The Tampa Bay Aquatics Tbay Brandon teaches their swimmers the importance of championship behavior, which has led to the programs success.
River Hills Country Club is home to two swim programs: Tampa Bay Aquatics Tbay Brandon, a year-round program and a summer league swim team, which will get started on June 2.
Head coach Dave Gesacion believes that the environment at the River Hills swim programs is what sets them apart from the rest. “It’s not about just swimming fast. We create an environment that fosters excellence every day and we accommodate our programs based on what the swimmers goals are,” he said. “We want the kids to learn to work together and enhance their life skills.”
The coaching philosophy behind the Tbay Brandon program is what Gesacion calls ‘championship behavior.’ “Championship behavior embodies solid character, respect for others and integrity of self, on and off the pool deck; at home, school and in the community,” he said.
Gesacion also believes in a ‘triangle of success,’ where the athlete, coach and parents are all on the same page and each plays their own role in helping the athlete achieve success.
Tbay Brandon’s training is well-rounded and structured to focus on all the aspects of competitive swimming, such as: proper technique, speed, endurance, strength, planning and preparation, execution and sportsmanship. “We look at each of our swimmers and evaluate them based on these aspects, like did the swimmer become a better teammate, do they understand the larger team goals? There’s a lot of things we try and look at other than just if the swimmer got faster,” said Gesacion.
It is the championship behavior that has brought the Tbay Brandon team a lot of success, including the fact that 100 percent of the teams high school seniors have gone on to swim in college. In 2011 every Tbay Brandon high school swimmer went to Regionals, seven went on to compete at the State Championship and three earned Scholastic All-American honors.
River Hills Country Club is located at 3943 New River Hills Pkwy. For more information on swim lessons or Tampa Bay Aquatics, visit www.tbaybrandon.org.
