Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw
QUICK STATS
- Birth date: January 25, 1993
- Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
- Club Team: Alamo Area Aquatic Association
- College: Texas A&M
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior National Champion
- NCAA All-American
- Coached 4 CCSA Conference Champions
- Coached an Olympic Trials Qualifier
EXPERIENCE
Luke Shaw has a fascinating, and unique, career trajectory in swimming both as an athlete and as a coach. A junior national champion from Alamo Area Aquatic Association (AAAA) in San Antonio, he swam at Texas A&M specializing in distance events his freshman year. By his senior year, he was sprinting 50- and 100-yard events. Luke says, “My goal is to be useful; I swam distance events my freshman year as it was the easiest place for me to help the team and score points. As I got older, I fought my way into mid distance events. By my senior year, I turned into a sprinter and continue to improve in 50 and 100 yard/meter events in my post collegiate career.”
Following a successful collegiate swimming career, Luke coached both age group and collegiate athletes. Today, he is a US Air Force Special Warfare Swimming Coach training military personnel. Luke says, “Regardless of the skill level, the mechanics or the physics of swimming are the same: minimize drag and maximize output. There are few differences between coaching a small child and an adult, as we’re all working on the same thing.”
A mantra that Luke shares with Fitter and Faster camp participants is “you get better at what you do” and emphasizes that repetition with good form will yield results. Luke’s Fitter and Faster camps are technique focused, and emphasize quality over quantity. He says, “My style is to educate before training, and I want young athletes to focus on their technique, not yardage or time. If an athlete sets a yardage to hit or a time to chase, they may not focus on their form in the water.”
Another quote that Luke shares with camp participants is “You’re one swim away from being the swimmer you want to be.” Mental toughness and a competitive spirit can help swimmers of all ages reach their goals.
