Masters Topics, Athletes & Coaches Interviews Episodes

This episode is about the impact of emotions on athletic performance and how using the most powerful positive emotions can make you perform your best! Kelly and Maria agree that an athlete's (or any kind of performer's) emotions before an event, can impact their results in a big way. Positive emotions such as love, gratitude, and compassion produce oxytocin and norepinephrine, which make us feel good and powerful, while negative emotions such as fear, guilt, and shame produce cortisol and make ...

If you want to take your swimming to new heights this interview is for you! You'll hear great stories, tips and advice for getting faster from the extraordinary Masters Swim Coach Mark Kutz, of NOVA Aquatics of Virginia. Join Kelly and Maria for the 200th episode of Champion's Mojo! Just a few of the topics and stories: 1) A new masters swimmer that has gone from barely being able to swim to darn fast! 2) The 3 most important things Masters Swimmers need to be doing 2) Why just swimming lap...

This episode is a great Q & A on how to improve your starts off the block with some very basic information, and some lesser discussed deep dives on the topic to give you an advantage in your next race. Multiple tips for how to improve your pool starts and when to go to the block When the heat before yours finishes, you will hear three short whistles, and then one long whistle. The long whistle indicates that you can step onto the block. Once you are on the block, curl your toes around the fro...

Masters Swimmers, so many tips to help you get faster in your next meet is in this episode! Whether you are experienced or new to Masters swimming there are many gems for improvement from this stellar swimmer and coach with a contagious passion for the sport. And if you've ever thought about swimming with your local Youth Swim Team, this episode is for you! Masters World and National record holder Eric Christensen has been training with a "kids" team for 20 years and it pays off for him in a bi...

Masters Swimmers, have you ever swum faster in practice or alone than in a meet, or when it was time to put it all on the line? Have you been overly worried about how your stroke looks, the piano falling, or that you don't look the part? Then Kelly's and Maria's conversation today will be of value to you! While swimming is a technique driven sport, sometimes that can be taken too far. A few discussion topics in this episode: 1) Kelly's practice set of 500s where she went faster than in a recent ...

This interview is guaranteed to inspire you and brighten your day! Swim Ft. Lauderdale Masters Team (SFTL) is one of the largest and best masters swimming programs in the nation. Esteemed Head Swim Coach Marty Hendricks gives only one award each year, "The Clyde Akbar Spirit Award". In this interview you'll meet the man behind the award, Clyde Akbar himself. Clyde's life reads like a page-turning novel, starting with being thrown off a cliff into the sea at age 12 as his intro to swimming. Clyde...

Join dedicated Masters Swimmer Lindsay Price, Captain, SpaceX Falcon Ark Recovery Vessel, for this riveting interview on Champion's Mojo and learn about how she (mostly) swims seven days a week, breaks glass ceilings in the maritime industry, and lives on a ship for 28 days at a time! This remote interview took place while Lindsay was captaining a ship heading east of the Bahamas to recover a SpaceX rocket that was about to be launched into space. She describes watching rocket launches and the ...

Masters swimmers, are you ready for an engaging and fun discussion between Kelly and Maria, about the topic of flip turns in swimming and how it can relate to life? You'll find today's show relatable whether you are an experienced swimmer, or brand new to flip turns! One of the best parts of the podcast is the story that Maria shares about her struggle with flip turns, and then Kelly helps break it down into different parts, providing an example of how to approach learning a flip turn. You'll a...

Champion's Mojo is all-in on the love of Masters Swimming and Masters Swimmers! In this episode we share with you a big CELEBRATION, why we are in love with our upcoming guests and the future topics that will take your swimming to the next level, whether you are elite or brand new to masters swimming! Join Kelly and Maria for this 5-minute trailer of what's coming up and a Valentine's wish for you! Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a med...

Champion's Mojo's guest is elite swim coach Abbie Fish, the founder of Swim Like a Fish, a virtual swimming coaching business. Tune in to hear Abbie's advice for setbacks and other important topics like: -Cross Comparisons of performance -How relationships can change -Champions are us, not others "out there" -Your coach should be "others focused" -Iron deficiency in athletes and much more! ABOUT ABBIE: Abbie has over 25 years of experience in competitive swimming with 10+ years of el...

Barbara Hernandez, World Open Water Swimmer of the Year (2020) is known as the Ice Mermaid. She recently broke two world records in some of the world's most dangerous waters. From deadly ice water temperatures to poisonous creatures she has encountered in open waters, she shares how she manages to excel at ice and extreme open water swims. Discussing an event she finished without the use of her one leg after a Man-o-war jellyfish attack. Barbara also shares with us how she sets no limits on hers...

Is there a comparison monster lurking in your mind? Comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s also the thief of confidence. Kelly and Maria give us 7 practical solutions to crushing the bad habit of comparing yourself What are your triggers that make you compare yourself? Talent? It happens when you compare your abilities to another person’s gifts. Therefore, you don’t notice your uniqueness and get disappointed when you can’t do what another person can do. Financial resources? This is where y...

Linda Irish Bostic, 2022 US Masters Swimming Coach of the Year reveals some great mojo in her interview. You are going to love the concept of brain dumping this champion shares and so much more to help make you a champion! Head Coach of Palm Beach Masters (PBM). Extraordinary Coach of the Palm Beach Masters with 500+ registered USMS members! 2022 USMS Coach of Year. Currently 12 FINA world, 28 usms national records 5 usms relay. 491 Top Ten Award USMS Certified Level 4 Coach. Dan Lotano’s C...

If you are an athlete, parent, or someone who is trying to keep multiple balls in the air successfully, you’re going to want to stick around and get some Mojo from today's guest. In this episode are joined by marathon swimming champion Morgan Filler. Morgan’s accomplishments include being a former member of the US National Open Water Team, spending five years on the FINA World Cup Marathon Pro Swim Circuit, winning the 28.2-mile swim around Manhattan, and Morgan becoming an honorary member of th...

Whether you are an experienced open water (OW) swimmer or a complete rookie, this episode is for you! Host Kelly and Co-Host Maria dive deep into the world of open-water swimming with co-host, Maria Parker, a newbie to the sport and Host Kelly Palace a National Champion and veteran of over 100 OW races. In our conversation, we detail Maria's first-ever open-water swim experience, the 2-Mile Cable Nationals 2022 Open Water National Championship. Our discussion will help listeners interested in th...

Today’s guest believes that by simply enhancing the quality of your breathing, you can improve your health, performance, and happiness. Dr. David Deppeler incorporates the simple, scientifically proven breathing technique detailed in the best-selling book The Oxygen Advantage in his roles as an advanced Oxygen Advantage instructor, master swimmer, physical therapist, and the founder of Breathe Your Truth. His qualifications include a physical therapy degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madis...

Jeff Commings keeps defying age as a Masters Swimmer. We learn his secrets and hear some of the best taper advice out there for Masters. Jeff has been involved in swimming since his college days at the University of Texas at Austin. He won many awards during his time there and was an Olympic trials qualifier. His passion and drive for swimming are relentless and keep him performing on a world-class level. We learn about his training routine, how he tapers from an intense training block, why it i...

THIS EPISODE WON A 2023 VEGA SILVER AWARD IN THE LIFESTYLE CATEGORY. Does 100 years of age sound too old to start everyday with a dozen full push-ups? Or too old to be a swim champion, swimming 5 days a week, driving yourself, playing bridge weekly? How about traveling to Japan from the US? Attending a podcast interview recorded on Zoom? Too old for that? Or too old to be using an iphone? Well, if you said yes to any of these, you’d would be wrong. In today’s episode, we speak to a true inspi...

Our special guest today joins us all the way from Melbourne, Australia! Want the scoop on all things Australian Swimming? Aussie Danielle Spurling is a FINA World Masters Top 10 Ranked pool swimmer, has had a life-long involvement in swimming, first as an Australian Age swimmer and then Open National medalist in her youth. She is also an open-water enthusiast. She's had a long career teaching swimming and physical education teacher. Danielle is the Founder and host of Torpedo Swimtalk, a popular...

Today’s guest believes that goal-setting is a part of what led to her success. Hear the path this Olympic Champion took to now Masters Swimmer. In honor of the this summer's 50th anniversary of when she brought home three Olympic golds, today we are joined by Melissa Belote Ripley. Melissa represented the USA at the 1972 Summer Olympics at the age of 15. She was the Olympic champion in the 100 and 200-meter backstroke and was part of the 4x100 medley relays, setting world records in these events...

Today we have an amazing interview with a man whose life reads like a best selling novel. Our enchanting guest served as a Judge for over 50 years, the longest running judgeship in Florida history, presiding over mostly criminal cases. He was instrumental in starting US Masters Swimming, and he is credited with overcoming much of the early resistance to Masters swimming within the swimming community. He has a swim meet named after him that has been running for 51 consecutive years, the longest i...

In honor of the Month of July being US Masters Swimming's Try Masters Swimming promotion, Champion's Mojo Co-hosts Kelly Palace and Maria Parker debunk 10 common myths about Masters Swimming that may be holding you back. If you've ever fancied the idea of joining an adult swim team, swimming for fitness in a group, or just learning more about Masters Swimming, this show is for you! Maria is a brand new masters swimmer and Kelly is one with 30 years of experience, so it's the perfe...

Can you and should you push past that pain threshold in practice? Should you eat before training? In today’s episode, we speak with Susan Ingraham, Head Coach of Masters of South Texas, a large and successful swim team with over 160 swimmers and the winners of many different prestigious coaching awards. Susan is also a successful competitive swimmer, with various competition podium finishes under her belt. In this informative discussion, we find out about Susan’s professional background, why she...

There's never been a faster 50-year-old woman swimmer than Erika Braun. Learn her secrets to being so fast and much more. In today’s show, we speak with Erika, who holds 18 FINA Masters Swimming world records and swims for the North Carolina Masters . We check in with Erika on her 10 year anniversary of the amazing feat of making USA Olympic Trial standards as a 40 year old. This tough champion has continued her world bests for the last decade. She balances a full time job with training...