Peek Inside A Mentorship Program With Gregg Troy
Have you ever been listening to someone talk and thought to yourself, “Wow, I need to write that down?!” That’s the sign of somebody you should listen to. After all, anybody can explain a simple concept. But the mark of a true genius is when they can take a complex concept and make it simple. This is the exact feedback we got from one of our swimmers who was being mentored by Gregg Troy through the SLAF mentorship program: “Coach Troy has a way of simplifying complex ideas.“
It’s amazing how effective little phrases like “Train to get better, rest to go faster,” and “Prepare for the worst, but plan for the best” really deliver the message quickly and effectively to an athlete. I’ve learned so many amazing things from Gregg Troy, that I can’t truly put it all into words – but for the sake of today’s blog, I’m going to give you a peek into one of our mentee’s experience and her primary coach on working with Gregg. FYI, for the sake of this article and to protect the identity of this client of ours – we will call her T.
Let’s Get Started…
How This Happened?
T’s father reached out to Swim Like A. Fish back in 2023 looking for some private instruction for his daughter to help improve her technique and strength in the pool. T is a high school swimmer who is wildly talented in all 4 strokes and a hard worker: a combination most high school swim coaches can only dream of – but she lives in a fairly remote area that doesn’t have access to great facilities or coaching. T came to SLAF already feeling stuck and frustrated with her lack of progress.
Over the years, T and I have worked together with Video Analysis, Private Instruction, and even some coaching on Dryland/Strength & Conditioning. Things seemed to be turning a corner, but then – her primary coach left her club team and she ended up in a similar situation training wise to where she started.
After a few conversations, we realized serving as her ‘primary coach’ wouldn’t be effective for either side. Instead, we arranged for T to train with a local team, receive additional online workouts from Dan Daly, and proposed a collaborative approach where the three of us worked together—alongside Gregg Troy—to mentor both her and Dan virtually.
Gregg’s history of developing elite IMers (Hey, Elizabeth Beisel) and his gift for inspiring the next generation made him the perfect coach for T. From last August through July 2025, we held monthly video calls to review her programming, track workout progress, plan meet schedules, go over results, event entries, and more. Here’s an example of what our mentorship video calls look like with SLAF Mentor Jack Bauerle.
It Takes A Village:
I personally loved being a part of these Mentorship Calls because it really brought my idea to life. We have done lots of Mentorship Calls with athletes and coaches – but never, have we done Mentorship Calls with BOTH the athlete and coach. BUT, this is really where the beauty lies. It allows the athlete to SEE and HEAR the ‘why’ beyond their programming and ask questions. Along with the coach to ask one of the most decorated USA Swimming’s Coaches questions on what he’d do or how he’d respond to a situation.
As Gregg listened and advised adjusting T’s training cycles and weekly volume to develop a better aerobic base, Dan implemented that through his written workouts. As they layered in more anaerobic and race pace work, Dan programmed movements that refined performance while under fatigue.
Dan even called me personally to tell me after one of our calls that, “it’s been an invaluable education,” he said, “watching a master coach balance long-term development with near-term performance goals was something no in-person clinic could provide.”
It truly does take a village to help an athlete through a plateau or any challenge and our mentorship programs are flexible to work with your needs. It can be a coach who reaches out for Mentorship, an athlete who has questions, or both that come to the table – eager and ready to learn. This way, the chosen mentor can work with your team to build a plan that gets you to your goals.
The Results:
Before beginning her mentorship journey, T was stuck again. Not an unusual place to be for an athlete, because as swimmers get faster – it becomes harder and harder to improve. Plateaus and ruts are a common and natural part of the improvement process. But to get out of them, some swimmers may need extra help.
After months of mentoring T and Dan, here are their results with Gregg:
- Significant time drops across MULTIPLE events and in every stroke – including, her 200 FL and 400IM which had been at a plateau.
- Increased confidence when it comes to handling fatigue, and higher volume training weeks.
- Improved technique within her Breaststroke, which had started to pick up pieces of incorrect stroke timing.
- More tools in T’s toolbox mentally to race well and handle anxiety with pressure.
- Better swimming IQ for her IM Races.
To say that we couldn’t be happier for her, and she couldn’t be happier for the results would be a massive understatement. And Gregg’s pretty pleased himself (although, he’ll tell you that he knew this was going to happen all along).
Customizable Mentorship Programs:
The value of a 1-on-1 relationship with any of our mentors – Gregg Troy, Mike Bottom or Jack Bauerle – is that they are able to get to know you and your specific needs. Whether you’re a swimmer, swim coach (because sometimes a swim coach needs a swim coach), swim parent, Dryland coach or anybody else in the swimming world – our mentors meet you where you are.
Similarly, we make mentorship programs that fit YOU and your needs. When you inquire, we’ll ask all about what you think you need in a mentorship relationship and create a custom program that caters to it – if we don’t have one for available already. Whether that’s more phone calls, developing an entire season plan, or somebody who coaches you through a workout, this program is built for YOU.
And as Gregg has said,“Don’t panic. Do the work. Enjoy the process.”
Until next time,
Abbie Fish and the Swim Like A. Fish Team