The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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son retired last summer. "When they went out to interview other people, I was supportive of the people they were bringing in and the level of people they were interviewing," Bottom said. "At a certain point, when people were not accepting the position, I didn't want our women's program to be compromised. "I knew we had a good staff. I knew we could bring the women up to the level of the men's side. That's when I talked to our administration about a plan to bring them together and how that could be done in a way that would not jeopardize either team, but to elevate both." So Bottom laid out a plan that would separate the Wolverines from the myriad other programs that have combined coaching staffs. Instead of simply merging the two programs together, Bottom and his coaching staff have implemented specific programs and schedules to give every swimmer exactly what he or she needs to improve. "That was part of the reason the administration said, 'All right, I see how this could work. Yes, this is a good thing,'" Bottom said. "Right now, we are running two different programs with five different coaches and merging them at spots that will elevate both teams, as opposed to merging the two teams for every workout and practice. "Most of our workouts are run single-gender, our morning practices are mixed, but in a way that is beneficial to everyone. For instance, when we run a kick set, we do that together, because that is a strength of many of our men and women swimmers. We can challenge both teams in that set, but in most cases, we are separated, so we can challenge each team the way they need to be challenged." In addition to the two varsity programs, Bottom and his staff also oversee Club Wolverine, a post-grad team that trains swimmers for the Olympics and other international swimming competitions. Needless to say, his schedule is pretty full these days. But Bottom is coaching — and that's exactly what he wants to be doing. "We have five coaches, so we can spread out the times that we are available for different drills and workouts," he said. "It puts more stress on our coaches, but we have a great staff. We're all willing to work that hard." Men's Team Off To A Strong Start When Bottom took over the men's program five years ago, he outlined an almost Nick Saban-like process that would help bring Michigan back into the highest echelon of collegiate swimming. He wanted his swimmers to be elite — not just in the pool, but also in all aspects of college life. When asked if this year 's team was what he envisioned back then, he didn't hesitate to answer, "Yes, absolutely." "This crew is running on a high level in all areas of their lives, and that's what we were hoping," Bottom said. "Academically, we are well above the GPA average of Michigan students. We wanted them to use their