Inside the Mind of Arizona State’s Coach Herbie Behm: An Exclusive Q&A Session

Q&A With Arizona State Coach Herbie Behm

By Michael J. Stott

A sprinter himself, Herbie Behm excelled at sprint coaching at Utah and under Bob Bowman at Arizona State University. When Bowman moved to Texas this past spring, Behm ascended to ASU head coach and has the Sun Devils once again contending for a national championship. This Q&A will be succeeded by a How They Train segment, which presents the sets employed by Behm during his collaboration with sprint sensation Jonny Kulow.

Herbie Behm
Head Coach
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona

• Arizona State University, B.A. psychology, 2013
• Head coach, Arizona State University, 2024-present; associate head coach, 2018-2024
• Assistant sprint coach, University of Utah, 2016-2018
• Coach, Phoenix Swim Club, 2014-2016
• Assistant coach USA Swimming National Team (2015-16, 2020-24)
• Assistant coach Puerto Rico National Team (2015-16)
• At ASU aided in coaching seven athletes to two NCAA relay and 10 individual titles
• 3x scholar-athlete award recipient at ASU
• 9x NISCA All-American
• 2x Arizona high school swimmer of the year
• Member of national 400 free relay team (Catalina Foothills High School)
• Former record holder of Arizona (19.84) and New Mexico (20.67) High School 50 yard freestyle

Swimming World: You began swimming at the age of five. What was the reason?
Coach Herbie Behm: My elder sister began swimming at six, and I was taken to the pool to watch. I recall sitting beneath the bleachers asking if I could swim as well, so I started not long after.

SW: You were 9x NISCA A-A and a two-time Arizona High School swimmer of the year. Were you also a standout in your younger age group?
HB: I still possess the 8 & Under 25 freestyle state record in New Mexico. That record is now 25 years old, so I’ve been a sprinter since Day One!

SW: Why choose Tennessee as your college option?
HB: They pursued me very aggressively, and I appreciated that. It appeared to be a wonderful choice as a 17-year-old. Long story short, there were complications during my time there, which is why I abbreviated my stay.

SW: Considering you and Matt Kredich are technically skilled and deeply understand the physics and physiology of the sport, why did you leave Knoxville after just one year?
HB: Matt Kredich was only coaching the Women while I was at Tennessee. He is an exceptional coach, and I wish I could have swum for him. I’m confident I would have spent more time at Tennessee had he been my coach!

SW: ASU had once eliminated swimming and was a lower-tier D-I team when Bob Bowman initiated the revival in 2015. What prompted your move to Tempe in 2018?
HB: I attended ASU and recognized the swim team’s potential. Being part of the team and understanding what it’s like to be a student-athlete at ASU is my greatest asset on the coaching staff now.

SW: Once there, you played a crucial role in recruiting and developing some of the world’s top swimmers. What challenges did you encounter in doing that?
HB: Each athlete presents their own specific challenges. Ultimately, our goal is to enhance performance. Elite swimmers can be easier in that they tend to be very driven, but the key lies in understanding the individual and seeking to optimize their lifestyle for achievement.

SW: You were a sprinter and are recognized as a sprint coach. How do you convey your data-driven, technical analyses of stroke mechanics and races to your swimmers?
HB: This is an ongoing dialogue between athlete and coach that I believe must occur every day. At competitions, we talk about the data collected during practice, and during practice, we review what we learned from the competition. It’s more of a continuous feedback loop rather than a one-way conversation.

SW: How do you approach the individual strengths and weaknesses of each swimmer in your discussions?
HB: We continuously experiment with new techniques in practice. When we identify something that a swimmer struggles with, it signals a great area to focus on. Improving weaknesses is crucial for development. Also, when a swimmer excels at something, that’s when we switch gears. Clearly, this is a delicate balance, as constant failure in practice may lead to discouragement.

SW: What was the team dynamic like both on deck and in the locker room as ASU men began to challenge Cal and Texas for NCAA dominance?
HB: The aim is to become the best swimmers we can be. This is about our team. We want to explore the boundaries of human performance. Other teams serve merely as distractions.

SW: In April you were promoted to ASU head coach, following Bowman’s departure along with several accomplished swimmers. How did you handle these exits personally and as a team leader?
HB: I believe this was the best possible event for our team’s culture. Not that Bob or those swimmers were detrimental to it, but ASU swimming’s success is entirely attributed to the team culture and how the team supports one another. Bob’s absence was painful, but the team constitutes so much more than any single individual. His exit prompted us to double down on our commitment and our capability to solve problems together. I can assert with complete certainty that this current team boasts the finest team culture I have ever experienced.

SW: Even with the departures, the Sun Devil roster isn’t devoid of talent. What’s the current atmosphere and outlook for March?
HB: March will unfold as it should. Our singular focus is to improve every single day.

SW: The men’s team attracts most of the media attention, what actions are you taking to elevate the women’s program?
HB: Breaking records. To date, our women have shattered six team records and achieved an NCAA A cut in the 200 medley relay. This represents our first A cut in that event in over a decade.

SW: How will the settlement of the House case impact ASU swimming’s operations?
HB: ASU is fortunate to have a president, Michael Crow, who not only acknowledges but respects the significance of Olympic sports within education. Rather than viewing sports purely as revenue or non-revenue generating, he recognizes that our team consists of ASU students deserving of appropriate funding. The university does not obligate schools to create funding beyond what students pay in tuition, so neither should sports. I believe this positions ASU for true sustainability in the evolving collegiate landscape.

SW: What are you conveying to prospective recruits?
HB: There is considerable unpredictability in the world today. Any coach who claims otherwise is not being truthful. Nevertheless, I have immense faith in the future of ASU athletics and am convinced that Michael Crow’s vision serves as a blueprint for all institutions.

SW: It’s still early, but what do you foresee college swimming looking like in five years?
HB: I believe we’ll be fine. The truth is that sports are in a constant state of flux and transformation. The landscape is entirely different from when I completed my competitive career nearly a decade ago. I’m sure changes will persist, but having faith in our ability to adapt is crucial at this moment.

SW: Word has it you can really dance. Are you a contender for Dancing with the Stars?
HB: The only star I’m dancing with is RayGun. If she’s up for a dance-off, just name the time and place and I’ll be there.

SW: You also claim you can consume 50 eggs. Have you ever done this in one sitting?
HB: Not since my college days.

SW: Getting into specifics again. How do you strike a balance between the demands of aerobic capacity and speed/pace training?
HB: Each individual has different capacity levels. The aim is to continuously enhance those capabilities throughout a season or career. Once you identify that capacity, training needs to consistently challenge the athlete in a manner that promotes ongoing adaptation.

**The mistake most coaches make with aerobic capacity is that they make the work excessively taxing. They approach it in a way that exhausts the anaerobic system. Aerobic training should be relatively easy. Providing athletes with a high volume of manageable work each week will facilitate continuous aerobic adaptation. Engaging in 10 x 100s at a high effort will fatigue them. Most of my 41-second 100 freestylers perform two sessions a week close to 6000 meters. The catch is they perceive that as easy because we’ve developed their capacity in that manner. My best guidance for coaches coaching sprinters is to steer clear of the medium intensity. Send the body the clearest signal of the adaptation you seek. On the faster days, go extraordinarily fast. On the longer days, just maintain the momentum.

SW: If pool swimming is speed-restricted (in most cases) and there remains a necessity to sustain and transfer it to long course and multi-day competitions/events, how can a coach balance the requirements of aerobic capacity and speed/pace training?
HB: Don’t believe you must cram everything into one practice. Aim to meet all the needs of the athlete over the course of a week and build from there. Capacity work and speed work can coexist if you allow it.

For instance, we usually conduct our 100 pace development sessions on Wednesday afternoons. Thursday is our longest training day of the week, but it’s quite easy. Friday is a double max speed day with resistance in the morning and without resistance at night. Each session is vastly different and the volume fluctuates between 2000 yards to 7000 meters.

Many issues arise when coaches attempt to accomplish too many things within a single session. It’s like trying to hold three conversations simultaneously. It creates confusion. Make one point, then move to the next, then the subsequent point. Don’t attempt to cover it all at once. The same principle applies to training.

SW: How would you approach athletes aged 13-17+ (early teens/high school versus training late teens/more seasoned college level) differently?
HB: It circles back to individual capacities. The objective is to stimulate and enhance the abilities of each person. There is a discernible capacity that can be measured (volume/pace/etc.) but what’s more significant is the relative capacity (i.e. how that impacts the athlete). The goal is to elevate absolute capacity while keeping relative capacity relatively stable. Overexerting too soon can hinder adaptation. The aim is to maintain consistency for younger athletes while leaving room in their training schedule for development.

SW: How can coaches positively influence VO2 max as teenage girls mature and progress toward college and near peak performance levels?
HB: VO2 Max directly correlates with the structural limitations of the body. Stimulating the lungs/heart/etc. through a high volume of low to moderate intensity will enhance stroke volume. High intensity will boost output. Instead of undertaking long, arduous sets, young athletes should concentrate on building the capacity to train daily and then progressively add volume/intensity on top of that.

SW: How can coaches enhance our U.S. men’s 400 freestyle and deepen the performance of the 800 and longer events?
HB: Focus on it. Most college teams conduct the majority of their threshold work in short course yards (SCY). This is partly because it’s more enjoyable and partly because we can accommodate more athletes within SCY lanes compared to long course meters (LCM) lanes. I believe we need to begin performing that work in long course if we truly aim to make advancements.