The Resident Table

S1 E1: Welcome to the Resident Table

• The Resident Table • Season 1 • Episode 1

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Before it was a podcast, The Resident Table was exactly that—a literal table in the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center cafeteria where a group of para-athletes gathered after grueling swim sets to swap stories, decompress, and build something bigger than themselves. In this premiere episode, we bring you back to where it all began.

You’ll meet the original Resident Team—an unlikely group of athletes from across the country (and world), each with their own path to elite sport. Guided by coach Derek Williamson, this group came together to form one of the most successful programs in Paralympic triathlon history. But it wasn’t just medals and race results that defined them—it was the culture, the camaraderie, and the way they pulled each other forward in and out of the pool.

From cross-country moves with young kids in tow, to awkward first workouts, hilarious roommate stories, and deeply personal moments of growth, this is the untold origin story of a team that became a chosen family. If you’ve ever wondered what high performance really looks like—especially when it’s fueled by inclusion, resilience, and joy—this episode sets the tone for everything to come.

Pull up a chair, grab a coffee, and take your seat at The Resident Table.

Thanks for pulling up a chair at The Resident Table.
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow, rate, and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch full video episodes on our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram at @theresidenttable for behind-the-scenes content, athlete spotlights, and more.

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Email us at theresidenttable@gmail.com.

Until next time—thanks for being part of the team.

SPEAKER_00:

We're a decorated team of athletes

SPEAKER_03:

and their coach. And we are here to have meaningful conversations around high performance, disability, and the power of culture.

SPEAKER_02:

We're here to share our journeys as elite athletes

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to inspire,

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motivate, and teach you

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to build strong, diverse, and inclusive cultures

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that break barriers, embrace resilience, and unlock potential

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in sports,

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business, and life. Through stories and impactful discussions,

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you're going to learn how to create a world where diverse perspectives fuel high performance, include

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. In 2018, I

SPEAKER_04:

became the head coach for the Paratriathlon resident program and Ultimately, we became the most successful program in the history of Paratri. We had seven medals between the Tokyo Paralympics and the Paris Paralympics. And then we also had over 14 or well, we had we had 14 Paralympians that were a part of that program as well, plus quite a few world championships. I think, though, that one of the greatest things about that program, being a part of that program was the culture and what we created and what we became and how we were ultimately able to do more as a team than any one of us could have done individually. And that's really, really powerful. And, you know, with that, I want to introduce this incredible team. So, Haley, tell us about yourself.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so I was, I think maybe the OG resident team member. You know, you and I started working together a year prior. I'd been doing triathlon for probably about seven years at that point. Had been to one Paralympics. And, you know, we started working together back when I was living in Chicago. And then this idea that the resident team was going to be starting in Colorado Springs kind of came about. And, you know, that idea was really enticing to me just because I know that I really thrive in a team environment. And so... Yeah, and also knowing that you were kind of the coach of it anyway, it just made sense for me. So I picked up my life and I moved from Chicago to Colorado Springs to be a part of that first crop of athletes.

SPEAKER_04:

Culturally, basically the same thing, right? Chicago and Colorado Springs.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah, very much so. Yeah, there was no culture shock whatsoever. I

SPEAKER_03:

think

SPEAKER_00:

so. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

And then we had Mo. Yeah, I mean, for me, it's kind of crazy because... I was trained for Rio. I went to Rio representing my home country, Morocco. But throughout that process, I've been traveling all the time because I lived in the US back then. And every time traveling, I'm with the US team and like traveling with them, meeting with them, staying in the same hotel. And before 2016, I built that relationship with the US team. And because I was the only triathlete from Morocco, so I was alone, but when I'm traveling, I'm with the US team. So right after Rio made the decision to switch to represent Team USA, and I didn't know that there is a resident team or there is a team, but I started the process. And a couple months later, Amanda like contact and there is, oh, there is this team we're going to be training together, blah, blah, blah. This is the first thing.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Amanda was our director, our amazing director who had this vision for the resident team back then. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. So, I mean, there's a lot of things that were happening. Rio is supposed to be the end for me.

SPEAKER_04:

Wait, 2016?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. This is what I promised my wife. And then like two months later say, hey, do you want to move to Colorado?

UNKNOWN:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So, yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

And it wasn't just you. I mean, the kids came too. It was a family move. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

My wife had to leave her job. We have to move our family to Colorado Springs. And for me, it's just like being able to train with the team at the training center. Just like for me, that was like a dream. So it was like an easy decision for me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

It was an incredible addition. We were so pumped to have you. Yeah. Howie. What's up? Origin story. So I got hurt in 2012, medically retired from the army, moved to Denver. Um, and in 2014, the Colorado Springs used to host the warrior games. And I went there as a SOCOM wound warrior. And I remember being on the campus and like looking around, I'm going to be sponsored, um, and looking around as we competed and just being like, man, like how crazy would it be to live and train at the Olympic training center, like full time and, uh, flash forward to 2017. And Amanda reached out to me and was like, Hey, you should apply for this program. Um, And I hadn't been to a games. I didn't think I was anywhere near going to a games, but I applied and was one of the first four on the team and got to move from Denver down to Colorado Springs. I remember moving in, it was April fool's day. And I kept messaging Amanda and I was like, I swear if I get there and this is a joke, like I'm going to be so mad, but instead like became part of a team that to me as a vet, like really resembled that idea of like, living on base and you know a short walk to where you're going to start training and you train with your team and um it just hit home and and really gave me a even better sense of community as i entered you know the disabled world yeah cool thanks holly uh kyle tell tell us about how you got into the resident team oh

SPEAKER_07:

my gosh um gather around it's story time uh yeah so i i i i actually I had been doing triathlon since like 2015 at that point. And I was, I was part of the second crop of, of athletes that, that you guys brought in. And, you know, I had quit my job in, in 2016 to move to Colorado full-time. I was, I was renting from my, from my parents at the time. And just, I was having a hard time finding employment. So I was just training all the time and, I was having to take a bus from, you know, from the hill just down, you know, down the hill from my parents' house all the way up to Aspen. And it was, I was doing like 90 minutes of commuting each way to get to a pool. And I just had this trainer and a treadmill in my garage. And I was just doing a lot of solo training and spending a lot of time sitting on buses. And I was getting better, but I didn't, for me being totally blind, this idea of being part of a team that could push me to whole new levels was really, really appealing. And I actually got the opportunity to attend one of USA Triathlon's talent identification camps for blind and visually impaired athletes. I think it was in like August of 2018. And I was preparing for you know, my third Ironman, Ironman Arizona at that point. And, um, I coach Mark Sortino was, was leading the, uh, was leading that talent ID camp. And, you know, I, I think I had met Mark like once or twice before, but like, he didn't know who I was. I didn't really know who he was. And, um, and we were sitting at a booth at the training center. Um, and, um, He was like, hey, could you, you know, could you see yourself living here? I was like, yeah, I could see myself living here on campus. And he said, well, you're actually kind of sort of good at this sport. So I would encourage their opening up applications, you know, because we think that men's visually impaired is going to be in Tokyo. I would encourage you to apply for one. And so I applied and applied. And I had no idea who you were at the time, Derek. I got on the phone with you and your South Carolina drawl made me immediately feel at home because I was- Come on, man. Because I was just a Southern boy from Northeast Florida. And I was just like, it just felt right. And being totally blind, the appeal of- being on a campus where I could walk two minutes to the pool, five minutes to the gym, have a dedicated space to train, and I could just pour my entire life into training, which I was doing anyway, really just was awesome. And then when I got on campus and Howie rolled up and just said, hey, I'm Howie, welcome to the team, it was just like, this is where I'm supposed to be.

SPEAKER_03:

He didn't say the cripple team.

SPEAKER_07:

No, no, no,

SPEAKER_03:

no,

SPEAKER_07:

no, no. But, but he did call me out for sitting at a high top.

SPEAKER_04:

I like, I use rolled up.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah. He, he rolled, he rolled up. It was like, It was like, hey, do you hate people in wheelchairs? First time

SPEAKER_04:

I ever lost rock, paper, scissors to Haley. Yep. One of us had to do it. Oh, that time? It wasn't in the pool when we did the relay? No, I've lost to Haley, but not rock, paper. Oh, no, I think I lost when we had to do the Pledge of Allegiance. I haven't said this in speech. We'll have Melissa go.

SPEAKER_02:

Why is this? What happened with that? Okay, apparently that's a later story. So, okay, so my quick backstory. I swam the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, and I was a resident swimmer when I was in my mid-20s after losing my leg. And thought that my athletic career was over, started triathlon in 2000, or a few years later, ended up competing in the Rio Paralympic Games. And then after having two kids, kind of thought that was it. I was done. And I had my... son Dallas, and then my daughter Millie. And then Tokyo was a few years ahead. And I remember I came out to Colorado Springs. I was currently living in Chicago, was still trying to decide if I should go for Tokyo or not. Haley at the time, Haley lived in Colorado Springs and she invited me to do a swim workout at the pool. And I went to the swim workout and it was a 10 by 100s that became a key workout. And I remember doing this workout at elevation at the Olympic Training Center with at this time, there was four or five other athletes that were in the pool and thinking to myself, this is how you get to be the best is being here with these athletes in that pool. So I went back to my husband, Brian, my two kids went back to Chicago and And I didn't even want to bring up the idea of moving everyone out to Colorado Springs. My husband, Brian, we had a job in Chicago. We had two young kids. We were pretty settled there. And randomly one night, I asked him, I said, there's a resident team out in Colorado Springs. And if I want to make a go for Tokyo, that's the place to be. And he, without a beat, said, well, let's do it. We'll never know if we don't try. And I kind of did a second take. And I thought, that means we're moving our entire family out to Colorado Springs. And he's like, well, let's do it. Let's go. And so we went. And after Christmas of December of 18, we moved everything out to Colorado. And I remember the date specifically, January 8th of 2019, dropped my two kids off at a brand new daycare, put up at the Olympic Training Center, sat in the car thinking, what am I doing? Like, what did I just do? Went, got my badge, went to the pool. And that impacted then. I mean, that was the start of something that I never knew could be so great. The team, the culture, the atmosphere. And it's, I mean, it's such a big part of my life that, that moment right there. So yeah, a lot of thanks to Haley for inviting me to that swim workout. That's what got me there.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and we had so much history too, you know, like you were one of the reasons why I got into the sport. You were my mentor very early on. And so it was really a full circle thing to then, you know, I think you skipped the

SPEAKER_02:

part where

SPEAKER_04:

you Burned your house down in Chicago for the insurance money before

SPEAKER_02:

you

SPEAKER_04:

moved.

SPEAKER_02:

When did I first meet you? I know.

SPEAKER_04:

No, I met you at the... Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

How long after your injury?

SPEAKER_04:

Maybe three-ish years. months,

SPEAKER_02:

maybe? Rehab in downtown Chicago. I co-founded an organization called Dare to Try, as many of us know. We get physical, we get athletes with disabilities into the sport of triathlon. And my other co-founder, Carrie, I think met you initially. So Howie and I go way back too. So them being, I mean, I got pictures of Howie when, I mean, you're like half the size of you are now.

SPEAKER_06:

Tiny little

SPEAKER_02:

guy. I think

SPEAKER_06:

she's always bad, but that's cool too. Man, just jabs.

SPEAKER_04:

Get me. Yeah, we really did break the list.

SPEAKER_02:

Seeing you. I mean, I think pretty quickly we became part of this. Like after breakfast, we would go to this table that we became the resident table that we sat at after breakfast and having everyone there. And it was very quickly. I mean, like the culture was formed very quickly that this is where this is where I wanted to be. Like this was it.

SPEAKER_05:

All right, Kendall.

SPEAKER_01:

I had the opportunity before, so the year before I moved out to the training center to join the resident team, I was with, so I also do a winter sport and I was with my winter team for the entire winter straight. And that was the first opportunity I had to train in person with a team consistently. And as soon as I realized that I was going to go to Tokyo. And that was what I was shooting for. I knew that I wanted to be back in that team environment, um, because that was so important for me leading into my first winter games. And I just wanted to kind of recreate that as much as I could for, for triathlon. And so, um, I think kind of a, a similar theme. I didn't know that much about Derek, but I knew Haley. And so I I came out to the training center. Haley took me on a bike ride. We trained together. I think I met you, Derek. I maybe talked to you on the phone maybe once. And I just kind of knew, like I felt comfortable with the people that were in the program. But I knew that I needed to be in person training with a team. And that's always been the most important part about being out in Colorado Springs. I think we can all train together. train on our own and train really hard and kind of figure that out. But being together as a team is, is like, you can't speak enough to that of what that does for your performance. And, and yeah, I just, I had to be a part of it.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. And I mean, I think, I think what's a cool is like in those 2018, 2018, we all, we all came into this like as, as a bunch of individuals and look at us here in 2025, you know, all these years later, you know, Kendall couldn't have said it better. Like it's, it's a team, like it became a team, a bunch of individuals became a team. And what I saw was those individuals accomplishing like so much more because they were part of a team. And I'm super excited to talk more about that and more about the culture and how you guys built it and how you were a part of it. And, and Melissa alluded to it, like so much of being a team and what we became was like that breakfast table. And, and, and that's representative of like the, these conversations that we're going to be having around the table and, and, and inviting other people into that table and other people into that space. And that, that space became like a, it became a safe space. It became a safe space for us to laugh and to talk about training and talk about racing. But like, we also cried there and we, we, we comforted each other and we encouraged each other. And, and I don't, I mean, I don't, I don't think we knew it at the time, but it just happened organically, but it became representative and symbolic of so much of what we were able to do and so much of how we grew as a culture and grew as a team. And, and, uh, man, I'm just, it's, it's been a while. I mean, we're what, six months post Paris now. And it's really been since the last games that we all sat around a table, but I'm, I'm pumped to be back here to be sitting around a table with all you guys and talking about stuff. That's, uh, that's so important to us and that I think we all have a different perspective that we'll be able to offer. I

SPEAKER_02:

have a question for you, Derek. Did you, when you came in, so here we all are sitting around this many years later, like when you came in as a coach, is that something that you expected? Like, was that your idea to create something like this or was it organic as it created? I

SPEAKER_04:

think it's a little bit of both. I think, you know, Amanda, who we talked about, who was the director at that time, had this vision and she sold this vision pretty hard. to me of like, this is what I want. This is what I want to see. And I was totally aligned with her direction. To be totally frank, I had no idea that it would become what it became in terms of just the relationships and the stories and the things that we shared over the seven, eight years into the games. And I think that's actually a good thing because I feel like if you try to force something like that, you lose authenticity and something that's so important about being being in an environment like this is like like authenticity and and um we we had that in spades as i look over at howie wearing authentic howie

SPEAKER_03:

before moving on like how did you end up the coach like Where were you in your life? Like, how did you be?

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I, yeah. Great question. I, I mean, I think it's really important. Everyone understands I'm, I'm, I'm able body. He was born in the dark. He was raised in the dark.

SPEAKER_05:

Raised by a wolf.

SPEAKER_04:

And so it was, it was actually pretty intimidating thinking about like working, you know, like how, how am I going to ensure that I can understand, this process as best as best as possible and what the needs are for, for these athletes. I had been coaching for gosh, since 2003. So I'd been coaching for almost 15 years. I'm working with my, my own coaching company, Dorada training, and I'd done some work within the paracycling world. And then I'd also worked with a veteran outreach organization called team red, white, and blue. And that, that it had some pair athletes come through it. And I just, I really enjoyed working with those individuals and, My wife and I had been in Austin, Texas for 10 years. I'd gone to grad school there. We stayed and we wanted to get out of Austin. So we actually moved to Colorado Springs because we'd both been there prior and we love Colorado Springs, but just like, this is where we want to be. And shortly thereafter, Amanda reached out and said, Hey, I had this idea. Are you keen on it? Like, yeah, kind of. She's like, well, it's not going to happen for like a year, but I want you to come to Yokohama, Japan. Yeah. with us and just observe and see what you think so i came to that race in 2017 to yokohama and uh west johnson was there and i think i think mark was there mark yeah oh i remember and uh man i was just like drinking from the fire hose it was like that's when i met you before that but i remember meeting you well there yeah oh that's why i was so exhausted coming out of that yeah yeah i remember being like i do that Totally just like, oh my gosh, there's so much to understand the rules, factors and everything. And that's where Haley, you and I really, we had coffee at a Starbucks in Yokohama.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_04:

Cause

SPEAKER_00:

it was a little bit of a, like a casual interview. I was looking to, to get a new coach. And so I wanted to have like a casual conversation with Derek. And if I'm being honest, I, You suggesting that we go to a Starbucks in Yokohama was a little bit of a red flag. I tend to like to go to the like little local places and there's good places in Yokohama. But yeah, I was able to kind of look past that because when we did meet at that Starbucks, I really liked just what you had to say, how you, you know, hearing about your training philosophies and just getting your vibe. I was like, oh, I actually think this can really work. And

SPEAKER_04:

it did. I mean, yeah. It kind of did. Right. You know? And so, yeah, so, so I, I got introduced like in, in that capacity and then Amanda, uh, wait, did Harry have a question? He's no, no, no. That was, That was the Yokohama where Sarah made us do the close your eyes and pick cherries. I'm like, I have to use my shoulders on this lady. What am I doing? Explain so people don't understand. That was a mindfulness exercise. In the army, we call them cherry pickers. It's where you hold your arm up and we have our eyes closed. She's like, yeah, it's starting to hurt now, isn't it? I'm like, yeah. We race tomorrow. I use only my arms. I'm like, look around. Mark's on his cell phone. I'm like, is no one going to say anything about how dumb this is.

SPEAKER_06:

Come on.

SPEAKER_02:

Put your arm down. I

SPEAKER_06:

wasn't done that race.

SPEAKER_02:

It was in order.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, you follow rules,

SPEAKER_04:

Melissa. She's an officer.

SPEAKER_02:

Rules

SPEAKER_04:

are

SPEAKER_02:

optional. Make the rules.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, so like We had that race. I started working with Haley. Started gaining some confidence. That guy, Jamie Brown, came into it at some point and started working with him. He was another lower leg amputee. Yeah. pitch this idea for the resident team. I'm like, I'm game. Um, I'm down with it. Let's, let's give it a shot. And, and, uh, but like, honestly, I was, I was scared shitless going into that first day. Like, Hey, Haley and I talked about it a little bit. Uh, Kyle and I talked about it a little bit, um, on in, in, in Paris, but like, like, what have I gotten myself into? I have no business doing this. And, uh, And, you know, it worked out and I'm super proud of what we accomplished. And I'm just, yeah, like I said, I'm pumped that we're all around the same table again and we get to talk about.

SPEAKER_03:

So working with your first athlete, like what are your perspective or the idea that you have for each one of us? Like,

SPEAKER_07:

how did you, how did, like, yeah, like, like Derek, like you did, Ultimately, we submitted our applications to be on the team. It was you and Amanda making the decisions. What were the driving points and factors where you picked each of us?

SPEAKER_02:

Hesitant on some of us, like, oh, man.

SPEAKER_07:

I mean, it was like, was my rock climbing and wrestling background, like a red flag, like, I don't know if I can, I don't know about this guy, like, you know, like, you know, or like, you know, how he's, you know, propension to jump out of airplanes or something like that. You know, like, you know, I don't know about this guy. Definitely the worst part about me. Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04:

I think part of it, I mean, all of you came into the sport with, with different levels of, um, experience and i think it was very clear that each of you had the capacity to do really really well within the sport um frankly kyle like a big thing that i was paying attention to was like how is this person going to contribute to to the team um and i didn't get that right every single time to be totally honest but it was one of those thoughts of like okay Triathlon is an individual sport, right? Like, so like it's an individual sport. We're starting a team. We're going to be working together as a team. I needed to make sure I think that we have like the right personalities and the right individuals in place. We had to demonstrate success in some capacity, but to me, it was more about a lot of those intangibles that I was paying attention to of like, um, is this person going to do the foundational stuff really well? And that became something that we talked about a lot is do the simple stuff well. Are they going to, you know, support the team and be a part of that and a part of the vision and help it grow? So here we are. Can

SPEAKER_00:

I come back to something you said? Because I think it was just the idea of bringing in people with different levels of experience. I think that was actually one of the things that made our group so special was that you did have not only different experience levels, but different types of disabilities in the para space. And that translates to different levels of performance, right? And so you saw that sometimes, right? We go to the track and like, I'm doing a workout that's completely separate from Kyle's because I can't run as fast as he can as an above the knee amputee. But I feel like the place that it really kind of, where we kind of all got on the same page was in the water. And I just, we're going

SPEAKER_07:

to talk about, are we going to talk about this now?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, no,

SPEAKER_07:

I was thinking about this. I was thinking, I was, I was thinking about this is what this, you know, Haley and I are going to talk about our, our relationship where she broke my heart when she moved lanes.

SPEAKER_02:

No,

SPEAKER_07:

it's go ahead. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because, again, I think that you see this in para where there are big discrepancies, right? And especially in the bike and in the run and with the different types of equipment that we use. But, you know, in the water where we're all doing the same workout, we kind of just, I feel like, became one.

SPEAKER_07:

Most of the time when we did our swim workouts, we then went to breakfast. And, like, those swim workouts... Like, you know, I, you know, I was usually the first to the table and I'm sitting there like just shoveling food down and, you know, and like just exhausted. Cause I had the, probably the least amount of swimming experience out of, out of anybody. And, you know, then each person rolls in and we just like, how was that workout for you? My God, that was hard. Or I actually felt really good that day. And like, you know, but, but how did you, like, how did you get through it? How did you do this? How did you do that? And then it evolved into, you know, into swimming. other things. So, I mean, so I, I agree with you, Haley, that like being in the pool, being in the water, you know, we had each other to, to push and to, to pull us along really. Cause it's in the water. It wasn't about pushing each other. It was about, it was about pulling each other along.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07:

You know, it was just like, you know, there, there was a, there was a time when I finally got to a level where Derek had, me melissa and jamie all on the same interval and that was absolutely terrifying uh because i'm trying to keep up with with with those two over there in the in the in the pool but then but then seeing how you know and then you know and then you and i were you know lane mates for forever um and like just i was like just keep up with haley just keep up with haley um you know all that kind of stuff it drives us in And then all of a sudden, we're pacing each other, trying to... It's like, catch my draft. Just catch on. I will pull you through this. Just hang on to me. And it was giving each other a hand up. And that really translated into the open water. I mean, I think back, Mo and I held each other super accountable to... We were like, if we want to swim 11 minutes in that crazy Paris water, we have to get strong. The two of us, we hit our pull-ups every single day pre-swim for six months going into Paris or something like that. We pulled each other along.

SPEAKER_02:

I think too, just kind of going off that Kyle, like, so the, the swim that we did, so it was every single day, right? So Monday through Friday at seven 30, we knew we were getting in the pool, but I think it became like,

SPEAKER_07:

excuse me. Some of us always got in at seven 30.

SPEAKER_02:

And I knew like where I was based on time where Haley and Kendall's car were like, am I late? Am I early? You get in there and it became this, like we came in, we looked at the board. We saw what you had written Derek for the workout.

SPEAKER_04:

Most of you saw what

SPEAKER_02:

I did. Kyle did not see.

SPEAKER_04:

I got so

SPEAKER_02:

close that one time.

SPEAKER_06:

I

SPEAKER_02:

just forget. I forget. But it became this, like, before we got in the water, I mean, if we had an easy workout, that pool deck became its own, like, place. I mean, and it became this, like, whatever happened that morning, we would sit on the pool deck and talk about it. And it became... I mean, I looked... Not only did I look forward to the swim sometimes, most times, but I would look forward to before the swim also, because I think that became part of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Good, bad, ugly. We talked about all of it on the deck. I was like,

SPEAKER_04:

you and Kendo would talk about like the, the really complicated word puzzles you guys were doing. And Melissa would talk about the Bobby bone show.

SPEAKER_01:

Bobby bone show too. I don't, I don't listen to it anymore. You did.

SPEAKER_06:

Well,

SPEAKER_07:

I mean, also, the pool is where Kendall became our glimmer of hope.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, glimmer of

SPEAKER_07:

hope. Oh, I forgot about that story.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like, y'all get in the pool. And, I mean, sometimes, I mean, I think we've all had those days. Like, I remember days where, like, my morning was just, like... something's happening and there's like, I'm like crying as I'm swimming. But by the end of the pool workout, just being together as a team, you're like, all right, whatever this is, it's going to be okay. And then you go sit at the resident table and then it becomes okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. I think swimming is the one where it's not, you don't expect the same level of performance every time. Like it's like a rollercoaster of emotions, but you need to go through it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And I think one of the things that was really important or like such a factor about this group is, yeah, we had that like on deck time. We had the time at the resident table, but when it came to actually doing the workout, we were, we were serious. So there's so much of it that we weren't serious about, like in our outside lives, but like when it came to actually doing the work, then it was like, all right, you're in the pool, let's go. And, and it was like a hundred percent accountability there with each other and on making sure we actually got the work done. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

With that though, I think some of my favorite workouts in the pool would be when we were on an interval and we would get to the wall and we would maybe have 20 seconds and we would spend those 20 seconds just laughing. And then you're like, oh shit, I'm out of breath. I need to go again.

SPEAKER_06:

You

SPEAKER_00:

knew it was a really, really, really hard set when we couldn't actually do that.

SPEAKER_02:

Or like talking about trying to get in really quick words. We gotta go, ready, go. And then Howie's wearing paddles again we looked over paddles

SPEAKER_04:

PR'd for 750 PR'd every swim

SPEAKER_03:

workout but these paddles like he weighed them so much they're all worn out

SPEAKER_04:

now oh yeah do you guys remember I guess it's really just Howie and Haley and Mo do you remember the very first swim workout we did oh it was Howie you remember it don't you

SPEAKER_00:

I

SPEAKER_04:

feel like the workout you're talking about wasn't the very first workout we did. I feel like you're talking about the 50-50s on the 50 or whatever workout. It was 40-50s.

SPEAKER_00:

40-50s.

SPEAKER_04:

40-50s on fours. No, no, no. Are we good? No, this was, yeah, because this was the first year on the team. It was the very first year. It was 2018. Maybe it wasn't the first workout. It was the first workout. I think we ever yelled at each

SPEAKER_06:

other. The first time. No,

SPEAKER_04:

it wasn't the first. No, you remember it was 2K total. So it was like, it wasn't 10, maybe it was 20 by... It was something insane. Yeah, I think it was like 20, go ahead. Was it 20, 50? No, it was 20 by 50. It was 20 by 50. And I thought, I'm like, man, I'm going to give them this workout. I'm going to just see how they respond. This is going to tell me everything I need to know about their attitude. So it was, that's what it was. It was 20, 50s. 40.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, your 20s and your 40s sound alike, but it was definitely the 40s.

SPEAKER_04:

It was definitely, like, it was on, like, the most ridiculous time. My 20 and 40 have been a problem over the years. I do acknowledge that. I paid the

SPEAKER_07:

math budget this year, so it was 20, 50s would be$1,000. And 40 50s would be 2000.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah. Yeah. That that's hard for me. Matt deck math was really hard at times because I, cause Kendall and Howie would then get into it and argue about, you know, it was right. And I would, I went on the 55 default to kids.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm a master lap counter though.

SPEAKER_07:

I always, I always helped Melissa, you know, to know exactly how much we were doing.

SPEAKER_04:

I, I, I am a counter. So first heart for this, it was the first hard swim workout. You guys did. And let's just go 40-4-0 by 50. And I said it was going to be on 45 seconds. Like basically an unreasonable workout. So there were only four of you at the time. And I had you guys do it. And halfway through, everyone was... getting to a point where it was like, what the hell, man, what are you doing? But the way each of you responded was completely representative of like your personality. Cause Mo pops out of, how did everybody? Well, I didn't even get in the water before I started it. So I was like, well, I guess I'm just going to do 2k straight. I can't make that. No, no, no. I didn't say that, but you were like, I was like, I can't do that. And you were like, That's a bad attitude. And I was like, no. Literally, I cannot do that. Meanwhile, Mo pops his head over. He's like, big old smile. Coach, this is so great. This is going to make us so big. This is fun. And Haley gives me that look of like, all right, I think I know what you're up to here. I'll play along. But this is stupid. I'm like, I've never done 150 on a 45. Never. Just try

SPEAKER_02:

harder.

SPEAKER_04:

Try harder. I was struggling as hard as I could. It was ugly. Oh, man. Good times. Yeah. Those types of workouts do, they bond you a little bit because as we're going to the resident table, as we're making our way to breakfast, we're just like, what the hell was that? He's just messing with us. Yeah, so talk about the resident table. table a little bit like what was so important about that well how did the resident table start here's how it started it started before i got there because it's it is literally things happen before you i know right and i'm going to steal part of the origin story of our resident table only because that resident table is you know it's there and it's got like a note on it it's got a sign that says resident athlete all right so we're set the scene so we're in the cafeteria at the olympic paralympic training center yeah right when you walk in first thing you see is a table that is reserved for athletes that live at the training center no one else is allowed to sit there and it was a high top table there was a high top table the first like two months that we were there i didn't sit at the resident table because it was a high top and finally i complained enough to the right people that one day we came in and it was just a low top table and, and there we had it. That was how the resident table started. And I don't even think at the time we realized how impactful and how powerful it was. And then not only going to be like the success of the team, but like it, it, I can't speak for all of you, but I can certainly speak for myself. It impacted me personally, and I grew a lot through that. I think it helped me become a better coach, and no doubt it helped all of you achieve all the great achievements that you had. So that's our resident table, and there's a lot more stories and a lot more things that we're all excited to share, and we invite all of you to join in on that.

SPEAKER_06:

Let's go.

SPEAKER_07:

Welcome to The Resident Table.

SPEAKER_06:

Come take a seat.

SPEAKER_07:

Thank you to our sponsors and partners, Dorada Training, Giddy Goat Coffee Roasters, and Tolsma Stockwell Prosthetics. If you'd like to support the show, please email theresidenttable at gmail.com. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram at theresidenttable.