Swimming coach voice -- Dan Colella
Exhibit: Captivating Voices
Referenced Sounds
In this recording one can hear the “take your mark…beep.” This recording acts as a call and response. The “take your mark” is a command all swimmers respond to. It is instilled in swimmers at a young age to fling off the blocks at the “beep”. This recording relates to Coach Colella because the swim team responds to any command he gives. At the end of the clip you can here the splash of crisp water. The splash acts as the universal sound of swimming.
One will note that the words "take your mark", have no vocal bend at all. This monotone phase shows no heightened emotion. It represents a stern, serious action.
The start is one of the most intriguing parts of swimming. At the start of the race it is dead silent. No one moves until they say the magic phrase, "take your mark", yet once the buzzer goes off and the swimmers break through the undisturbed water, the crowd erupts.
In many ways the start of a race is a reflection of the hard work one has put in. It is the moment when all is calm. You are able to stand on the blocks and focus.Yet, once the gun goes off its "go time".
In this recording of the Men’s 4x100 Freestyle relay at the Beijing Olympics, Rowdy Gaines and Dan Hicks give a riveting commentary of the exciting race. The relay race came down to the US and France who battled it out till the end. Throughout the race the commentators give a calm deliverance of the race, speaking in a doubtful manner about the US winning the relay. However once the US begins to catch France, you could hear the excitement in the commentators voices. The commentator switches his tone and volume, and begins yelling “can the veteran pull off a shocker here?” You can hear the doubt and surprise in the commentators voice. This clip shows how the voice crescendos during moments of high intensity as well as voice breaks.
This clipped captures swimming and everything incorporated with it. It shows the emotion, it shows the doubt, the focus and the execution. Because it is about a relay, the clip shows teamwork. For swimmers, we understand that our 5+ hours in the pool everyday are for moments when we beat someone by a hundreth of a second. We understand that we have to give up everything in order to be great. This video shows the passion swimmers, coaches, and fans have.
This clip relates back to Coach Dan’s voice because he shows this passion, drive and intensity while coaching us.
This high pitch whistle embodies motivation. With the piercing sound a swimmer knows that the coach is cheering for them. It is a comforting feeling. This sound is captivating because of the pitch it can hit. Because a person is pushing out all their air through their pursed lips, one can usually hit a higher pitched sound. This clip is also fascinating because of the breathiness in between whistles. Because the voice is so breathy the glottal is very open.
The high pitch whistle also acts as a way to get ones attention. It can serve as a call and response in many ways. Because of its piercing tone, one immediately looks up and listens. Because of its way to get ones attention, the high pitch whistle relates back to Coach Dan’s voice.
In this recording one can hear the team cheer “D-U-K-E, Lets go Duke!” This recording acts as a positive call. Cheering represents camaraderie, friendship, teamwork and spirit. By doing the cheer as a unified group, there is the idea of one. We are one team. Unlike a speech done by a coach, this team cheer is for everybody to hear. We try to be as loud as we can, often times yelling. Within the last second I captured in the height of emotion going “woo!!” This authentic sound comes from times of high excitement, where one is so engulfed in the situation they have to burst out. This recording incorporates Coach Colella’s voice because it shows the teamwork and team spirit that he has helped form on Duke Swim and Dive.
This is a recording of Dan Colella recapping the meet. Unlike my other recordings this is a “backstage” recording. This is a very intimate meeting with our team. You can hear the positivity in Dan’s voice as he emphasizes certain words. Dan’s tone comes off as proud. By saying, “great great session, super super job,” Dan’s voice is giving support.
In swimming it is important to have positive reinforcement from a coach. In life, one looks for approval from others and by having Dan tell us "good job", it is comforting to gain his approval. This video is important to the captivating voice because of the impact it has on the swim team.
This is another backstage recording of Dan addressing the team about the upcoming finals swim. Unlike the meet recap, his voice carries a more serious tone. Though he voice is deeper and serious, I feel it carries a tone of trust. Dan believes in us and what we can accomplish. Dan talks about what it takes to be great. When Coach Colella says “now” he has a pitch bend and he holds out his "o's".
This motivational voice is captivating of the effect it can have on a team. The tone makes people remember that it is important, yet it also carries a strong feeling of trust. He is reminding us that we should be confident because of all the hard work we have put in.