimming coverage is different from traditional media coverage, and it starts with a simple observation: the swim world has never lacked information. What it has often lacked is balance.
For many years, coverage in the sport has focused heavily on elite teams, elite athletes, and elite outcomes. National cuts, top rankings, high-profile college commitments. Those stories matter, but they represent only a small portion of the swimming community. The majority of swimmers train, compete, improve, and grow outside that narrow spotlight, and their stories are just as meaningful.
Beyond the Whistles was created to help change the paradigm.
This platform exists to highlight swimmers at all levels and the programs they represent. Not just who is winning today, but who swimmers are, how they are developing, and what their experience in the sport looks like over time. Every swimmer has a story. Every team has an identity. Those stories don’t become less important because they aren’t attached to a national ranking or a Division I signing graphic.
While there have been occasional articles that touch on the broader swim community, most coverage continues to center on a limited group of athletes and programs. That leaves a large part of the sport unseen. Beyond the Whistles aims to fill that gap by focusing on the full depth of competitive swimming.
We believe every swimmer has a fit beyond high school if they want one. That fit may be college swimming at any level, club swimming, masters swimming, open water, officiating, coaching, or simply carrying the lessons of the sport into whatever comes next. Some swimmers may choose not to continue after high school or club, and that decision is just as valid. Their experiences, development, and contributions to the sport matter no less.
Beyond the Whistles is athlete focused, but it is also community focused. This blog is meant to be a place where swimmers, coaches, parents, and programs can share perspectives, ask questions, and engage in meaningful discussion about the sport as it actually exists for most participants.
One area we are especially excited about is highlighting programs on the rise. Across the country, there are teams building strong cultures, developing athletes the right way, and improving year over year without much outside recognition. We want to tell those stories. If your program would like to be highlighted, we encourage you to reach out and share what you’re building, how you define progress, and what makes your team unique.
This blog will cover a wide range of topics. Athlete stories, program spotlights, development conversations, recruiting realities, meet experiences, and the nuances of the sport that don’t always get discussed publicly. The goal is not to elevate a select few, but to reflect the full swimming community.
Most importantly, this is not a one-way platform. Let us know who you are. If you’re a swimmer, tell us your story. If you’re a coach or a parent, share your perspective or ask a question. If there’s an athlete or program that deserves attention, we want to hear about it.
Beyond the Whistles is about looking past headlines and highlights and focusing on the people who make up the sport.
Tom Schmidt
Tim Carroll
Founders
Beyond the Whistles
Swim Meet Pros
SwimCircuit.com