Transitioning the focus, and maintaining what you have built

As I wrote in a previous post, the season began with stroke development, and lately we have been taking those developed strokes and trying to create power and feeling the strength used in those developed strokes. Although I do have a focus for the specific parts of a season, I do delineate from the focus to have reminders of the different phases that I cover, and not to make it seem like all we do is one concentration.

Today, we did a set where we did a combo of the phases. Freestyle set of 3 x 400 free pull. The first and third being with paddles where they are still focusing on the power aspect of the stroke, and the second 400 free pull without paddles working more on a fast turnover for the entire 400 Free. After the set we talked about what we have worked on, and what we need to do now with what we have previously worked on.

This phase is the speed phase of the season and it will occur right in time to for the swim meet. This will be the first meet where we have a covered the different phases, and the best performances of the season hopefully occur here. It is just the beginning of the speed phase so I do expect to still develop more speed as we progress through this phase, but at least this meet will be have some speed aspects developed at the practice.

Hopefully, most of the swims have already been done this year, so that I can check to see how the speed phase is working in the beginning of the phase. Some of the kids though haven't swam the event for quite awhile, so they will go faster, which is great, but we'll have to wait for Cerritos and Holiday Meet to evaluate what is happening with the practices having full effect on the performance.

Now to give an example of how I'd utilize stroke development in the speed phase of the season. You want to maximize the speed of the stroke, so there won't be a lot of altering the stroke with actual correction, but rather trying to create subtle changes through drills and quick reminders that I have created throughout the season, so the swimmers know what a short two to three word phrase means. With speed work, comes rest, as work to rest ratio needs to remain. With the higher intensity, it normally leads to more rest in the ratio because the extra work done in that short period of time. This gives plenty of opportunity to do drills, as drills should be done at a slower (rest) pace. Subtle changes won't effect the stroke too much, so it shouldn't cause a slow down in times.

Age-Groupers ages 11 - 17 still need to maintain the aerobic development. (This is one of the main reason why I made my group minimum age to be 11, or at least close to 11.) During this phase I will continue to provide the aerobic development sets despite the focus being speed, and mixed in with rest through drills. Stopping the aerobic altogether would develop the speed, as it is the focus, but would hurt the longer events, and begin to lower the base that you have built up to that point, which will effect them in the future seasons. (Building the Base is important, but keeping the base is also important. It doesn't take quite as much time as building it, so you don't have to dedicate as much time to it as the initial part, but maintenance should be continued throughout.)

3000 for time continued

When I decide what I do for practice there is purpose to every thing we do and every set that we do. It can be from set designed to get heart rate up, as I do in most warm-up sets. Some things I do are geared to concentrate specific aspect of a stroke, not normally the whole stroke. There are various reasons why I do things at practice, but going into practice I know exactly what each set or each drill is specifically designed to do. Even on those practices I come up with on the spot, I still go to practice knowing what I want to accomplish, but since I know what kind of sets and drills I use to accomplish these goals, then sometimes I'd rather watch and create the practice to what I see, while at the same time accomplishing the goals I set to accomplish.

The 3000 for time is no different. Many watch and just say it is the practice Kacy just wants to pay no attention to the swimmers, but in reality it is one of the most engaged practices I have as I try to keep a rough lap count down, and I look at splits on the running watch as I try to get a feel of how everyone is doing. I may not be as engaged to the swimmer, but I am very much engaged analyzing the swim.

Yesterday I spent about 5 to 10 minutes talking to the group about the different things they could have got from the 3000 for time. Their answers were the normal ones: Build Endurance and practice counting laps. Yes, they did get these from the 3000 for time, but there was some other things that I wanted to recognize.

First, the theme of challenging the impossible, even though it only relates to those who haven't done this before. Secondly, I wanted them to realize that they are capable of doing more that they knew they could. Many of the swimmers started off very conservatively, but picked up as they went on. They had no idea that they could still feel ok after 1000 yards of swimming. Thirdly, It puts other events into perspective. What is a 500 Free after a 3000 Free? They realized how much they had after 1000, maybe they can actually be a little aggressive when they do a 500, and they don't have to start off at a snail's pace.

Basically, the 3000 for time is one of those things that the kids really can take a lot away from doing. Other coaches use other Test Sets similar to the 3000 Free. I have heard JJ from SBSC talk about how his age-group group does the 1000 IM. He basically has the same justification as I have when it comes to the 3000 Free. I have always thought about trying the 1000 IM, but I haven't utilized it yet in one of my workouts.

I know there are mainly parents and swimmers who follow this blog, but if there is a coach out there reading these and want to do the 3000 for time, make sure you know why you are doing it. It can end up being just garbage yardage if not executed well. I believe any kind of mundane workout or set should have some reasoning that you can talk to your swimmers about, and for them to realize why they did the set besides just saying, "It's good for you."

3000 for Time Fall 2011

I normally do this twice or so per year. Tonight we did it and there are mixed reactions about it. The one's who have done it before are either eager or neutral about the Test Set, and the new ones (like always) are intimidated by it. Some are flat out reluctant, while others are looking forward to it, but are hesitant to be excited. I do call in to question a few swimmers lap counting as most of the time is the case, but I will post the results of the 3000 anyway.

(They were given 52 minutes to finish. Some stopped for extended breaks and some felt woozy part way through.)
*TT: 36:32
*NM: 37:57
AF: 40:36
DD: 39:32
*JL: 38:24
GB: 41:25
AM: 45:47
KLo: 46:14
KLi: 36:30
CP: 37:29
DG: 39:43 (did a 50 too much)
DT: 38:44
JW: 48:46
AG: 50:28
*KD: 45:47
CP: DNF
KW: DNF
DB: 43:44
EG: 47:42
MB: 47:45
KDee: 44:32
*RP: 50:34

Times are Minute and Seconds with no tenths as I was going off of a running watch.

The effort was very good for the most part. Most started off too slow, and after the first 1000 yards I saw many really pick it up. I didn't take splits but for the top times I'd say most of them came close to negative splitting by a decent amount. Everything got faster on the last part. Turnover rate, kick, and turns. Even from those who had done it before, they all began hesitant and really built it up.

As intended, most of the kids gained confidence in their capability of doing such a long swim as the swim progressed. Some of the kids though shied away completely throughout the set, and probably didn't get the most out of this 3000. Hopefully in future timed 3000 they are able to challenge the end of the 3000, and gain the most out of the set.

Physical and Mental toughness. You can see it grow as the swimmers go through the set. This was what I felt when I did this as an age-grouper. We were given 45 minutes to finish, and the first time I wasn't given the opportunity to finish, and the second time I gained a lot of confidence as I finished in the time that we were given. It really helped me mentally when I was a swimmer, and I hope it does the same for my swimmers.

The Wall

Yesterday after we ran our mile, we just sat on the grass and I had a talk with the group.

I talked about how most high level athletes, it doesn't matter for what sport, but high level athletes in general have all learned how to push past there own comfort zone. It is not easy, but that's also why they are in the top small percentage in their sport. You hear athletes talk about when they were athletes and that they played through injury. These tales are probably not just stories, but the truth, as many athletes could see some injuries as just part of the process, and they try to push through it. I mentioned also that that is why doctors step in now, and sometimes have to tell them to sit as they are injured.

I talked about one of my favorite movies when it comes to delivering a sports related message. Run, Fat Boy, Run. It is a romantic comedy at its core, but it has one part of the movie that delivers a funny scene, but when analyzed was a good message. It was the concept of "The Wall." This is when the body begins to tell you that you can't quite do anymore. He is running a marathon, and due some circumstances he is quite beat up at this time. The movie then puts an actual brick wall in the street, and you see the character go up to the wall, and contemplate just stopping at the wall. He decides that the wall is in his head and he continues to run the marathon, and the wall on the street disappears.

I talked about the message that most people don't realize what they are able to accomplish, and that they only are able to find out, if you are willing to push beyond "The Wall," or the Comfort Zone as I have referred to before. On the back of TNT Handbooks, Phil Black put it as, the "Extra" in extraordinary, as you must do extraordinary effort to have extraordinary results.

This ties right in to the Challenge the Impossible Theme. One does not know what is possible without trying. It is hard to realize that failing with trying is better than never trying at all. I have read many articles saying that this is what has made the rest of the world catch the US, as we have created a society where results are all that matter and that failure is a result, and a result that you should never have, but in reality failure is a step towards the result, and a success without failures along the way are simply success in the mindset that mediocrity is ok.

Practice pushing past your wall, as it is a mental wall. I find out what it feels like to reach that finish line despite what the result may end up being.

Essay by a former swimmer

I've dedicated some of the last posts about myself and about how I conduct myself as a coach. as kind of a continuation, it reminded me of an e-mail I got this last spring about a young man I coached on my high school team my final year at Selma High. This isn't the first time someone has passed along a school paper about how swimming has made an impact on them, but it is the most recent. So I am going to add this to me blog, but I want to say that this is not my writing, but I want to keep the source anonymous as I didn't really ask to put this on my blog.

The Most Influential Person In My Life

      "Heep, heep, go!" Those are the words every swimmer will hear at a swim meet under coach Kacy Ota. Kacy was not only the best coach Selma has ever had, he was also one of the most down-to-earth person anyone could meet. He never gave up on his swimmers and always knew what to say after an event. This is why Kacy Ota is the most influential person in my life.

      I opened the fenced door into my first day of swim practice. I remember the first person I saw was Kacy, he was sitting on a table, staring at the pool. He had long straight hair and a full beard. I said to myself "Wow , he looks like he just got out of prison for murdering someone who coughed in his pool. I feel bad for whoever's coach that will be." Now I was under the impression that Coach Manter was the Varsity coach. I learned two lessons that day, never judge a book by its cover, and second, seriously, never judge a book by its cover.

      It turned out the scary coach, who did not talk nor seemed to breathe, would be my coach for my first year of swimming. I was fresh meat on Varsity and after a workout that left me dragging myself out of the pool, Kacy asked me, "How was your first day of practice, (Edited Writer's Name)?" I struggled to reply, "It was awesome!" Deep down inside, I knew the only thing that was awesome about that day was practice being over.

      I had no idea how to swim. Kacy could see that. However, what made him the best coach was that he didn't care how well you swam; he would make you into a real swimmer and he never gave up on you. It had been a long season and I reached the point of peak performance. The Central Sequoia League swim meet was in a week. Kacy had me put my back against the wall and reach out my hand, then he asked me to use my shoulder to extend, "How much farther can you reach?" "A whole hand." I replied. Kacy said "With the length of the pool in a 200 yard freestyle, you can cut your strokes by about 9 or 10 if you use your shoulder." I also remember before practice, Kacy had given us a few words of wisdom. "You can't accomplish the impossible if you don't challenge the impossible." Nobody said qualifying for Division 2 was going to be easy. Nobody said placing first in your event was a sure thing. If I want something im going to have to work harder than anyone in the Valley to get it. I have lived by those words, and , at the final swim meet, Kacy had said "I am the next (Edited, another Former Swimmers name). He didn't know how to swim but with hard work and dedication he ended up a good swimmer." I was one second short of qualifying for D2, this was my last chance. I got on the dive block, and I remember everything slowing down. The only words in my head were "(Edited Former Swimmers name again)." The buzzer went off, and I swam my heart out; however, a bad flip turn ruined the race for me. I was two seconds slower than my top performance. I got out of the pool and I held in the tears, the hard work would not pay off my junior year. Kacy talked to me, calmed me down and told me what I did wrong. He put it in a way that made me feel good about that event.

      Kacy Ota is no longer the coach at Selma High. Most of the swim team can feel how different this year had been. I, myself, feel like I haven't learn anything. However, Kacy still coaches me through Facebook. He messages me tips and motivational words. He is still the reason why my times continue to improve. Kacy Ota has been and always will be the most influential person in my life, as a coach and as a friend.

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It is great to know I can do this by just doing my job and being myself. The greatest part is that there are so many swim coaches out there that have made an impact in their athletes lives, and I know that I fall into that category. It is not the reason I first began coaching, but it sure is a great reason why I love to coach now.

The Inconsistent 10 and under swimmer

As I finished a private lesson last night with one of the younger swimmers, I was chatting with the parents. I realized that we probably need to do a better job of doing some parent education. I may have to stop waiting for the board to tell me when this great time will be and just organize one myself.

I mentioned to the parents about what happens at times with 10 and unders when it comes to performance. Young kids are testing things out, similar to the way they typically test things out in the real world when they are very young. They learn things by messing up, and then learning from their mistake. You know, like eating grass or dirt, and then you watch as they spit it out and they realize that dirt and grass may not be made to eat. In swimming, the 10 and under is the time for this same kind of growth. It needs to be guided by a coach, as they need to learn from the mistakes that they make.

During this time you are going to see some of the biggest improvements and some of the biggest adds you will see in a swimmers career from meet to meet. I know any coach has watched their fast 10 and under dive in the water pop up and swim, and they ask themselves, "What is that? I have never seen that before." Many times this is in a bad way. Parents of these young kids are going to get frustrated. You'll hear all the time, "How did they add so much? I thought they were getting so much better after seeing the last meet." Hopefully you hear them say this when the child isn't around, as this would be completely against the supportive aspect of the parent that is needed for long term success in the sport.

It is the time of inconsistency. It frustrates parents and coaches alike. It can also happen with swimmers who are new to the sport and are older, and some 11 and 12 year olds who a maturing slower than their peers. Remember that the physical and mental maturation of a child kind span up to 5 years (according to studies, I think its more like 4 years). That means a 11 year old who matured really fast could have the physical and mental development of a 16 year old, there is little chance of any peer is going to be able to compete with this swimmer until they are 14 or 15 years old and they mature and the early bloomer doesn't mature as much.

When I told this to the parents they smiled, and said that that was exactly what was going on with their swimmer, and they really were wondering why. This made them feel better. Also looking at the progress of this swimmer, you can tell from year to year there was good progress, and that probably came from not getting to upset or frustrated over those few bad swims along the way.

If there are parents of 10 and unders reading this, prepare yourself, it is a bumpy ride, but when you look at the season progression there should be progress. Things to watch out for though: Swimmers getting upset about a single performance, Swimmers over thinking their technique, Parents adding their own critiques and thoughts on stroke and progression to the swimmer, and Swimmers feeling like they are letting their parents or coaches down.

Nice Practice Blue Group

Tonight the blue group did one of the longest practices that we have done before. It wasn't challenging in intensity, but it was long, and served as a great practice to build the aerobic base that will serve them later in the season.

The practice:
Warm Up: 300 Free
                 300 Free Kick w/ fins
                 300 Choice Swim
                 8 x 50 choice on the :50 (to get heart rate up on this portion of warm-up)
(1300)

Stroke Work (not much today, just going off of some observation from warm-up, not in the original plan for the workout):   4 x 25 butterfly launch drill (emphasizing Distance Per Launch and adjusting vision before the recovery).
(100)

1st Set:   4 x (4 x100); 1st 100 first 1st lap 25 fly, 2nd 100 2nd lap fly, 3rd 100 3rd lap fly, 4th 100 4th lap fly.
              1st round fly (on 1:45), 2nd round back (on 1:45), 3rd round brst (on 1:55), 4th free (on 1:40)
              Top two tiers of the group the interval was easy, the new tier had to work a little to make the intervals
(1600)

Main Set: 5 x 200 IM Continuous (Even ones reverse order) (Yes they did a 1000 yard IM, not quite as brutal as a true 1000 IM as they didn't have to do a 250 fly to start off the IM) (Had a talk about using their current strokes to develop easy strokes and strength trying to have DPS).
(1000)

Final Set: 500 Free Kick for time (They were still pretty good times even though we had already done a lot of yards. The fastest one was 7:50, and there was only two that I believe went slower than 10:00).
(500)

Talked about how much they did, and also did a good 500 Kick for time to finish off the workout. I think that felt good that they were able to do that much work and finish off strong. The cool down was a 100 Choice.
(100)

Total 4600 Yards

Professional Swim League

I always believed that there could be a professional swim league. The Dual Meet format that you see in College (and High School) is a format that can be very fun. There were just a few limitations. One being a well designed scoreboard that could keep up to date scoring as the events finish. DQ's happen through headsets, so they could quickly go into the system. The education of the spectator of how the scoring works would be part of the development of the sport as a spectator sport.

Americans watch the Olympic swimming more than almost any other sport, and other high level meets have gained in popularity as television has began to air them. What would it take though for a professional league to happen? Well, for tennis it began in the 1920's as a few high level players decided to put on their own exhibitions. They charged admission, and people were willing to pay to watch high level athletes in their sport. So, it would be a group of high level athletes to come together and create teams, and show off the dual meet format to the masses. Will they make a ton of money when it first begins? No, it will be a process of developing the professional sport because it is different than the sport so many know of as swim meets where young kids strive to improve themselves.

To my elation, there is going to be a professional swim league exhibition. Of course it comes from a place that understands the spectator friendly aspect that the sport can be, a college. University of Michigan will be hosting the dual meet with some top flight athletes. Check it out at www.proswimleague.com. Are these the highest level swimmers, not exactly, but they are some fast swimmers. It will be a lot of fun to see them compete in the dual meet format. Despite how the effort goes, I hope that they don't make this a one time event, but they see it as a start of something.

The next thing they have also begun. They have sponsors to help fund the event. Then they a charge a reasonable admission fee of $10 per ticket. They aren't going to make a whole lot of money, but it is a way to get the ball rolling with the affordable tickets. (Have you seen the prices of the Olympic Swim Tickets? They are one of the most expensive tickets available at the olympics.) Next phase is to get it televised. Start simple though, there are companies now that will televise any swim meet on the web. This may be a place to start, and then see how well watched it is, if there is a big audience you can use that to try to get a small cable company to pick a few events.

I've told my brother (also a swim coach) that this could happen, and the aspects that it needed to take off. Here is a group of elite athletes who have stepped up to front and begin this league. Hopefully they add the flare to the event itself with athlete spotlight in a program guide, the point system explained, a good way to display the up to date score, and a great announcer.

Good luck to all the organizers and athletes, and thank you for stepping up to do this.

USA Swimming Launches their newest program

I've read other blogs asking about what has USA Swimming done lately. Well last night they launched their new iphone app "Deck Pass." They had already changed "My USA Swimming" into the "Deck Pass" platform. This is great way for kids to track their times, realize accomplishments by achieving National Standards, see their friends progress in achievement, see their IMX score, and other aspects. For coaches, it allows you to hand out digital patches to your swimmers (I have already began to award patches for good practices). On the coaches site you can also see where your team ranks in the Virtual Club Championships.

I know people expect great amazing things from USA Swimming, but these small things can be utilized to help build our athletes. Deck Pass is a Facebook like program that kids can enjoy with modern technology. They also created IMR and IMX to help promote the idea of being a well-rounded swimmer, and to develop IMers (from previous post). Virtual Club Championships is a program that allows to see where you are as a team in your LSC, Zone, or the Nation. It is based off of having speed, but also rewards for being a bigger team and depth throughout the program. It is a way to judge performance at the whole club level for 18 and unders. Some may see these are just gimmicks, but these tools can be utilized to help motivate swimmers and teams.

USA Swimming also has established the Club Recognition program that can help teams develop a good foundation for a swim team. Club Excellence is a way to promote developing high level performers, and the new changes make it a even better program focusing on 18 and unders.

They are doing things for us as a NGB. Sure, they aren't perfect, but they are making efforts. I think that there have been some mistakes made, and some miss management of money within the organization, but they seem to be trying to improve the organization. A lot of bad headlines have come to light in the sport lately, and I hate that these incidents have happened, but it is good to shine a light on them because now we are getting rid of the few bad apples in our ranks. There is a lot of improvement that needs to occur, but at least the progress is being done.

I hope that coaches are able to utilize these programs, and take advantage of the programs in ways that they see fit for their team. We need to be creative, and look to catch the attention of the youth of our new age society. It isn't the same world from even 5 years ago, we need to stay ahead of the game and make the changes so that we continue to keep kids interested and in our sport.

Why I Coach

I got into coaching because I thought it was fun. I enjoyed coaching summer league, and my dad needed a coach. 3 days a week for 50 minutes a day. Not a lot of money, but it also wasn't a lot of work. It was perfect for a kid who was going to a Junior College trying to redefine himself academically. I was having a blast coaching, being a college student, and I was on the Dean's List. Things were great. I fell in love with coaching though. Helping others improve became addictive, and it got me hooked, and now I am a full-time coach.

As I continued to coach though I felt like I needed a purpose to my coaching, so I really began to think about what I did as a coach. I found that making kids faster at swimming, although part of the focus of what we did, it was kind of superficial. There had to be more. I began to research and talk with other coaches about the values taught in swimming; the life lessons that can be learned. I figured out that maybe because I wasn't fully dedicated as a young person as a swimmer, I didn't seem to learn all these lessons. Now as a coach though I began to realize that we did teach great lessons that helped kids as they go through life. I started to say certain things, and conducted myself in a certain way. I began to stress the life lessons in my coaching. Not only did my swimmers begin to learn them, but I myself began to learn them as well. Coaching has helped me become who I am.

Through the years I have gotten better at relaying my message to my swimmers. Some do take a little longer than others, but I stick to my formula and it seems to be effective. It is a challenge at times, as results begin to overtake swimmers and parents, and they have a hard time realizing everything that they can be taking away from the experience. Not to say our goal is not to make them fast swimmers because it is, but when I began to teach the life lessons using swimming as a vehicle to do so, my swimmers also began to achieve much more in the sport. As the lessons not only make them better people and students, but they become crucial in the continued success in swimming.

A few things that I try to get them to learn: It takes hard work for success; Deal with failure and use it as a step towards success and not a result; Time Management as swimming tends to take over and dictate a swimmers time; How to motivate teammates and use them to help motivate you to be better; I can't is just a way to say I am not willing to try anymore; Impossible is only something that I haven't tried to accomplish; and many others that can be learned.

It does take time to rehearse in your mind what you are going to tell your swimmers. It takes time to realize what you have taught so far, and what you still need to address. It takes time to evaluate previous season plans, and come up with that new ways that will not only achieve success, but be slightly different so that your athletes don't get bored with same old thing all the time. It is a daily activity to continue to look over the plan and then create a workout for the day that fits into that plan. Despite all that, it is a great job.

As mentioned in my coaching memory, it is amazing to be able to make a difference in one persons life. There have been more memories like when I talked a swimmer into continuing to swim despite going through a rough patch of swimming horrible. He only continued to swim to be a Valley High School champion, a scholarship swimmer for division 1 Swim Team, and an Olympic Trial Qualifier. So many instances like those, and now I am addicted.

I coach to make a difference and to help teach the life lessons that there are to teach with using swimming as the vehicle. Yes, I like to make swimmers fast, but there is a little more to it than that.

2500 Pageviews!

Wow, It hasn't even been a year that I have had this blog up. It started slow, and it definitely went through a down spot in the spring, but it really has picked up steam this summer, and really began to be read in the last two months. I had, and kind of still don't, have a true direction for this blog. It doesn't provide to a specific niche, but rather a broad audience of people in the area of swimming. With this broad base, I felt like it wouldn't be a blog where a lot of people would read a lot, but that it would get a pageview every once in awhile.

I am to the point now with this blog that I try my best to keep putting up something on the blog. Since the pageviews have skyrocketed, I think that I have become much better at keeping up with the blog. It seems that everyone who follows this blog seems to appreciate the fact that I do keep putting up entries. I know that not every blog pertains to each reader, but now as I am doing regular entries, I think that the reader will have something to read that may pertain to them within the numerous blogs that I do.

I will continue to post up blogs for all those who do follow this blog, and I hope that you continue to read and take something away from this blog. I think I slowed down because I felt like people weren't taking anything away from it, but now that I feel like I may actually be helping others, I am more inclined to continue to post.

Thank You to all who read, and I hope that I provide some information to all of you.

Trying to change the focus and this years season plan

I spend a lot of time understanding the swim strokes. The different types of strokes that are out there, and how to make sense of why a stroke is effective to propel the body through the water. The problem is that I feel like my swimmers catch on to how much I am dedicated to understanding strokes, that they begin to focus on the strokes only. So I did a practice today to get them to try to change their focus.

The set was fairly simple. 3 rounds of 5 x 100's on a descending interval. My main group tried to do 500 Free Pace on the 1:40 for the first round, then 200 Pace on the 1:30 on the second round, and finishing off with trying to make the interval on the 1:20. My other group was a +10 seconds to the intervals, but the same focus. They had to check the clock each time, and make it a goal to hit the same time for the entire round. The third round was focused on just making the interval as for the group that I coach 1:20 is a challenge.

This set allowed to focus more on their speed, and less on the stroke technique. We have done our period of time for the season that we concentrated on stroke technique, and the group will continue to have parts of workout devoted to developing the strokes further, but the focus of taking ones stroke, and trying to make it faster through other ways than correcting technique. I've seen many swimmers become so focused on stroke technique that they begin to only contribute slow swimming to bad technique, when there are other factors that come into play.

Through the season I have designated times where I work on different aspects. I normally start with conditioning with kicking (a lot of kicking) and drills that are leg driven. I then spend a period of time where I go over body position, hand patterns, and timing. I am entering the stage where the swimmers will focus on what they are actually doing in the water, and for them to make self-correction. (This is based on the idea of developing myelin in the brain as described in The Talent Code.) This is also the phase where I'll bump up the conditioning. The next phase will be more like the set described above, as we begin to focus on developing speed. Then I will go into a phase where I will concentrate on little things such as: starts, turns, transitions, and other race skills. This period of time is normally a spot where the swimmers will get rested as working on these aspects take away from the training time (so it is a form of resting). This is normally where we will go to a Winter Championship meet, WAG in Vegas for us this year. The next phase is where I'll be making my biggest adjustment from last year, as I feel like our JO Meet in February was sub par last year. I'll probably go right back to training and working on developing speed through the developed strokes rather than a stroke development phase as I did last year. I will again do race skills to begin to rest the swimmers, and then finish off with timed swims with long easy swims to go into the JO meet. The Stroke Development will begin after the JO Meet, and the Long Course Season will be very similar to the Short Course Season.

I will try to lose focus either. I feel like I slipped a little bit last week, as I focused more on racing skills rather than get the conditioning in as I had originally planned. I'm back on track though, and the set today was a good way to get back on track.

Constructing Butterfly

So I started coaching a Masters Group on Monday and Wednesday Mornings at the Simi Valley YMCA. It is not a big group, but it is a good group. I recently picked up a new swimmer who told me that he basically was trained by his dad who didn't really know a lot about swimming, but he enjoyed it swimming in high school when he was younger. He pretty much only knew freestyle, and it was a pretty decent freeestyle.

We did a butterfly workout the other week, and I only spent maybe about 20 minutes on the fly, and I taught it a little different. I've listened to Steve Haufler peak at about two or three clinics, and I've watched his videos, and I was always skeptical about his approach to teaching butterfly, but I decided to try it.

You begin by teaching the hand pattern desired, and the very relaxed and smooth recovery. No Kick, No Motion, No breathing while taking strokes (Snorkel is probably best, but my group didn't have snorkels). The main thing was to learn the hand pattern. Press down with the hands creating EVF (Early Vertical Forearm), then push the hands towards the belly button and then slice outward and back with pinkies first. With no motion they must rise their shoulders and bring their arms foreward very easy. They end up dragging some of the arm during the recovery, but that is ok. This is where I stopped. At a later time I explained that as the arms enter the chest is to press down keeping the arms near the surface. I watched as he lap swam and it looks like he can't swim butterfly, but if you watch carefully he has a very good pull pattern, and he had a revelation about what happens when you lean on the lungs and press the chest down. He still has no idea when to kick or when to breathe, but it will be a lot easier to get that timing down now that he understands the correct pull pattern, understands that press of the chest, and has realized how easy it is to get the hips to rise.

Butterfly is not to be swam with a big undulation, it becomes a small wave pattern. The hips rise just enough to allow the water to flow past the body.

From the regular spectator, they probably feel like he looks like a dying fish out there as he swims, but if you watch carefully he has learned very hard concepts. He was willing to do exactly as I said, and was willing to look silly and go slow, and because of that discipline he has been able to learn the beginnings of butterfly. He'll need to learn timing next, but at least he has the arm motion to allow the timing to become easier to work on, as now the butterfly he has has become effortless, and although he doesn't move fast, he'll be able to add the other aspects in very well because the normally forced parts of butterfly, he has figured out how to not make them so forceful.

Remember that relaxation is key to speed in swimming. If you can't swim relaxed, then the upside for your speed is very limited.

Observing at the meet

We just finished up a swim meet this weekend in Santa Maria. As it is a decent drive to Santa Maria, this is one of the few travel meets we have outside of championship meets. The meet was fun, the swims were pretty good. It is fun to also take a few minutes at meets to observe the different things going on with the swimmers.

I am so happy that CSSC is one of those teams that always seems to have people at the ends of the pool cheering each other on. It was like that with my former teams as well, but there are those teams that you see them cheer on occasion, but not too consistently. It's nice to see teammates cheer each other on. It is also nice to see swimmers stick around and help their teammates in the distance events. They lap count, they time, they cheer them on. This is done when there was no reason that they needed to stay beyond the fact that they wanted to support their teammate. This is a hard one as after a long day, you normally just can't wait to get out of there.

I know there was a little bit of a threat for this meet, but it was still good to see parents putting in their time to help the meet run properly. I don't think parents realize that without their efforts the times swam at the meet may not be official. If you don't meet the standards of timers and officials, the times are not official. Your time matters, and allows the meets to operate.

(Tangent about volunteering)
Many times once swimmers have gone to 2 - 4 meets they know what they are to do (well, at least for kids 9 and up). The swimmer becomes very independent at meets, and learn how to check heat and lane, do their warm-up and cool-down, check in with their coach, and show up to their correct lane. So, parents want to know what are they to do. First and foremost, always support your child and allow the coach to be critical. I have had times in my coaching career where I stop being critical for certain swimmers because I hear how critical their parents are, so I try to be supportive because the swimmer needs both sides (to bad the coach can't be critical to help them realize something that could be re-directed to practice). Volunteering as a timer is great way to support your child's sport, and prevent you from being too critical. I have actually seen this, as a parent couldn't help but add their critiques when the event had just happened, and they always realized after the fact that they didn't want to coach their child, so he opted to time the majority of the meet, and sometimes the whole meet, to prevent himself from doing these instant critiques. If timing is to away from the action for you as a parent, become an official. It puts you right into the sport, and you learn about the sport as well.

Taking ownership of the team. I think it makes the experience of swimming that much better. The swimmer develops an identity that they can bond with those they work so hard beside, and the parents become a part of the team as well, as they are a critical aspect of the team functioning. The triangle relationship between coach, parent, and swimmer become strong when all parties are involved and are all part of the team.

It was great to observe at the meet and see very few not trying to do their part as part of the team. Don't be the one that takes advantage of the program, be one of the people who helps enhance it.

Coaching Memory

I've been coaching for a long time. If you count the years I was an assistant for the Selma Aqua Bears, I believe I am on my 14th year of coaching. With so many years, I have many great memories, and memories of so many great people; swimmers, parents, and coaches alike. I have some very distinct memories that are some of my favorites though, and I am going to write about one of those great memories I have.

This story is not about some amazing swimmer accomplished something great, but when I felt like I really did make an impact.

First of all some back story, I coached in a small town of around 23,000 people, and it is a farming community. I grew up in this town, and I had become the Head Coach of the High School Team at the young age of 20 years old. One year a young man who was a sophomore joined the team. This young man could barely swim (most high school coaches know what I mean, literally, could barely make it a 25). My JV Coach took him and put fins on him to show just the idea of not kicking with your toes pointed to the bottom as if trying to walk in the pool. This young man though was never academically eligible his whole high school career, and my JV Coach told me that he probably wasn't going to be eligible this time either. Well, he wasn't and he wasn't able to swim on the team. He was allowed to participate in some practices that didn't interfere with tutorial after school. He continued to come 100% of the times he could. He went to every home meet and supported the team, and was a timer at almost every meet. At the end of the season, I talked to him, and he really wished he could have been part of the team. That summer he joined the summer league team and swam for me. He made a lot of improvement, but still wasn't all that fast.

He came out to the High School team again his Junior Year, and this time, for the first time in High School career he got a GPA above a 2.0. He was able to join. I always talked about working hard with the team, and don't expect things to just come to you. I talked about not settling for mediocricy, and strive to be the best that you can be. He told me that he took that same effort I talked about for the pool, and finally applied it to school. That was cool, but the story goes.

This Young Man didn't have a lot of money. I'd guess his parents were both farm laborers. He talked about that he lived his grandma, and I'd always see him riding his skate board from the pool. I don't know if his parents had a vehicle. He described his skateboard rides to morning practice, so I had an idea of where he lived, and that part of town is not a nice part, and it sounded like it was a dirt road to his house. No one in his family was educated, and I'm sure he was one of the first to graduate high school. He accomplished a lot during the time that I coached him. He joined the football team his senior year, and actually got some playing time even though it was his first season. He missed his goal of making Divisionals in swimming, but he dropped over 4 minutes in his 500 Free over the two years he swam for Selma, and he loved that event.

The best moment was after practice one day he told me that he took the Special Forces Test for the Navy, I believe. He told me that he was there with about 7 other guys, all of which were athletes, and there were some water polo players, but he was the only one that was only a swimmer. Only two of the eight kids were able to pass the physical test, and he was one of them. He told me that he was surprised how conditioned he was compared to the others.

It's funny, but that moment was great. To hear from a young man who when I met him he was pretty much not good at much, and who had been failing academically, and he could join a sport like swimming, and be motivated to change the way he did things. Maybe I did have something to do with it, but the sport was the vehicle. Swimming allowed him to achieve what he wanted to do, and he was able to go on and go into the Special Forces Unit. Hard Work made him become a better person, and a better swimmer. He didn't become national swimmer, but he took away from the sport. Would he have found the motivation without swimming, maybe he would have, but what did happen, was that the sport did motivate him to learn how to work hard.

Another Successful Age Group Practice

I still believe that practice groups need to separated by skill and development level. There are so many levels of swimmer at a specific age depending on the amount of time that they have been active in the sport. To really get the most out of the practices, it is more beneficial for the swimmer to participate in the groups for their development. Age does become a factor in the group they are in as well because the fun factor does play into the groups. Our groups are definitely designed to have more games and activities in our lower level groups, and the higher levels press the idea of having fun by developing as a swimmer. This is why for us, we try to keep 10 and unders in particular groups because it is important that they still are able to have those fun activities in practice. As the swimmer gets older, and their skills are developed to stay with the groups, it is good to create new motivations on why they are at practice, and as a coach try to get them to actually have a fun time working hard. I have found that swimmers ages 12 - 14 are actually waiting for someone to challenge them, and enjoy the aspect of working hard as being fun, and less need for the games.

Our team though wants to create a cohesive team, and not one that is splintered. Being at two sites provides many opportunities to develop the splintering culture, but out coaching staff works hard to prevent this from happening. We are all one team, and we are all here for the same reason. We all help push each other when we need to be pushed, and we are all there for one another when we are need of someone. Swimmers understand swimmers, and they can be what keeps a swimmer going in the sport. Parents of young swimmers, I hate to tell you this, but you are not going to be the most understanding as they get older. Yes, they are going to want to know that you aren't disappointed in them, but they need their teammates to talk through some of the rough patches of a swim season. We hope to begin to develop this culture by unifying the team at even the beginning level of our team. Starting early allows it to develop its strength through the years.

We started the Age-Group Practice last March, and we really have enjoyed the experience. The swimmers get to meet swimmers of their own age that they normally don't get to see, and begin a relationship with the all the team members of their age. Many times a swimmer may join late, and spend a few years developing through the lower level groups, but eventually end up in the same group as the other swimmers along down the road.

These practices aren't made up of sets, as there are different levels of swimmers. The include introduction activities during dryland; skill based practice such as starts, turns, and specific basic stroke technique; and fun games such as relays and sharks and minnows. All the swimmers have seemed to enjoy it, and group adjustment has been easier for some that have participated in the age-group practices.

It has also been good for our swimmers to meet the other coaches on staff, and for our coaches to see and meet some of the other swimmers on our team. All together it is a great way to have some team unity in a swim practice atmosphere from the various different levels.