The United States Olympic swimming qualifier is one of the biggest national meets in the country.
For Scott Thacker, it is the pinnacle of his swimming career thus far.
For Great Bend High School graduate Korey McCulley, who is Thacker’s coach, it is right where he wants to be.
“Some coaches go their whole career without and not get to coach someone at the Olympic qualifier,” McCulley said. “It is a great blessing to have someone as talented as Scott to coach. To be able to go to this meet at such a young age is tremendous.”
Thacker will be trying to qualify for the United States team in the 100-meter breaststroke on Monday in Omaha, Neb. He is seeded in the top 30 out of 144 swimmers in his event.
McCulley has been coaching for several years, and is currently the coach of the Virginia Gators.
“Coaching is my passion and my occupation,” McCulley said.
McCulley has swam since he was five years old, competing with the Golden Belt swim squad. He swam two years for the Panthers.
“I swam my sophomore and senior years,” McCulley said. “When I got to high school, I hadn’t swam for a few years, but my sophomore year, (GBHS and Golden Belt head coach Steve Beaumont) took over as coach. Steve coached me since I can remember with Golden Belt, so I decided to go back.
“That rekindled my love for the sport, but I had an argument with Steve over something I don’t remember that summer, so I didn’t swim my junior year. I don’t remember what the argument was over, but I know I was in the wrong. Anyway, my senior year, it was water under the bridge. I came back and we had one of the best years in Great Bend history.”
McCulley and teammate Jason Brozick were among the first Great Bend swimmers to be named Class 5A all-state selections.
“In high school, he was definitely a sprinter,” Beaumont said. “He swam the 50 free, and he did a little bit of backstroke for us. I don’t think he realized his full potential until his senior year.”
McCulley and Brozick both went to swim for NCAA Division-I school Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind. While there, he noticed a difference in how other aspiring swimmers trained.
“Something I didn’t grasp until college and I was in a big city like Indianapolis, was how kids train,” McCulley said. “In Kansas, kids play two or three sports. Football in the fall, basketball in the winter and track or baseball in the spring.
“In other places, kids play one sport all year long. They have to do that to stay competitive.”
McCulley came back to help coach Golden Belt during his summer vacations, which is when McCulley found his passion.
“The first time I came back, it was just something to do,” McCulley said. “I think it was before junior year, I was working with Nick Phillips. I told him he had the times to swim at the college level, and I don’t think he had planned on anything like that before.
“I worked with him over the summer, and he got a scholarship in July to swim that fall. He went all four years. He ended up playing several sports. That was the first time that the sport allowed me to do something for someone else like that.”
Beaumont said that he just appreciated the help.
“It’s nice to have kids come back and help out,” Beaumont said. “Some kids come back and contribute to the organization like that. Now, we talk every now and then. He’ll call me to pick my brain about drills and things. I call him to pick his brain, too.”
Now, McCulley continues to work with Thacker at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Thacker will swim in the preliminaries on Monday, trying to make the first cut at the top 16.
“This is the biggest meet in America,” McCulley said. “Scott has worked hard for this. He swam at Florida State University, and he was the ACC champion. The meet starts on Monday and runs through the week, but we should be done after the first couple days.”