Feature By Jeff Commings FISHERS, Indiana, May 23. COACHING was always in Joel Elber'sblood, even while he was a swimmer. "I always wanted to coach," Elber said. "I had been coaching sinceI was in high school. I knew I wanted to continue that, whether itwas part-time or full-time." It appears it's going to be a full-time commitment for the24-year-old. He's been an assistant coach at the Southeastern SwimClub for about a year, working at a club in suburban Indianapolisthat has a rich history of developing young talent. And he is one of six members of the American Swimming CoachesAssociation's 2012 Fellows Class, the 12th such group of youngcoaches picked to work with experienced mentors for a year. Theothers in the class are Danielle Strader-Bordi (Salvation ArmyKrocs), Jon MacColl (Queens University of Charlotte), Mickey Murad(Rancho San Dieguito Swim Team), Rodrigo Pereira (City of PlanoSwimmers) and Sam Wensman (Club Wolverine). Each year, the Fellows work on a year-long project, and this year'sassignment appears to be right up Elber's alley. The goal is todevise a strategy to implement a professional swimming league inthe United States that will increase visibility for the sport. Elber spent about a year training with the elite team atSwimMAC-Carolina before a torn labrum forced early retirement lastyear. The team took overseas trips to compete in Italy, where Elbersaw firsthand how a meet for professional swimmers could behandled. "The energy and excitement there was really high," he said. "Thegeneral public came out to watch. There's music, there's fun andeveryone has a good time. "There are a lot of ideas I can bring," he added. "It's going to bechallenging, because in my opinion, USA swimming is very structuredand its goal is to be the best it can be in the world. You can dothat, but it shouldn't be an issue as far as the fun portion ofit." Transitioning into full-time coaching wasn't difficult. Prior tocoaching part-time at SwimMAC, Elber was an assistant coach for theOhio State University's club team while finishing his degree inexercise science. (He was also captain of the men's swim team hissenior year.) Working with Ohio State's Bill Wadley and SwimMAC'sDavid Marsh instilled a lot of powerful coaching philosophies inElber. "David Marsh was a huge influence on me in terms of what it meansto be a swimmer and challenging those ideals that had been acceptedfor 50 years, and trying new things," he said. "When I was at OhioState, Bill Wadley impressed me a lot. One of the reasons I choseto go to Ohio State is he remains devoted to creating proper men,and swimming comes second. That really impressed me, and I wantedto be that role model for young kids." Southeastern Swim Club has been a great place for him to instillthose values and grow as a coach, he said. "A lot of people in the community are excited about the sport, andit helps promote the sport, and it's nice because kids want to comeout to swim," he said. "The coach who has been there for over 20years, Andy Peterson, asked me about my ideas, and that was great.(The team is) continually evolving and always wanting to bebetter." Being an ASCA Fellow could help improve Elber's outlook on coachingas well, noting that "it's great to have the chance to make adifference in this sport." If you have feature story ideas, contact Jeff Commings at SwimmingWorld at . I am an expert from ophthalmology-instrument.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Portable Patient Monitor , Dental Chairs Equipment, Optometry Instruments,and more.
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