Social Kick • Swim Culture & Stories

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to SUBSCRIBE and SHARE with a friend!

Elite swimmers Skyler Smith, Isabelle Stadden & Anna Peplowski kick off Social Kick's brand-new Season Pass series!

While Anna couldn't join the live conversation this week because she's competing on the World Aquatics World Cup circuit, she checks in from overseas to share her racing experiences and adventures.

Meanwhile, Skyler & Isabelle debate whether the CSL is pushing swimmers TOO FAR with 10+ races and just 2 minutes of rest, reveal their BRUTAL swim sets, open up about throwing up during practice and the mental battles of elite swimming, their road to making the Short Course World Championships, what happens if they DON'T qualify, why pro swimmers get paid to nap, and MORE...

Sponsors:

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

 Connect With our Hosts:

https://www.instagram.com/skylerasmithhh/

https://www.instagram.com/isabellestadden/

https://www.instagram.com/anna_peplowski/

Connect With Social Kick:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

📱 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialkickswim/ 

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

Introducing Season Pass, a brand-new podcast series from Social Kick! 🏊‍♀️🎙️

Go behind the scenes with elite U.S. swimmers Skyler Smith, Isabelle Stadden, and Anna Peplowski as they train, compete, and chase their dreams of qualifying for the Short Course World Championships.

Follow their journey through this exclusive 8-episode series, featuring real conversations, intense training, and an inside look at life as a professional swimmer.

Connect With Our Season Pass Hosts:

Skyler Smith - https://www.instagram.com/skylerasmithhh/

Isabelle Stadden - https://www.instagram.com/isabellestadden/

Anna Peplowski - https://www.instagram.com/anna_peplowski/

What happens when one of the fastest backstrokers in history discovers that the secret to going faster might be the one training style she's always dreaded? Claire Curzan pulls back the curtain on the grind behind the glory, the mental warfare of elite competition, and the surprising lessons hiding inside college swimming's boldest experiment.

Claire Curzan is a 4x NCAA champion, international gold medalist, and one of the most dominant backstrokers in the world. Currently swimming her senior season at the University of Virginia under coach Todd DeSorbo, she holds the top five 200-yard backstrokes of all time, with one of them being a time she dropped in September, coming off what she calls "aerobic graveyard."

In this episode, she explains:

■ The Block Slip: A recounting of falling off the starting block during a high-stakes relay, and how the embarrassment fueled an even faster swim on the very next rep.

■ The Aerobic Paradox: How weeks of grueling, sprint-free distance training unexpectedly unlocked the fourth-fastest 200 backstroke ever, forcing a rethinking of what race prep actually requires.

■ The CSL Revolution: Why a bold new college swimming format delivered the most fun meet she's ever experienced — surpassing even World Championships and the Olympics.

■ The Doubt Playbook: How leaning on training memory, team identity, and a sports psychologist helped her build a pre-race routine that holds up even when the variables collapse.

■ The UVA Crucible: Training alongside Olympic-caliber teammates means constant exposure to excellence — and the challenge isn't imitation, but knowing which pieces to absorb and which to leave behind.

 

Sponsors:

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

🏊‍♂️ Grown Up Swimming — https://www.grownupswimming.com/ 

Connect With our Guest: 

https://www.instagram.com/claire.curzan/ 

Connect With Social Kick:

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialkickswim/ 

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

Support the Podcast: https://socialkickswim.com/shop

 

World-class butterflyer Ilya Kharun joins the Social Kick podcast to talk about his switch from Canada to Team USA, racing Caeleb Dressel at nationals, and going 19.4 in the 50 fly SCY in practice.

We talk about chasing sub-50 in the 100 fly, his underwater speed, NCAA format changes, the College Swimming League, ISL skins, his YouTube vlog, sponsorships, and the future of college recruiting.

 

Connect With our Guest:

https://www.instagram.com/ilya_kharun/

 

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @socialkickswim

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com

🛒 Elsmore Swim Shop — ElsmoreSwim.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

👕 Tall Slim Tees — TallSlimTees.com | Code SOCIALKICK for 20% off

Support the Podcast: https://socialkickswim.com/shop

Former Stanford swim coach Tracy Slusser joins Social Kick to discuss her career pivot from coaching Olympic athletes like Katie Ledecky to launching a leadership coaching business for coaches.

She opens up about women in coaching, parental leave in sports, work-life balance on the pool deck, and her push for policy changes to support coaches navigating family and career at the NCAA and national team level.

🎧 Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @socialkickswim

🌐 Visit us at www.socialkickswim.com