I wanted to re-post some old blogs. This one is a very popular blog I posted last year. I know that some viewers have recently began to read the blog, so I though re-posting some popular ones will be good for those who might have missed some of the blogs that my readers have enjoyed in the past.
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.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Courage to Fail
This is from a blog post from Hillary Rettig, an author and a personal development coach. You can find her blog at: http://www.hillaryrettig.com/
Years ago, I was fortunate to hear one of my heroes, former world chess champion and current Russian democracy activist Garry Kasparov, discuss important lessons he had learned from chess. Here’s how he began his talk: “I have won hundreds of chess games, and lost thousands. You have to have the courage to fail.”
The courage to fail. What an amazing phrase – and coming from a hypercompetitive chess champion it takes on a special meaning. Kasparov probably hates failure more than just about anyone – in fact, as his use of the word “courage” implies, he probably fears it – but he had to develop a tolerance for it to reach his goals. That he chose to begin his talk with this point only underscores its importance.
Swim Meet underlying lessons
Most sports provide life lessons, and swimming does the same. Many times we talk about the life lessons, just as life lessons in a vague sense. I think we do that because there are many lessons to be learned in sports, and each lesson is learned at different times and with time. This growth is different for each individual, and we bail ourselves out by being vague in the term life lessons.
I think sometimes we just use the loose term so much, that now there are some people who actually don't realize some of the specific ones that are attainable for their sport. I want to point a few out that I focus on when dealing with my swimmers in regards to swim meets.
Early in the swim career, swimmers can gain self-esteem through swim meets. If the coach and parent go into the competition understanding that in the beginning they may get dead last. Praised for their courage to go out there and compete, and praised for the things that they did right in the swim. The coach then tells the swimmer what they need to work on, so they get to know that they have more things to work on to get faster in the future. (I emphasize, the coach provides criticism; not the parents. That includes repeating what the coach just told the swimmer).
The early meets are the time where they can build self-esteem. If they attend practice on a regular basis and listen well, they will improve most of the time. This is why I am not afraid of newbie swimmers to attend swim meets because they may miss a lot of those early chances to have dramatic improvement, and an opportunity to build the self-esteem. Example, a swimmer get's DQ'd in the breaststroke the first meet (even though you have been telling him for weeks how to kick correctly, and have done so many various drills to try to teach it), then they listen better at practice and are rewarded by doing a legal breaststroke the next meet. Even though the swimmer got dead last by 2 seconds in a 25 breaststroke, it doesn't matter, you can celebrate the legal kick.
As the swimmer gets more experienced, the improvements become not as regular. This becomes difficult, but it is one of the best lessons that many sports provide. How to deal with failure. I remember listening to an interview of the two time heisman trophy winner, Archie Griffin, talk about his football career. He said the most important thing he learned was how to deal with failure. After he had a carry where he had 0 to negative yards, he had to get back to the huddle and perform again, whether it was another run, a receiving route, or a blocking assignment. To him that was more important than awards, accalades, or recognition. It prepared him for life.
Next is the idea of challenge the impossible. As I have my swimmers increase their training, many times they do not gain confidence in being able to do the longer events. The events that seemed impossible when they first joined the group, but now have the training to actually be able to do the event. The lesson of learning that what you once thought impossible for you, is now possible; can provide a great lesson. Something is only impossible if, you never put the effort in to accomplish it and you never step up and try.
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The last concept was something I began teaching in my last season or so with RCA. With that new philosphy I had two swimmers who really embraced it, and has gone on to do very well in swimming. Since then, I have tried to continue the challenge the impossible view point, without repeating myself all the time, and have had success with it, as many of my swimmers do the longer events before moving to our lower level senior group now.
The lessons as you can see aren't going to work all the time juist by participating and going to a meet. The environment must be setup correctly, and forcing swimmers to do all the events, good events and off events, throughout the season. Remember that young swimmers meets are more than just opportunities to qualify for the next level of meet, but part of the building process to a more successful career. Coaches and parents must focus on the long-term, which can be difficult due to the amount of patience that it requires.
I think sometimes we just use the loose term so much, that now there are some people who actually don't realize some of the specific ones that are attainable for their sport. I want to point a few out that I focus on when dealing with my swimmers in regards to swim meets.
Early in the swim career, swimmers can gain self-esteem through swim meets. If the coach and parent go into the competition understanding that in the beginning they may get dead last. Praised for their courage to go out there and compete, and praised for the things that they did right in the swim. The coach then tells the swimmer what they need to work on, so they get to know that they have more things to work on to get faster in the future. (I emphasize, the coach provides criticism; not the parents. That includes repeating what the coach just told the swimmer).
The early meets are the time where they can build self-esteem. If they attend practice on a regular basis and listen well, they will improve most of the time. This is why I am not afraid of newbie swimmers to attend swim meets because they may miss a lot of those early chances to have dramatic improvement, and an opportunity to build the self-esteem. Example, a swimmer get's DQ'd in the breaststroke the first meet (even though you have been telling him for weeks how to kick correctly, and have done so many various drills to try to teach it), then they listen better at practice and are rewarded by doing a legal breaststroke the next meet. Even though the swimmer got dead last by 2 seconds in a 25 breaststroke, it doesn't matter, you can celebrate the legal kick.
As the swimmer gets more experienced, the improvements become not as regular. This becomes difficult, but it is one of the best lessons that many sports provide. How to deal with failure. I remember listening to an interview of the two time heisman trophy winner, Archie Griffin, talk about his football career. He said the most important thing he learned was how to deal with failure. After he had a carry where he had 0 to negative yards, he had to get back to the huddle and perform again, whether it was another run, a receiving route, or a blocking assignment. To him that was more important than awards, accalades, or recognition. It prepared him for life.
Next is the idea of challenge the impossible. As I have my swimmers increase their training, many times they do not gain confidence in being able to do the longer events. The events that seemed impossible when they first joined the group, but now have the training to actually be able to do the event. The lesson of learning that what you once thought impossible for you, is now possible; can provide a great lesson. Something is only impossible if, you never put the effort in to accomplish it and you never step up and try.
\
The last concept was something I began teaching in my last season or so with RCA. With that new philosphy I had two swimmers who really embraced it, and has gone on to do very well in swimming. Since then, I have tried to continue the challenge the impossible view point, without repeating myself all the time, and have had success with it, as many of my swimmers do the longer events before moving to our lower level senior group now.
The lessons as you can see aren't going to work all the time juist by participating and going to a meet. The environment must be setup correctly, and forcing swimmers to do all the events, good events and off events, throughout the season. Remember that young swimmers meets are more than just opportunities to qualify for the next level of meet, but part of the building process to a more successful career. Coaches and parents must focus on the long-term, which can be difficult due to the amount of patience that it requires.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Variety of sets: Warm-up to Challenging
In my Blue Group, an advanced Age-Group group just below our lower level senior group, I do various kinds of sets throughout the season. We continuously do stroke work and skill development throughout, but the sets are what pushes them to develop aerobically and help develop the ability to get maximum speed from them.
There are the warm-up level of sets, these are sets that are more developed on rising Heart rates, and the intervals are not that hard. There is normally a concentration of stroke work in many of these style of sets. The next level is the day to day level. I expect my whole group to be able to make these. On occasion a new swimmer to the group may miss these, but after about two weeks they are able to make these sets.
The moderately hard sets, is where I push a little more. a small portion of the group may miss these sets on occasion. I always talk about trying to be able to make a set that you missed prior, to try to improve their training ability.
The hard sets, are to really make sure my top end is working hard. Unfortunately, the bottom end of the group normally miss these, but again I talk about recognizing the growth in ones training, so many of these swimmers who are missing at one time, will develop to become part of the focus group later down the road.
Then there are the challenging sets. These sets is where I look at what we have been able to do so far, and then I try to take it to the next level to see if my top end of the group is up for the challenge. So, far I haven't been dissappointed where everyone has failed the set.
The challenge sets are developed to make most of the group fail. It is not a bad thing to make them fail on occasion, in the attempt to see what you can pull out of them. These sets are where you always get pleasantly surprised, and find the swimmers really ready to go to that next level.
Test sets are the normal way to test your swimmers with their training progress, but I do enjoy giving them a challenge set on occasion. If growth comes from the occasional failure, then you need to provide them the opportunity sometimes. The top end doesn't get too many opportunities, so the challenge sets I have found can really benefit the top end. The bottom end of groups need to understand that they want to grow and eventually be one of those swimmers accomplishing the challenge sets.
We always try to push them a little bit more. It is not a constant thing, as they need to be able to build their training ability, but challenging can really allow them to step up and be above and beyond.
There are the warm-up level of sets, these are sets that are more developed on rising Heart rates, and the intervals are not that hard. There is normally a concentration of stroke work in many of these style of sets. The next level is the day to day level. I expect my whole group to be able to make these. On occasion a new swimmer to the group may miss these, but after about two weeks they are able to make these sets.
The moderately hard sets, is where I push a little more. a small portion of the group may miss these sets on occasion. I always talk about trying to be able to make a set that you missed prior, to try to improve their training ability.
The hard sets, are to really make sure my top end is working hard. Unfortunately, the bottom end of the group normally miss these, but again I talk about recognizing the growth in ones training, so many of these swimmers who are missing at one time, will develop to become part of the focus group later down the road.
Then there are the challenging sets. These sets is where I look at what we have been able to do so far, and then I try to take it to the next level to see if my top end of the group is up for the challenge. So, far I haven't been dissappointed where everyone has failed the set.
The challenge sets are developed to make most of the group fail. It is not a bad thing to make them fail on occasion, in the attempt to see what you can pull out of them. These sets are where you always get pleasantly surprised, and find the swimmers really ready to go to that next level.
Test sets are the normal way to test your swimmers with their training progress, but I do enjoy giving them a challenge set on occasion. If growth comes from the occasional failure, then you need to provide them the opportunity sometimes. The top end doesn't get too many opportunities, so the challenge sets I have found can really benefit the top end. The bottom end of groups need to understand that they want to grow and eventually be one of those swimmers accomplishing the challenge sets.
We always try to push them a little bit more. It is not a constant thing, as they need to be able to build their training ability, but challenging can really allow them to step up and be above and beyond.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Feeling the stretch in the muscle
For most coaches it has been awhile since we were unaware of what it was like to swim before we were taught. As a senior swimmer, you do so much repetition that it becomes the only thing you remember. This gets in the way sometimes, as you notice something in your swimmers, and you realize that you might have missed something that you needed to explain, and possibly help them realize what they should be feeling.
I have noticed that some of swimmers grasped when I talked about moving the elbow forward, and others picked up on the concept of rotating the shoulder forward. There are still some though that haven't quite grasped the concept, so I went to a more kinesthetic approach.
Here I had them all lay down on the ground, and then they moved into a side kick position. I have them move their elbow to the shark fin position. In both positions, I have them check their body line spots in regards to their arms, elbows, and head. I then instruct them to move to the sailboat position. Here is where I go to each swimmer, and slightly pull their elbow forward with their high elbow. They can now feel the stretch that I want them to feel in their lats.
When talking to the group, I asked if they felt the stretch. There were some responses that they felt pain. The swimmer did not recognize the difference in pain than a stretch. I continued to talk about the stretches we do everyday that helps build flexibility for this particular muscle. We tried the stretches, and some felt the stretch better now that they knew what they were feeling for in the stretch.
Some of the freestyles we did with the stretching as part of the focus, seemed longer than normal. Now we'll see how they apply it after a few workouts emphasizing this stretch.
I have done this kinesthetic method on a few other things, and it has worked out for some. I haven't emphasized the stretch on the recovery yet, and I just realized it while watching so many short strokes that glided their hand forward in the water from the top of their head to extension. After seeing the short strokes, I decided that talking about rotating the shoulder forward, needed to have some kinesthetic teaching to go along with it.
I have noticed that some of swimmers grasped when I talked about moving the elbow forward, and others picked up on the concept of rotating the shoulder forward. There are still some though that haven't quite grasped the concept, so I went to a more kinesthetic approach.
Here I had them all lay down on the ground, and then they moved into a side kick position. I have them move their elbow to the shark fin position. In both positions, I have them check their body line spots in regards to their arms, elbows, and head. I then instruct them to move to the sailboat position. Here is where I go to each swimmer, and slightly pull their elbow forward with their high elbow. They can now feel the stretch that I want them to feel in their lats.
When talking to the group, I asked if they felt the stretch. There were some responses that they felt pain. The swimmer did not recognize the difference in pain than a stretch. I continued to talk about the stretches we do everyday that helps build flexibility for this particular muscle. We tried the stretches, and some felt the stretch better now that they knew what they were feeling for in the stretch.
Some of the freestyles we did with the stretching as part of the focus, seemed longer than normal. Now we'll see how they apply it after a few workouts emphasizing this stretch.
I have done this kinesthetic method on a few other things, and it has worked out for some. I haven't emphasized the stretch on the recovery yet, and I just realized it while watching so many short strokes that glided their hand forward in the water from the top of their head to extension. After seeing the short strokes, I decided that talking about rotating the shoulder forward, needed to have some kinesthetic teaching to go along with it.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Coaching the beginning groups
What you teach at this level does make a big difference, but is that really what makes a beginning group better? I think that one big aspect to a beginning level group is the order of the group. Now, these groups are always chaotic; they are little kids most of the time. The trick is figuring out how to create an organized chaos with these little swimmers that are bouncing off the walls.
I also believe that some chaos is ok. Don't think that everything being perfectly organized is great either. Understanding the generalized psychology of young kids, shows that if you have workouts that are completely orderly and no chaos at all; boys get disinterested, as they enjoy some chaos. No organization though leads to unproductive workouts and concerned parents.
Swimming is a sport that requires discipline. The small little things really become huge in competitions at the higher levels. Discipline ends up leading to success in the pool. So creating order is extremely important, but also not to overdo the organization that you push kids from being interested, and probably a team full of girls.
Coaching young kids requires learning how to create this balance. Most coaches who are successful with young kids probably begin very organized, and then learn where chaos can be allowed within a practice. I was the opposite, my practices were chaotic and I learned how to grab their attention with bringing up the desire to be better. I then went on to learn how to organize the workouts better. I began differently though, as I had very little training on how to run a workout, but rather some basic guidelines.
Best thing is to create boundaries. They are never allowed to cross those boundaries. A little playing around is allowed as long as they are within the boundaries. As the groups progess in ability, the more structure there needs to be, and the learning the discipline aspects of the sport that will benefit them in the pool.
I also believe that some chaos is ok. Don't think that everything being perfectly organized is great either. Understanding the generalized psychology of young kids, shows that if you have workouts that are completely orderly and no chaos at all; boys get disinterested, as they enjoy some chaos. No organization though leads to unproductive workouts and concerned parents.
Swimming is a sport that requires discipline. The small little things really become huge in competitions at the higher levels. Discipline ends up leading to success in the pool. So creating order is extremely important, but also not to overdo the organization that you push kids from being interested, and probably a team full of girls.
Coaching young kids requires learning how to create this balance. Most coaches who are successful with young kids probably begin very organized, and then learn where chaos can be allowed within a practice. I was the opposite, my practices were chaotic and I learned how to grab their attention with bringing up the desire to be better. I then went on to learn how to organize the workouts better. I began differently though, as I had very little training on how to run a workout, but rather some basic guidelines.
Best thing is to create boundaries. They are never allowed to cross those boundaries. A little playing around is allowed as long as they are within the boundaries. As the groups progess in ability, the more structure there needs to be, and the learning the discipline aspects of the sport that will benefit them in the pool.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday's Main Set
So this year I have decided to be a little different. I always do aerobic work, but this time I am doing it differently than I have in previous years. I felt like I was guilty of possibly not getting enough aerobic into my groups workouts, so I am trying to increase the aerobic work for my group who is in that really important stage where aerobic work is very important to their swimming, and long term success.
I did a test set where the swimmers swam 9 x 200 freestyle. I had one group swim it on the 3:30 and another group on the 3:20 (pretty sure the interval will get slightly faster the next time I do the set).
The 200's were swam with different a emphasis on each one:
#1 = Pace
#2 = Pace
#3 = Negative Split
#4 = Pace
#5 = Pace
#6 = Negative Split
#7 = Pace
#8 = Pace
#9 = FAST for Time
I managed to catch a few on each of the negative split 200's to catch honesty to the set. I had most of them doing a negative split, but a few were even splits, which showed that they were trying they were just a little off.
The Fast 200, I recorded the times of all the swimmers. The results were interesting. I felt like most were good, but there were a few bad ones. A few were really good though. We have a meet this weekend, which I believe many of them are swimming the 200 Free. I look forward to seeing how they translate. It's hard to compare to best times, as most are from so long ago. I tried comparing to Long Course Conversion, but I have never been a fan of any conversion time.
Next time, the interval will be faster, as I realized the pace 200's need a little less rest between them. It was a good set for my group, as they are not used to sets like this one. Interested in seeing how the extra aerobic this season translates to the races.
I did a test set where the swimmers swam 9 x 200 freestyle. I had one group swim it on the 3:30 and another group on the 3:20 (pretty sure the interval will get slightly faster the next time I do the set).
The 200's were swam with different a emphasis on each one:
#1 = Pace
#2 = Pace
#3 = Negative Split
#4 = Pace
#5 = Pace
#6 = Negative Split
#7 = Pace
#8 = Pace
#9 = FAST for Time
I managed to catch a few on each of the negative split 200's to catch honesty to the set. I had most of them doing a negative split, but a few were even splits, which showed that they were trying they were just a little off.
The Fast 200, I recorded the times of all the swimmers. The results were interesting. I felt like most were good, but there were a few bad ones. A few were really good though. We have a meet this weekend, which I believe many of them are swimming the 200 Free. I look forward to seeing how they translate. It's hard to compare to best times, as most are from so long ago. I tried comparing to Long Course Conversion, but I have never been a fan of any conversion time.
Next time, the interval will be faster, as I realized the pace 200's need a little less rest between them. It was a good set for my group, as they are not used to sets like this one. Interested in seeing how the extra aerobic this season translates to the races.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
The Before Practice
It was the part I remember so much. The time before practice. Showing up 15 minutes early, and playing a game when we were younger. Un-organized and slightly chaotic, but it was fun. As we got older it became the time where you could socialize with your teammates and do a little stretching before the workout. It was where many memories were made and friendships developed. It wasn't a long time, but it was just enough before we went to work in the workout.
Some days I watch my swimmers as they are in the grassy area at Rancho-Simi, or the other day they were just outside the gate. All of them socializing or playing. It is just pure play, nothing to tell you what you have to do. Games that are based of being fair even though there isn't someone watching over the rules.
I feel like this time is so important. Some days I give them a few extra minutes for this time. I am letting stragglers come in, and not miss something, but many times I am just watching as my swimmers are continuing this part of creating friendships in swimming. It will be these people who later on will be your teammates that you suffer through hard stenuous workouts. They are the ones that you will create an even stronger bond with, as they can relate to the pain of main set, or an all out swim.
Trying to allow some chaos at this time, and then asking for their attention during the workout portion. It gives them that time to grow with their teammates without being a part of the organized workout. I feel like it is important, and I am so glad to see it in my swimmers.
Some days I watch my swimmers as they are in the grassy area at Rancho-Simi, or the other day they were just outside the gate. All of them socializing or playing. It is just pure play, nothing to tell you what you have to do. Games that are based of being fair even though there isn't someone watching over the rules.
I feel like this time is so important. Some days I give them a few extra minutes for this time. I am letting stragglers come in, and not miss something, but many times I am just watching as my swimmers are continuing this part of creating friendships in swimming. It will be these people who later on will be your teammates that you suffer through hard stenuous workouts. They are the ones that you will create an even stronger bond with, as they can relate to the pain of main set, or an all out swim.
Trying to allow some chaos at this time, and then asking for their attention during the workout portion. It gives them that time to grow with their teammates without being a part of the organized workout. I feel like it is important, and I am so glad to see it in my swimmers.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Taking the Time to Talk
This season I am back coaching little swimmers. It's fun; it's frustrating; it takes a whole lot of patience; and I am really enjoying it. Our practices with this group is only one hour, and we do a 10 - 15 minutes in the beginning to do dryland and put in lane lines, so we don't have a whole lot of time, but that is very normal for beginning groups.
It is overwhelming in the beginning because there is so much you want them to learn, and you know you need to teach them enough that the parents feel like they are getting something out of it. Let's face it, at this level it is winning over the parents as much as it is winning over the swimmer. To take some extra time away from the water can be very hard to do as a coach because you know you are already limited, but it something that can really help get practices running better.
So, we did our first six weeks, which were crazy for these groups. I began with fundamentals, which if viewed by a regular person, seem like I am not really teaching them competitive strokes, but really it is teaching beginning aspects that will benefit them later. Then I moved to stroke construction, along with skill work. Kids were joining throughout this time, and some even left in this short amount of time, so the group was very inconsistent. Now, I am starting this next phase with my new formed group, as I feel like I weeded out some that were never going to make it anyways.
First practice, after dryland I took the group and sat them down, and talked to them for 6 - 8 minutes. I talked about training and learning as group. Developing to become better can help those around you. Talked about how the worst thing they can do is distract from another person trying to succeed. It's one thing to not push yourself, but it is completely different to get in the way of someone else. I talked about leaving in the correct order, so that there is less people catching up to one another. (This is never perfect at this level, but the idea that it is better for them to leave in the right order at least makes it a little more organized.)
My group has swimmers as young as 7, but the talked was good. Practice has been a little less chaotic. Of course, there was a whole mess of kids who missed the talk, but I'll just have to do the talk again later (I'll probably only talk about one thing at a time in the future, so it takes just a minute or so). I know they are young, and they may not completely grasp everything we are trying to get across in a talk like that, but it may pay off a lot.
It is worth a few minutes for a more efficient practice in the future. They all understand now that I want them to know how to practice before they move up. One swimmer even asked about move-ups, and I explained that I didn't care how fast they got, if they didn't know how to practice, then there was no reason to be moved up. The few minutes was so worth it.
It is overwhelming in the beginning because there is so much you want them to learn, and you know you need to teach them enough that the parents feel like they are getting something out of it. Let's face it, at this level it is winning over the parents as much as it is winning over the swimmer. To take some extra time away from the water can be very hard to do as a coach because you know you are already limited, but it something that can really help get practices running better.
So, we did our first six weeks, which were crazy for these groups. I began with fundamentals, which if viewed by a regular person, seem like I am not really teaching them competitive strokes, but really it is teaching beginning aspects that will benefit them later. Then I moved to stroke construction, along with skill work. Kids were joining throughout this time, and some even left in this short amount of time, so the group was very inconsistent. Now, I am starting this next phase with my new formed group, as I feel like I weeded out some that were never going to make it anyways.
First practice, after dryland I took the group and sat them down, and talked to them for 6 - 8 minutes. I talked about training and learning as group. Developing to become better can help those around you. Talked about how the worst thing they can do is distract from another person trying to succeed. It's one thing to not push yourself, but it is completely different to get in the way of someone else. I talked about leaving in the correct order, so that there is less people catching up to one another. (This is never perfect at this level, but the idea that it is better for them to leave in the right order at least makes it a little more organized.)
My group has swimmers as young as 7, but the talked was good. Practice has been a little less chaotic. Of course, there was a whole mess of kids who missed the talk, but I'll just have to do the talk again later (I'll probably only talk about one thing at a time in the future, so it takes just a minute or so). I know they are young, and they may not completely grasp everything we are trying to get across in a talk like that, but it may pay off a lot.
It is worth a few minutes for a more efficient practice in the future. They all understand now that I want them to know how to practice before they move up. One swimmer even asked about move-ups, and I explained that I didn't care how fast they got, if they didn't know how to practice, then there was no reason to be moved up. The few minutes was so worth it.
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