Realize that we use the word plateau and not peak. Plateau is a flat period for time drop with the intention that you will resume progression. Many times this means there is a need for a change. Most of the time it is a mental change. A willingness to push outside your comfort zone is typical one. A swimmer can work hard, and then feel like the hard work they did was going to make them get faster beyond that one surge of improvement. The swimmer then trains at a similar level rather than challenge new harder sets in the next season. Willingness to rest more may be another mental block. Those workers of the group feel like they can rest too much, or who train on their own when their coach says take a few days off. For many it is hard to fathom that it is hard for people to take a break, but in the midst of a plateau it can be very frustrating and the last thing you can imagine to make you better is an extra day off or some more rest days in your micro cycle of training.
In younger swimmers, a plateau can occur when they have maxed out their current stroke. This means they need to make a stroke adjustment for future success. This is very hard process, as many times they have had success with their stroke, and now they must go through a 3 - 6 month period of swimming slower with their new stroke before reaping the rewards. Perseverance, it is the ultimate characteristic of a good swimmer.
The most important concept is that plateaus are not a negative thing. If approaching plateaus as part of the process to long term success, then the swimmer will be better off. More pressure is the worse thing as it leads to anxiety that makes perseverance more difficult.
We teach life lessons through a fairly superficial medium. It is a great way to learn these lessons rather than in aspects of life that will affect their entire life. As adults who have lived life, we all know that there are hard times and rough patches. Learning to deal with these times to come out better on the other side. Is this not what a plateau in swimming really is? Don't panic as a parent or coach, but try to guide them through as they learn that continued work and change is what helps them become better at the end of a rough period of time. Submitting, quitting, and unwillingness to embrace change; are things that will only allow them to accept a plateau as a result and creating it into a peak. They must be helped by the adults in their lives on how to not panic and persevere to something greater.
