One Week Out: Don't Miss the Exclusive Small-Group Sessions with Herbie Behm & Gregg Troy at 2026 ASCA World Clinic

One week out. The number appears clearly on the screen, and I remember the feeling of 2026, when I first stood in front of a camera in Nha Trang to broadcast a women's football match that almost nobody watched. Like the American swimming coaches counting down the days to Orlando, I understand the nervous excitement when an important door is about to open. But this door isn't for athletes — it's for those standing by the pool deck, those coaches seeking something more than a passive lecture. The 2026 ASCA World Clinic will take place September 9-12 at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, with the theme "Grassroots to Podium: It Starts With Us." But what makes this year's event different isn't the 60 sessions or 50 speakers. It's a small detail many might overlook: the three-hour small-group sessions, intentionally limited in capacity, led by Herbie Behm and Gregg Troy. I've spent 27 years observing the sports ecosystem, from provincial pools in Australia to training centers in Vietnam, and I've learned one thing: the real value of an event lies not in its scale but in its structure of interaction. This year's ASCA convention has completely redesigned the learning experience. Instead of sitting through a one-hour lecture with over 100 people, coaches attending the small-group sessions will have three hours to explore ideas, ask questions, and truly get inside the thinking of two legends. This is a fundamentally different educational product, not just a longer one. Herbie Behm, who builds training philosophy and planning, and Gregg Troy, who spent decades developing swimmers and building successful programs — this pairing is not accidental. Behm represents the micro vision: how to design each practice, how to plan cycles, how to optimize the development of young swimmers. Troy represents the macro vision: how to build a program from foundation to peak, how to create a sustainable winning culture. Combining these two perspectives in a three-hour session means attendees don't just learn techniques — they learn how to think like the people who trained Olympic champions. Based on my experience following sports coaching events, I can say that this small-group format addresses a chronic weakness of large conferences: passivity. When you sit in an auditorium with 500 people, you don't ask questions. You don't dare reveal your ignorance. You never get the chance to say, "I tried this method and it didn't work — why?" The small-group session breaks down that barrier. That's why the space is intentionally limited — to preserve this format, to ensure every attendee has a voice. But there's a blind spot the article doesn't mention, and I think readers should stay alert. First, the price of these small-group sessions is not disclosed. In a typical sales strategy, hiding the price means this is a premium product — and the buyer might feel pressured to decide quickly before fully understanding what they're paying for. Second, there's no detailed curriculum, no testimonials from past attendees, no data to verify that these three hours are truly the "most valuable" as advertised. When an educational product is described with words like "invaluable" without any concrete content being revealed, the smart buyer should pause and ask: what am I really buying? What's even more interesting is the certification context. ASCA is preparing to launch a completely redesigned certification system this fall — specifically on November 2. The Orlando convention is the last chance for coaches to get certified in person before the new system takes effect. This is a watershed transition moment. Imagine you're a coach who has held an ASCA certification for 10 years. Will your credential be recognized in the new system? Will you have to pay additional fees to recertify? Will you need to complete bridging courses? The article doesn't answer these questions. It only says "last chance" — a message that creates urgency while concealing the fact that ASCA itself hasn't disclosed details about the future. This silence deserves analysis. Why would an organization about to change its certification system not publish a transition roadmap before urging everyone to register quickly? I'm not saying there's a bad motive — I've learned that a community organizer's optimism can make one see opportunity first, while a journalist's caution forces one to see risk. But from the perspective of someone who has watched certification transitions in various sports, I know these transitions always create inequality between those with old credentials and new entrants. Coaches should ask ASCA directly about the transition rules before making decisions. Another notable point is the strategic partnership. The event is presented by Fitter & Faster Swim Camps — an organization specializing in youth swim camps. This isn't a coincidence. ASCA is the certifying body, Fitter & Faster is the camp operator. Together they create a self-reinforcing ecosystem: ASCA provides professional legitimacy, Fitter & Faster provides grassroots reach. And with the new certification system about to launch, Fitter & Faster could play an even larger role in training young coaches — positioning them to dominate the post-certification training market. I want to return to the theme "Grassroots to Podium." This isn't just a slogan. It's a strategic signal. By choosing this theme, ASCA is sending a message that the solution to podium success starts with coaching quality at the grassroots. This aligns with a global trend: countries like Australia and Great Britain are heavily investing in youth coaching development, and the US doesn't want to be left behind. But I ask myself: does this theme reflect international performance pressure? Is ASCA's strategic shift a response to the rise of global competitors? There's no data in the article to answer, but the question deserves asking. One evening in Moscow in 2026, sitting alone in a hotel after a long day of filming, I realized that the biggest questions in sports are never answered by a single match or a single session. They're answered gradually, through small conversations, through moments when someone dares to say, "I don't know, and I want to learn." The small-group sessions at ASCA this year matter precisely for that reason. Not because they feature an Olympic legend, but because they create a space where curiosity is allowed to exist. The final question I want to raise for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian coaches — those who might be weighing travel costs against the value received — is this: are you willing to invest three hours to sit with Gregg Troy and Herbie Behm, two men who have spent their lives answering the very questions you ask yourself every day by the pool? If the answer is yes, hurry. If the answer is no, find another way to nurture your curiosity — because becoming a better coach never depends on a single session. But when your national certifying body is about to change its entire system, and you have one last chance to get certified in person before everything shifts, what will you do? I don't have the answer for you. But I know that in every sports system, it's the lifelong learners who survive every transition.