Tuckahoe Masters Swim Team (VA)

Triathlon Forum
1

Hey guys,

I’m a resident of Richmond, going to school at VCU and I am looking for a good masters team to join in the area. I was on one at the Midlothian YMCA, but I didn’t really find what I was looking for there and heard from another guy in the group that the Masters Team at the Tuckahoe YMCA was a really strong team with a good coach. If anyone of you in the ST nation is on the team, can you give me some feedback on it and the type of workouts y’all do.

Thanks a lot.

2

The Masters swim practice at Tuckahoe is a very good one. I used to swim with the group occasionally when I lived back there. The coach John Flannagan is very well known in the area and has a very strong reputation and following. During the holidays and summertime there are usually lots of college kids who show up to train with John. I beleive there are morning and evening workouts, at Tuckahoe(McLean,VA) and switches to Haines Point(D.C.) in the summer time. My only advice to you is make certain to show up on time ready to swim, John runs his practice like a drill sargent.
I believe there is still a masters swim team in Reston, Va. as well

3

I grew up at Tuckahoe in McLean. Love that place. But I think the OP is referring to Tuckahoe, Virginia just outside of Richmond (since he’s a student at VCU).

4

Can’t give you any particulars about the program, but I hear that Karen Holloway does a bit of coaching there - you’re talking about the Y out in the west end on Patterson Ave., right?

5

Yeah thats the Y I am talking about, right on Patterson. I pass it every time I head out to westcreek haha.

6

Tucker,

I swim Masters at Tuckahoe and it is a very solid workout. The morning workouts are typically more focused toward competitive swimmers with lots of IM sets. Evenings, esp., Mondays and Wednesdays are the workouts that many of our area triathletes swim. Monday nights are usually coached by John Pace, a former copetitive NCAA swimmer, and Wednesday nights are coached by Karen Holloway, also a former NCAA swimmer and IM Canada Champion. In those workouts, we do much more freestyle geared toward triathlon swim training. As we get closer to tri season, most of the Mon and Wed workouts will be 2800-3300 meter workouts with main sets containing a good mix of 100’s, 200’s, 300’s, 400’s. The fast lane is fast. It’s all former NCAA swimmers, ocassionally including a couple of people who swam at the Olympic trials level, and one guy who swam in the Athens Olympics for Mexico (he is incredibly fast). There is a drop off in speed to the 2nd lane, but those in that lane are still pretty strong swimmers by triathlon standards.

Hope this helps. Come join us one morning or evening soon.

Mike