Sink or Swim
By: James Koval & Mitch Schall
Language: en-us
Categories: Sports, Swimming
Mitchell Schall and James Koval are two young collegiate swim coaches and longtime friends navigating their career paths while recruiting and managing their athletes, with plenty of stories and anecdotes from this weird little sport we call swimming and diving.
Episodes
SoS 7: Clown Show?
Oct 27, 2025James and Mitch talk about some of the changes taking place in NCAA swimming, for better or for worse. We also introduce a new "segment" where we focus on a tip of the day - today's topic: how to show up for your team when you're running on empty.
00:08 Intros and Updates
03:19 No More B Finals!
10:37 Trying New Things
13:55 Showing Up On Empty
19:54 Outro and Shoutouts
SoS 6: No Pain No Gain?
Oct 06, 2025James and Mitch are back from a podcasting hiatus to discuss their new coaching gigs, and how to change this sport for the better in this ever-changing landscape.
00:00 Intro and Life Update
06:16 Changing the Sport
23:40 Outro
Duration: 00:24:42SoS 5: Madness or Mundane?
Apr 16, 2025On this week's episode, James and Mitch discuss the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, the coaching job market, how the transfer portal figures to impact collegiate swimming and diving into the future, whether Grant House is a hero or a villain, and much more!
Duration: 00:21:59SoS 4: Portals and Markets
Mar 17, 2025In this episode, James and Mitch talk about the current bedlam in the NCAA transfer portal as well as the equivalent for coaches: the NCAA Marketplace.
Have a question for the pod? Please reach out to the instagram @sink.or.swimpod or email thesinkorswimpod@gmail.com!
Duration: 00:24:03SoS 3: Conference Recap & What's Ahead
Feb 26, 2025In this short, sweet, and special episode of Sink or Swim, James and Mitch talk about their big weekends at the conference championships and look ahead to what's on the horizon for coaches this spring.
CALL TO ACTION: Have questions for us you'd like to have answered on the show? Want to appear on the pod? Please reach out to us at thesinkorswimpod@gmail.com!
Duration: 00:14:05SoS 2: So You Want to Coach?
Feb 10, 2025On this week's episode, James and Mitch discuss how they went from part-time to full-time coaches, and what that looks like in this ever-changing NCAA landscape. We talk about the NCAA marketplace, swim camps, and other ways to get your name out there to potential employers.
We are now on Youtube at @thesinkorswimpod!
Reach us at thesinkorswimpod@gmail.com or on our instagram @sink.or.swimpod
Duration: 00:21:07SoS 1: Introduction
Feb 03, 2025Hello and welcome to the Sink or Swim Podcast! In this episode, James and Mitch tell you a bit about themselves and why they're starting a podcast. We talk a bit about culture building as a young coach, looking for diamonds in the rough while recruiting, and finish up with some taper talk since it is that time of year.
Have any questions you'd like to see answered on the pod? DM us at sink.or.swimpod on Instagram!
Duration: 00:20:12