What it looks like... when you enter the water properly from a dive

When executed properly, a racing dive should take a swimmer through one “hole” in the water. Imagine yourself diving through a donut floating on the surface of the water. Watch this slow-motion example and watch the three stages of entry take place (the small circle represents where the swimmer will enter, and will not move.)

1. As the swimmer is about to enter the water, her hands are perfectly streamlined. Fingertips are touching the water in the center of the circle, the head is tucked between the arms, and the body is ready to “knife” into the water.
2. As the swimmer begins to enter the water to the shoulder, her head has entered the water in the same place as her hands, and she has lifted her legs to angle them toward the “hole”. Her momentum is carrying her entire body straight toward the circle.
3. The swimmers fingers, wrists, elbows, head, shoulders and hips have all entered the water in the same place, and her legs, ankles and feet follow into this same hole. Notice how her toes are pointed. This is the last thing you must do as your body enters the water. The smaller the splash, the better!

What it looks like... when you achieve your dreams

It is my absolute favorite moment at the swim meet. The swimmer has put years of his life, thousands of hours of pain and fatigue, and every bit of his hopes and dreams into this moment. He has trained with this moment in mind, doing everything he can to make this moment turn out the way he planned. When the swimmer touches the wall and turns to look at the clock, he sees an instant verdict . He has either succeeded or failed, won or lost. This moment alone defines the million other moments of preparation. And when it arrives, this moment is as pure as they come. The emotions burst forth in their true form. This is what it looks like...when you achieve your dreams.

Every Practice a Competition

Have you ever tried training all by yourself? Did you feel motivated and find it easy to push yourself? If you are like most swimmers, you find a solitary training environment to be more difficult. Conversely, having a strong team around you can make you better.

Your teammates can be one of the most influential forces in pushing you upward toward swimming excellence. In fact, you should compete with them every day. It will make you improve, it will make your teammate improve, and it will make your whole team improve. On each and every set, pick out a teammate to race. Every lap, try to make your turn faster than the person next to you. Take fewer strokes than your teammate, or try to dominate your practice partner coming off the wall. Find ways to make every practice a competition, and soon you will be swimming to new heights!

What it looks like... when you use proper head position in breaststroke.

One of the most common technical errors swimmers make in breaststroke involves head position. Inefficient breaststrokers commonly lift and drop their head over and over with each and every stroke. Obviously, your head will rise and fall as your torso rises and falls through the stroke. What needs to stay constant is the angle at which you hold your head.

To keep your head at the correct angle, be sure that your eyes are always looking forward and down. Rebecca Soni, who won the Olympic Gold in the 200 breast in Beijing, demonstrates perfect head position in the photo shown here. Her eyes are focused on the water out in front of her hands, not on the wall at the other end of the pool.

Steady head position means steady body position. Steady body position means less drag and more speed!

Recipe for "Ear Beer"

Perhaps the most common medical issue afflicting swimmers is Swimmer's Ear, an outer ear infection. It is caused by excessive moisture in the outer ear, and can lead to a more serious inner ear infection and time away from practice if not treated.

The good news is that "Swimmer's Ear" can be prevented by using a simple solution I call "Ear Beer." Here is the recipe:


In a small dropper bottle like the one at left, mix equal parts rubbing alcohol and white vinegar. Shake. After each swim practice, place 2-3 drops in your ear, let sit for 10 seconds, and pour out on a paper towel. Then use a hair dryer or locker room hand dryer to dry out your ear. Repeat for the opposite ear.

Ear Beer is nearly 100% guaranteed. Be sure to make some, stick it in your swim bag, and use it after every practice! Don't forget to take it to meets - you are at a higher risk for Swimmer's Ear when you swim in a different pool!

The Big Small Things: Choosing the Right Water Bottle

This post is the first in a series highlighting so-called "small things" that you can do to make a difference in your swimming performance.

Today's small thing is the type of water bottle you choose to bring to practice. We all have heard how important staying hydrated is. Consider this:

• If you begin a workout dehydrated, your performance will suffer. Your muscles and other systems need water to function optimally. Without water, you can't perform at your best!
  
• If you become dehydrated during a workout, your body will have difficulty adapting to the training you have done. You get physically stronger only when your body recovers after training. This means that all of the hard work you do won't be as effective at helping you improve if you get dehydrated during practice!
• If you are dehydrated after practice your recovery is affected and could impact your performance in the next workout. This begins a cycle of training and lack of recovery which is detrimental to your physiology.

So you can see the importance of being and staying hydrated. Now what you might not have considered is the impact that a small thing like the type of water bottle you use has on how much you drink.

This Gatorade bottle is commonly used at practice, yet it is less than ideal. It only contains 20 ounces of fluid, which is not nearly enough for practices that range from 90 minutes to 3 hours in duration. This means that for a swimmer to be optimally hydrated, he has to refill the bottle during practice. There may not be time for this in the workout, or a swimmer may not want to make the effort to refill it. Not only that, but it has a screw on lid, meaning a swimmer needs at least 30 seconds to take it off, take a sip, and screw it back on. In a distance set with many repeats on a tight interval, there may not be time to do this!

This green Gatorade bottle is much better for your typical swim practice for two reasons. First, it holds 32 ounces, which is a good rule-of-thumb minimum for swim practice. Second, it is a squeezable, allowing the swimmer to take in 3-4 ounces in a matter of seconds. Both of these qualities mean a busy, hard-training swimmer is much more likely to hydrate appropriately.


It seems like a small thing, but the water bottle you choose can have a significant impact on how well-hydrated you are. The amount of fluid you have available and the ease of getting it can make a huge difference. Do this "small thing" right to make your training pay off to the max!

Featured Drill: Advanced Trampoline Drill for Turns

Today's featured drill is designed to improve a swimmer's turns and underwater dolphin kicking, and is particularly effective for freestyle flip turns. It is an extension on a drill I first learned from Paul Yetter, coach of Katie Hoff. It is complicated, so let me outline the steps for you:

1. The swimmer kicks toward the wall, face down in a streamlined position.
2. The swimmer pikes and dives toward the bottom (works best in a 6-10 foot-deep pool).
3. When approaching the bottom, the swimmer tucks, flips, and pushes off the bottom vertically toward the surface.
4. Facing the wall as he surfaces, the swimmer throws his upper body into a fast flip turn off the wall.
5. Dolphin kicking fast off the wall, the swimmer takes two strokes into a phantom turn just in front of a pvc pipe (this will be a topic for a future blog) stretched across the lane.
6. The swimmer immediately starts kicking back toward the wall, and then breaks into a sprint for a few cycles before throwing himself into another fast turn (the swimmer in the video actually peforms an open turn here).
7. Dolphin kicking hard off the wall, the swimmer streamlines out past the pvc pipe and sprints to the opposite end.

Watch one of our swimmers perform the drill in video below:

Moving Up: The Parent Transition

"Moving up" is an important experience in the life of a swimmer. When a swimmer is old enough, has shown a sufficient level of commitment, and has improved his skills to a new level, he will be invited to "move up" into the next training group. The invitation is an honor, a sign that the coaching staff believes the swimmer is ready to take his performance to new heights.

Moving up often means increases in commitment, training time, the difficulty of practices, and a new group of teammates to train with. Each of these aspects of the move-up can present challenges. Thus, the swimmer will need the support of his parents. This brings us to our topic: The Parent Transition.

When your swimmer moves from one group to the next, you as a parent must also make a transition. These changes include:

• Increasing your own level of commitment. Your swimmer will likely be expected to practice MORE OFTEN. At NCAC, our groups are set up so that each group practices for a longer duration more frequently than the group below it. At the senior level, this means that your swimmer may now be expected to attend morning practices. This of course means that you may have to drive!
• Adjusting your expectations for your swimmer's performance. Generally speaking, as swimmers get older they swim best times by smaller margins with less frequency. For instance, 10-year-old Johnny drops 6 seconds in the 100 free every meet all season long. When Johnny is 16, his goal may be to drop 3 seconds in the entire season. This may not happen immediately when a swimmer moves up, but with increased levels of training, he may be more fatigued and have a more difficult time swimming fast during the season. Rest assured, if he is working hard, the coaches are preparing him to swim faster than ever.
• Being willing to travel more often and for longer distances. For younger swimmers, we often don't have to travel outside of the Triangle area to find competition to challenge our swimmers. As swimmers get older and reach more elite levels in our sport (particularly the Sectional level and beyond), it will become necessary to travel further for meets. Regional and National meets are usually held in locations outside of North Carolina, and we want to find new competition and faster competition to continue to challenge our swimmers. Think of the story of the Japanese koi fish. When kept in small ponds, they don't grow particularly large. When set free to larger bodies of water, they grow to much greater lengths. In order for our swimmers to become "big fish" we must expose them to the "ocean" of competition that exists outside of our North Carolina pond.
• Taking a step back and encouraging your swimmer to take ownership. Often, young 10 & under swimmers are motivated to swim fast in order to make their parents proud. As swimmers progress into the early teens, this motivation dries up and a swimmer must be motivated from within by his own desire to succeed. He also must learn to take responsibility for all aspects of his swimming. For instance, a 12-year-old should be packing his own swim bag, and a teenager should be waking himself up for morning practice. With increased responsibility comes increased ownership and a stronger internal drive to succeed.

Making The Parent Transition is a vital part of a swimmer's growth and development from novice to age grouper, from age grouper to senior swimmer, and from senior swimmer to elite champion.

What does it mean to be "on time?"

Much to my chagrin, I frequently observe swimmers walking into the pool area just a minute shy of the start time. Strolling in, they chat with friends and take their time walking in. No wonder that they are surprised when I tell them they are late.

In my opinion, being "on-time" is not:

• Entering the pool area before practice starts
• Being behind the blocks before people get in the water
• Asking the coach the instructions once other swimmers are in the water
• Getting wet before any other swimmer finishes warm-up
• Being the last person in the water
  

Being "on-time" is:

• Arriving at the pool at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start of practice
• Using the restroom and having all training equipment ready to go
  
• Getting changed and to your practice area 5 minutes before practice starts
• Having your cap and goggles on when the instructions for the warm-up set are given
• Hitting the water 1 minute before the scheduled start of practice!

The Top Ten Worst Excuses I have heard for being late to practice:
1. I thought practice started at ___(two hours ago)__.
2. I got pulled over for speeding and my car got searched.
3. I had to park too far away.
4. I had to stop at Starbucks.
5. My alarm didn't go off. (a.k.a "I forgot to set it")
6. I had to take the dog for a walk.
7. I had to help an old lady cross the street.
8. My mom forgot to pack my ______. (Said by a 17-year-old)
9. I couldn't decide whether or not to come to practice.
10. What time is it?

What Muscles Do We Use to Swim?

Here is a fun and interesting video I found on YouTube. It is a computer model of a person swimming each of the four strokes. The muscles light up purple whenever they are activated or used. This was developed by a Dr. Nakashima at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. I am not sure how this was created or what methods were used to determine when certain muscles are activated, but it is interesting to look at nonetheless. One thing to notice - look at how often the abs light up in each stroke - see, dryland really is important!

Another Reason Why Swimming Rules

I just finished watching the women's uneven bar finals from Beijing, and the now perfunctory commentary from Bela Karolyi about the unfair and ridiculous scoring procedures. This week there have been countless occasions where the scoring system seems to be unequally applied to some gymnasts, and NBC has been quick to bring up situations where an American athlete has been shortchanged.

To me the essence of sport is that the winners and losers are determined solely by the actions of the participants. It seems that in gymnastics this is many times not the case. Instead, the outcome is determined by the supposedly objective but truly subjective opinion.

Thank goodness that we will never have this problem in our sport. We have the clock, which never lies. Though it can be a cruel taskmaster, the clock is the most honest tool we can have to evaluate our performance. The time you swim is the time you earn. Nobody else can change it or affect it. No one can take it away. That is the beauty of swimming.

The Six Truths of Fast Swimming - Truth #5

Myth #5 of Fast Swimming: "That little technical thing won't make a difference."
The 5th Truth of Fast Swimming: "The little things ARE the big things."

First, there is no such thing as a 'little thing.' Drag is a huge factor in determining swimming speed, and each small technical adjustment can have an impact. Not only that, but a bunch of these small technical adjustments can add up to so much more.

Think about the last time you saw a penny on the ground. Was it worth picking up? Would you have been more likely to pick it up if it was a nickel? How about a dollar? What if every time you walked down the street, there was a penny, and every day you picked it up? Eventually, you would begin to accumulate enough money to be able to purchase something of value.

As swimmers and coaches, we sometimes get stuck in this "penny on the sidewalk" mentality, one that says the changes we can make are so small as to be insignificant. But the truth is that it is the sum of these changes that make a difference. Thus we must strive daily to make small incremental improvements. Some days, we may be able to make a dollar's worth of improvement. Other days, just a penny. But if we strive for improvement each and every day, the sum will be well worth the effort.

What it looks like when... you breathe low on butterfly

The world's top butterfly swimmer of the last several years is of course Michael Phelps. While he does some things that are unconventional that may not be right for age group swimmers to duplicate, he does one thing in particular very well which often goes unnoticed. He breathes very low to the water, keeping his chin scraping right along the surface of the water. You can see what I mean by this in the top picture. This is very important in butterfly. By doing this, Phelps eliminates any unnecessary up-and-down motion, which cuts down on his drag.

Many young swimmers make a mistake (like the swimmer in the bottom picture) by coming up too high out of the water to breathe. Because they are tired and concerned about getting enough air, these swimmers breathe high. This requires extra work and in turn makes them get tired more quickly and need more air, beginning a cycle that is nearly impossible to break.
To make your butterfly as fast and efficient as possible, be sure to breathe low to the water. You can do this by keeping the following things in mind:

1. Use your hips and legs to make the dolphin motion -- don't pick your head up and down.
2. Focus on pushing your forehead toward the other end of the pool, even when you aren't breathing.
3. Snap your kick as you push yourself forward to breathe.
4. Use your hands to push water backwards rather than down!

What it looks like when...you have a perfect streamline

It may be the simplest of all swimming skills, yet one that most swimmers have not yet perfected. It is STREAMLINING.

This picture is of Natalie Coughlin, the world record holder in the 100 backstroke and a member of the U.S. Olympic Team this summer. She may be the world's best underwater dolphin kicker, in part because she has a near-flawless streamline.

To make your streamline like Natalie’s, be sure to do these things:

1. Place one wrist on top of the other, and wrap your top thumb around the bottom hand to hold it secure.

2. Stretch your arms overhead and lock your elbows.

3. Squeeze your ears with your biceps while keeping your head and neck straight.

4. Lengthen your spine with very straight posture.

5. Squeeze your butt cheeks together as you push off the wall.

6. Point your toes and kick like crazy!

Here's Hoping for Beijing

In almost exactly one week, the world's greatest athletes will gather as the Olympic flame is ignited at the Bird's Nest in Beijing. As a swimming coach, an sports enthusiast, and simply as a human being I find the Olympics to be the most exciting, inspiring and interesting sporting event there is. So here are my hopes for the 2008 Olympic Games:

• That the Games are peaceful like Athens and Sydney
• That they have a long-term positive effect on human rights in China and improve relations between the most populous country in history and its global neighbors
  
• That we hear more about the athletes and their stories of sacrifice and determination than about who might be cheating.
• That the cheaters will be caught before they get to stand on the medal podium.
• That team USA dominates in the pool.
• That Michael Phelps gets his eight gold medals. Nothing could be better for our sport.
  
• That someone (preferably an American) beats Michael Phelps in something. Just to keep it interesting.
• That we get to see a tearful playing of the Star-Spangled Banner for an athlete nobody thought would win.
• That our athletes who win will do so with humility and those who lose do so with grace.
• That Lebron James and company have at least one competitive game on their way to the gold medal in men's basketball.
• That somewhere in that 2,900 hours of live coverage (more than that of all the previous Games combined) I remember to sleep.

The Future is Now

A huge part of a coach's job is to evaluate our swimmers' technique and make corrections. One thing that some age group coaches fail to keep in mind is that we shouldn't be correcting a swimmer's stroke to make him faster NOW, but rather guiding his technical progress so that he can succeed in reaching his potential in the long term.

One illustration of the importance of this concept can be seen in the video below. The swimmer in the video is a distance freestyler, and she was fantastic as a 10 & Under. Later in her career as a senior swimmer, she is still quite good but improved only marginally since the age of 12.

Notice how her stroke is extremely short and choppy. As a 10 year-old, she used this stroke and her coach actually encouraged it. This technique was reinforced as she steamrolled the competition and beat everyone her age. No need to change, right? Wrong.
Had her coach begun to emphasize stroke length, kicking, and reducing drag, I believe she might have continued to improve infinitely into her teens. Instead, she became stuck with her technique and stuck at a particular speed. In a future post, I will discuss this further from a coaching standpoint.

The Six Truths of Fast Swimming - Truth #4

The 4th Myth of Fast Swimming: "Swimming is an individual sport."
The 4th Truth of Fast Swimming: "The fastest swimming is often performed by athletes who surround themselves with excellence."

To realize this truth, you have to look no further than the current state of swimming in the United States. Look at the success of North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which has placed a 15-year old on each of the last four U.S. Olympic teams. They have established a tradition of success that breeds more achievement today.

Look at the results for Olympic Trials - how many of the top swimmers are the lone standout on their teams? Not many. Most are part of programs that routinely develop swimmers to the highest levels, creating a culture of excellence.

Success in our sport occurs in clumps. Talented, hardworking athletes tend to train together and reach new levels together. Train hard to be the best you can be, and encourage your teammates to do the same. Together, you can push each other to new heights!

Why Should My Child Be a Swimmer?

Swimming is a terrific sport for people of all ages and backgrounds. We are glad you are considering participating in this sport which so many are so passionate about. Here are just a few reasons why swimming is a great sport.

1. Swimming is an outstanding activity for young people.

2. Swimming promotes fitness and teaches a child to strive for physical achievement. Many super-stars in other sports started out as swimmers and gained strength and coordination that helped them to excel.

3. Swimming is an exciting individual and team sport.

4. Swimming is a technical and specialized activity involving extensive skill development.

5. Swimming is a healthy "lifetime" activity. Participants may be 1 or 101 years old.

6. Swimming is relatively injury-free in comparison to other youth sports.

7. Swimming teaches the life lessons of sport and sportsmanship which include learning to deal with winning and losing, as well as working with officials, teammates and coaches.

8. Swimming motivates participants to strive for self improvement and teaches goal orientation.

9. Swimming cultivates a positive mental attitude and high self-esteem.

10. Swimming can prevent drowning. Learning to swim could save your child's life or help him save another's life in the future.

Did you know?

• Drowning is a leading killer of American children.

• In ethnic communities, drowning rates are nearly three times the national average.

• More than 30% of kids are at risk for obesity-related illnesses.

SWIMMING IS A CURE.

To find out more about how to join the North Carolina Aquatic Club, click here

More Tidbits from Omaha

With a bit more time to digest the Trials and crank out a few stats, here are a few more things for you to chew on.

The youngest female swimmer to make the top-16: 13 year-old Madison White from Crow Canyon Sharks. She was 12th in the women's 200 back, qualifying for a spot on the World Junior Team.

Interestingly, the next two youngest females to achieve this distinction were also in the backstroke events: 14 year-olds Elizabeth Pelton from North Baltimore in the 100 back and Bonnie Brandon from Mission Aurora in the 200 back. Topping that, the highest ranking 15 year-old female was Elizabeth Beisel, the backstroke specialist who made the team in the 200 back and 400 IM. This is too much to be coincidence. I would have expected this to happen in the breaststroke, in the tradition of Amanda Beard, Megan Quann and other young stars in that stroke. Can anybody suggest a reason why this may occur in backstroke events?

The youngest male swimmer to make the top 16? Nick D'Innocenzo, 17 from Magnus Aquatic Group was 15th in the 200 IM. The next two behind him, Austin Surhoff from North Baltimore and Andrew Gemmel from Deleware both also placed in IM events.

So what about the youngest competitors at the meet? There were 10 thirteen year-old women who made a total of 18 cuts, but no male competitor younger than 15 made the field. The four 15 year-old men who did qualify for Omaha all swam the mile.

Average age of all competitors: 19.73 years
Average age of all male competitors: 20.75 years
Average age of all female competitors: 18.79 years

The events with the youngest average age for men: 1500 free, 200 free, and 400 free
The events with the youngest average age for women: 200 back, 100 back, 400 IM
See the entire list of average age by event here

Number of male competitors 25 & Over: 39 (7 made the Olympic team)
Number of female competitors 25 & Over: 14 (4 made the Olympic team)

A little-known fascinating story I heard on deck in Omaha: Vladimir Pyshnenko, who is also a coach at Northbrook Spartan Swim Club was competing in the Trials for a fourth different national body: the Soviet Union (1988), the Unified Team (1992), Russia (1996), and now as a naturalized citizen here in the U.S. in 2008. He's not bad either: he owns a Gold medal from 1992 in the 4 x 200 free relay and a silver from 1996 in the 4 x 100 free relay.

The Best 18 & Unders in the Country?

Olympic Trials is the fastest meet conducted on American soil every 4 years. Though the meet is unscored, it is an interesting exercise to score the meet for all 18 & Under swimmers to see which programs are tops in the country at developing their swimmers to an elite level. I have broken it down event-by-event and will post the final team results in the summary chart when the meet concludes.

Summary Chart- Total points and Totals by Gender

18 & Under Only Results:

Event 1 M 400 IM
Event 2 W 100 Fly
Event 3 M 400 Free
Event 4 W 400 IM
Event 5 M 100 Breast
Event 6 W 100 Back
Event 7 M 200 Free
Event 8 W 100 Breast
Event 9 M 100 Back
Event 10 W 400 Free
Event 11 W 200 Free
Event 12 M 200 Fly
Event 13 W 200 IM
Event 14 M 100 Free
Event 15 W 200 Fly
Event 16 M 200 Breast
Event 17 W 100 Free
Event 18 M 200 Back
Event 19 W 200 Breast
Event 20 M 200 IM
Event 21 M 50 Free
Event 22 W 800 Free
Event 23 M 100 Fly
Event 24 W 200 Back
Event 25 W 50 Free
Event 26 M 1500 Free

Observations from the Olympic Trials

It has been an exciting last week in the world of American swimming. After being in Omaha for part of the meet and watching the rest of it, here are a few of my observations.
- The venue and location seemed to be a big hit. USA Swimming, the Qwest Center did a spectacular job putting on the meet. The exciting atmosphere no doubt contributed to helping our swimmers go fast.
- The meet has become extremely fast. Times that were good enough for top 8 at the 2007 World Champs weren't good enough for top 16 at the trials in some cases.
- In my opinion, there are three major reasons for this. First, there are so many more post-collegiate swimmers competing. Increased money in the sport and more collegiate coaches who are willing and able to coach post-collegians have made the field faster. Opportunities after college have allowed athletes to continue to train and compete at a time when their bodies are capable of higher levels of performance (especially men in their late twenties). With the cutting of college swimming programs, will this trend continue?
- The effect of these post-collegians is that the cuts have become fast enough that fewer "club swimmers" achieve them. This is particularly the case on the men's side, where fewer than ten under-18 swimmers even qualified for some events.
- The "Dara Torres effect" on the women's field has been real. There is a growing number of women over 25 who are startlingly fit competing. I suspect that for physiological reasons this effect will never be as great as that on the men's field. We will likely always have 14, 15, and 16 year-old women swimming fast, particularly in the breaststroke and distance events.
- USA Swimming must be cognizant of this effect on the men's field and the filter-down effects that it has. Many of today's late-twenties men have been competing at the national and Olympic Trials level since they were in their late teens. By looking at the 18 & Under standings in my previous post, you can see that fewer of today's best 15-17 year-old men are getting this opportunity. The current developmental gaps between local meets, sectionals, junior nationals, and nationals must be plugged to ensure that our talented young athletes have sufficient encouraging opportunities along the way to be sure that they don't leave swimming for another sport.
- The second major reason I see for the Trials field improvement is the advent of the drag-reducing suits that we have seen in the past 8-10 years. First, these suits help everyone go faster. Second, the revenues these suits have produced for the manufacturers have come back to the sport in the form of more opportunities that I mentioned above. Third, these suits level the playing field between younger and older athletes. Our older swimmers tend toward the sprints, and it is possible that the new suits also provide a measure of buoyancy that helps offset any deficit of power or endurance that a swimmer in his mid-to-late thirties might have.
- The third major reason is simply that our coaches and athletes are doing a better job. We are aspiring to bigger and better things, becoming more knowledgeable, sharing our ideas more, and training harder and smarter than ever before. There is no doubt in my mind that the work of Russell Mark, Jonty Skinner, Genadijus Sokolovas, Dave Thomas and the rest of the team at USA swimming are in part responsible for this.
- A few images that will stick in my mind from these trials: Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff, Aaron Peirsol, and the remarkable ability they have to ALWAYS get their hand on the wall first. The second-greatest swimmer of all time Ryan Lochte stalking Peirsol and Phelps so closely that he is sure to pull at least one upset in Beijing. Elizabeth Beisel lighting up the meet with Olympic berths in the 400 IM and 200 back. The likely retirement swims of terrific champions Gary Hall, Kaitlin Sandeno, and many others. And of course, that peculiar green waterfall.

10 Steps to Better Underwater Dolphin Kicking.

It may be the single-most important skill in swimming today. Here's how you can maximize your underwaters:
1. Improve your ankle flexibility. Often overlooked, your ankles are the link between the final two segments of your leg that perform the whipping motion of a great dolphin kick.
2. Work on the “back kick” or kicking symmetrically in both directions. Most athletes accelerate their kick only as their feet move toward the front (I call this the front kick). The great underwater kickers accelerate the kick in both directions for maximum forward propulsion.
3. Improve your hamstring and glute strength. In order to do the “back kick” for maximum benefit, you will need to make these muscles stronger. The hamstrings are often weak in those who do not have a strong back kick.
4. Kick from the torso. Don’t just bend and flex at the hip and knee joints. Get your spine and torso involved.
5. Improve your thoracic flexibility. The dolphin motion should begin in your torso and travel toward your toes. If your thoracic region (think the part of your spine where your ribs are attached) can’t bend to begin this motion, your dolphin kick will be less effective.
6. Watch yourself on video. Then watch the person on your team who is best at dolphin kicking. What are they doing that you are not?
7. Count your kicks. How many kicks does it take for you to get to the 15m mark? To go 25 yards? Does it change whether you go fast or slow? Find out this information to tell whether or not you are improving.
8. Practice streamlining at high speeds using a stretch cord. Get used to feeling water move over your streamline at high speeds. Try dolphin kicking without adding drag while being pulled.
9. Improve your core strength. Your six-pack might look good, but do you have the strength and endurance to kick fast underwater during a race?
10. Make your legs stronger. It’s simple. The stronger your legs, the harder you can kick.

The Virtue of Failure

One of the trends of the last several decades often lamented by coaches in many youth sports is that parents and administrators have become consumed with making sure that each and every child NEVER experiences failure. I spoke to one coach recently who told me about his son's little league baseball experience. Apparently, it takes four strikes to strike out. If a child does strike out, he still gets to go stand on first base. That way he FEELS successful. Though this may seem paradoxical, I can think of few things that we as coaches could do that would harm our athletes more than not allowing them to fail. Failure can be a tremendous learning experience. Failure is often the building blocks for future success. If a child never fails, how does he know when he is successful?

The senior swimmers I coach will tell you that they fail in practice frequently. If they didn't, I probably wouldn't be asking enough of them. It is on that border at the edge between CAN and CAN'T that an athlete finds out the stuff of which he is made. This is where he explores his abilities and summons his motivation to push himself to new heights. Being on this edge is how he learns to do what it takes to excel in life.

Check out this video from YouTube about some incredible successes who began as failures:


Failure is vital to an athlete's development of the characteristics that it takes to be successful. Failing helps define success. As the valley is deep, so is the mountain high.

The Six Truths of Swimming - Truth #3

The third myth was: "This is just practice, I will do it correctly/faster in the race."

The third truth: You will race how you train. Your preparation will determine your results.

There is a reason while we call it practice. We are rehearsing what we want to do at the race, preparing our skills, and improving our fitness. If we were only doing the last of these, we would merely call it training.

When an actor is preparing for a broadway musical, he prepares methodically, rehearsing the production in parts. He repeats each line exactly as he hopes to perform it in the show. Not once does he allow himself to make up the lines as he goes or allow himself to perform them incorrectly. Doing so would encourage him to make the same error when he is performing in front of the audience.

We must take the same approach with our swimming technique. We must strictly avoid doing things incorrectly and always be exploring ways to perform better. We must visualize the championship meet performance that we seek and strive to prepare precisely for that. The great performance can only be preceded by careful preparation. Strive to practice correctly and prepare precisely to swim the race you dreamed.

The Six Truths of Fast Swimming - Truth #2

The second myth was:"That swimmer is fast because he/she is just talented."

The corresponding second truth: You have inside of you right now what it takes to be a champion.

That's right. You already possess the mental and physical abilities to achieve your swimming dreams. These qualities have been present in you since birth and have been molded by your parents, your coaches, and your individual actions and choices. From now forward, it is your future actions and the choices you will make that determine the heights to which you will ascend.

You are talented in a different way than every other swimmer. When you see another swimmer succeed, it is because he or she has figured out how to get the best out of herself, not because he or she is any more talented than you. She has taken her talent and put it to use to the best of her ability. Will you do the same? Will you seek to maximize your talents by making the daily choices of a high achiever?

The second truth should empower and inspire you. Swimming success is yours for the taking.

The Six Truths of Fast Swimming - Truth #1

I recently wrote about the Six Myths of Fast Swimming and it occurred to me that it would be useful to write the corresponding Six Truths of Fast Swimming to further explain my thoughts. Here they are one at a time:

TRUTH #1 - Swimming is Hard Work
There is no other sport that demands the combination of athleticism, physical fitness, attention to detail, and volume of rigorous training the way swimming does. There is no way of getting around it: if you want to achieve anything in swimming, be prepared to work hard for your goals. Those who begin by accepting this truth and embracing the challenge and the difficulty that it represents have taken a huge step toward their swimming success. A key to this step is understanding that though the effort required will be great, the rewards of achieving your goal will be equally rewarding.

Don't Coast on Technique

"If you are coasting, you're going downhill." This phrase has powerful meaning when it comes to swimming technique. One of the main reasons that swimmers are reluctant to change a technical aspect is that they "have already made it this far with my technique" or "my technique is already pretty good." The unfortunate consequence that these swimmers fail to realize is that if they are not constantly working on their technique, their technical skills will actually diminish.

In physics, the term entropy is used to describe molecular systems and that fact they tend to fall apart, degrade and become more disorganized over time. The second law of thermodynamics says that this will happen unless a force counteracts this tendency. Taking this metaphor into swimming technique, inattention to detail allows your skills to deteriorate over time. This means if you are not constantly striving to improve your technique, not only will it not get better, but it will get worse. Call it "stroke entropy."

Pay attention to your technique. Be aware of what you did in the past, what you are doing now, and develop strategies with your coach to improve. Daily focus on these strategies will build your skills and increase your chances of climbing to the top of the swimming mountain. Lack of attention or desire to improve your skills, or unwillingness to make a change will leave you coasting into stroke entropy. And you know which direction that will take you.

101 Ways to Become a Better Swimmer Without Even Getting Wet

Becoming a better swimmer doesn’t only mean getting faster. It means learning more about yourself, the sport, and what you need to be successful. Becoming a better swimmer can also mean enjoying the sport more, or appreciating the efforts of those who have helped you achieve your goals.

1. Practice streamlining in front of a mirror every night before you go to bed.
2. Eat broccoli.
3. Stretch all of your muscles at least once every day.
4. Never get dehydrated- always be drinking water or a sports drink- especially before, during, and after practice.
5. Thank your coach after each practice. Your coach will appreciate it more than you think.
6. Practice swimming each of the four strokes in front of a mirror every day.
7. Go to bed early.
8. Know all of your best times in long course meters and short course yards.
9. Know all of your best practice times, long-course meters and short course yards.
10. Listen to your coach.
11. Pay attention to technique during dryland.
12. Thank your parents for driving you to practice.
13. Thank your parents for driving you to meets.
14. Encourage someone else to do their best at practice or dryland.
15. Know your race cycle counts for each different event in long course and short course.
16. Learn how to count laps using the flip-cards at swim meets so you can count for your friends in the distance events.
17. Ask your coach questions about your swimming technique.
18. Talk to your coach before your race.
19. Eat breakfast every day.
20. Have a small snack before practice.
21. Eat more vegetables.
22. Take a nap if you need one.
23. Be a good student. Excellence in one part of your life encourages excellence in others.
24. Become a student of swimming- learn as much as you can.
25. Read up the best American swimmers on www.usaswimming.org
26. Visit the “Perfect race” at www.usaswimming.org
27. Wear your team gear with pride at swim meets.
28. Have short term goals with specific times you want to achieve this season.
29. Have long term goals with specific times that you want to achieve in the next 1-3 years or even longer.
30. Know the time cuts for the next-highest age group or meet that you might go to.
31. Know your stroke count from the backstroke flags into the wall for a turn and a finish.
32. Bring a friend to NCAC.
33. Meet a friend at NCAC.
34. Be the first one to get wet.
35. Watch a swimming video.
36. Don’t think of any stroke as the one thing that you are good at. Be willing to train and race all 5 (counting IM).
37. Know what “I.M.” stands for.
38. Know the difference in the order of strokes between the I.M. and the medley relay.
39. Introduce yourself to the coach of the next-highest group so that he or she knows your name and can watch you at practice and meets.
40. Take the stairs, not the elevator. Don’t always go the easiest way.
41. Participate in another sport- be a well-rounded athlete.
42. Watch the Olympic Games on TV this summer.
43. Come watch a UNC swim meet. For a schedule, see www.tarheelblue.com
44. Count strokes for a friend at a meet.
45. Be early to practice. If you’re not early, you are late.
46. Read the technique tips at www.swiminfo.com
47. Watch yourself swim on video.
48. Don’t drink soda.
49. Don’t eat fast food.
50. Take pride in the place you train and compete- keep it nice and neat.
51. Pack your swim bag the night before practice so you don’t forget anything.
52. Have a goal meeting with your coach.
53. Write your goals down somewhere where you can see them every day.
54. Tell someone else your goals (a parent is probably best). That should give you extra motivation to achieve them.
55. Drink orange juice.
56. Go to the bathroom before practice.
57. Have your cap and goggles out and ready to go 5 minutes before practice is supposed to start.
58. Pay attention to the heat sheet at a meet.
59. Cheer for a teammate at a meet.
60. Wear shoes at a swim meet- not sandals. This will keep your feet and legs feeling good and energetic.
61. Know your splits from your best times in every event.
62. Wear sunscreen when you are outdoors- you don’t want to miss practice and be nicknamed “Red.”
63. Know your meet warm-up before a championship meet.
64. Attend a team function outside of normal practice time and have fun.
65. Read Swimming World to find out how the world’s best swimmers train and how they approach racing.
66. Always bring your water bottle to practice- never get dehydrated.
67. Don’t drag your equipment bag on the ground. Walk with pride in and out of the pool.
68. Watch the college swimmers practicing while you wait for your practice to start.
69. Improve your ankle flexibility through daily stretching to become a better kicker.
70. Bring a healthy snack to eat after school before practice.
71. Have a backup pair of goggles and a spare cap at practice and at meets.
72. Always wear a team cap and team suit at practice and at meets.
73. Lead a team cheer.
74. Make up a new team cheer.
75. Cheer up a teammate who is disappointed with his swim.
76. Teach a swimming skill to a younger or less-experienced swimmer.
77. Ask an older or more experienced swimmer a question about technique.
78. Have a plan with your coach about which meets you will be going to and which ones you will be resting for.
79. Talk to your coach after your race.
80. Relax. Don’t worry about swimming. After all, it’s just swimming.
81. Treat your competitors with respect.
82. Put as much effort into dryland as you put into normal practice.
83. Keep track of the deadlines for entering meets- be sure you are entered on time!!!
84. Keep a training log or journal. Be sure to include important practices or test sets and how you feel.
85. Be patient with yourself and your improvements- great swims require consistent, steady training over time.
86. Trust your coach with your training and racing instructions.
87. Communicate with your coach if you have questions, problems or concerns.
88. Keep up with team news by visiting www.ncacswim.org
89. Get e-mail updates by sending your e-mail address to ncacheadcoach@gmail.com
90. Have all of the training equipment required by your coach.
91. Understand what is expected of you in order to move up to the next training group.
92. Let your coach know ahead of time if you can’t make it to practice.
93. Have fun!
94. Look tough, act tough, and think tough behind the blocks, and you will BE tough!
95. Mentally rehearse your race. Imagine how your race feels, looks, smells, tastes, and sounds.
96. Enjoy coming to practice every day.
97. Mentally visualize yourself winning your race and achieving your goal.
98. Lead the team stretches before a meet.
99. Sit with your teammates at the meet- enjoy each other’s company.
100. Wear your team gear when you walk onto the pool deck at the meet- show everyone that NCAC has arrived.
101. Read this list again!!!

The Side Stitch Follow-up Self-Test

It occurred to me after my last entry that though I have been running every day, it has been quite a long time since I got a side stitch during a run. This could be due to the fact that most of my runs are at medium to low intensity and for my minimum three miles. Or could my form have improved recently so that I run more smoothly now?

Since reading Dean Karnazes' book Ultramarathon Man I have also allowed myself to eat before a run more regularly. Karnazes' bragging about eating an entire pizza before a run made me realize that I could train myself to do this. I used to refuse to eat 2+ hours before a run, but now I can have dinner and be on the run before the last swallow is down. One would think this would cause me to have stitches more often, but I honestly can't remember the last time I had one.

Last night on my run I checked my breathing to see if I was a right-side or left-side breather, assuming I would be at a 4:1 steps-to-breaths ratio. To my surprise, I seemed to be holding a 3:1 pattern, meaning I was breathing in on my right foot and then out on the second left foot strike, then in on the second right foot strike after that. Could this be a reason I am not getting a stitch? Is this like breathing every 3 in swimming? Swimmers, do you notice you get stitches more often when you are following a certain breathing pattern? Coaches, do you have the same athletes getting side stitches repeatedly? I would love to hear your observations.

In Stitches

Monday I spent some time with our 12 & under age groupers putting them through their paces in dryland. Their dryland includes some running, ab exercises, and some body-weight strength exercises like push-ups, squats, etc.

The run required them to complete eight lengths of an approximately 80m distance back and forth along an outdoor corridor near our pool. Ignoring my instructions to start at warm-up speed and go faster each length than the one before, they took off on the first length sprinting for all they were worth. Interestingly, as they returned to the place where I stood after 2, 4, and 6 laps, several of them began complaining of a pain in their side.

As a runner for the past 13 years, I know that pain well. In the running community, we call it a "side stitch." Watching these kids get stitches just 30 seconds after beginning exercise got me thinking. What is a side stitch exactly and why does it happen? I did a little research and the answers I found were interesting.

A stitch actually has a scientific name, exercise related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). Pain from a stitch can be under the ribs, behind the back, or even in the shoulder and can lead some to believe they are having a heart attack.

There are essentially 3 theories about the causes of the "side stitch":

1. Tugging of the spleen, stomach, and liver on the underside of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the muscle that pulls the bottom of your lungs downward on inhalation. The spleen, stomack, and liver are all held in place in the abdomen by ligaments attached to the diaphragm. Vertical displacement of these orgams (like during running) causes spasm in the diaphragm as the ligaments pull at it from below. Apparently, side stitches occur most often on the right side, presumably because that is the liver's location (it has the largest mass of the three). Maximum tugging would occur as the runner's foot strikes the ground when the diaphragm is at its highest point, during full exhalation. This all makes perfect sense to me, but does it explain why stitches can happen during swimming, too?

2. Diaphragmatic ischemia. This means there is a lack of blood flow to the diaphragm, causing it to cramp or spasm. Basically, the lungs and your internal organs pinch the blood vessels leading to the diaphragm.

3. Wikipedia says that imbalances in the thoracic spine can cause a stitch, but doesn't elaborate. I suppose this is due to some unnatural tugging on internal organs due to things being misaligned.

I was interested to find that the cures for a stitch:

1. Put your hand on it and squeeze. This stabilizes the tendons/organs and prevents the tugging.
2. Lay down on on your back. This will make the stitch go away immediately.
3. Improve your abdominal strength and lower back strength. Could the sudden stitches in our swimmers be an indication that they have weak abs? With this information, our age group coach correctly predicted on the first try which swimmer was the first to mention a side stitch. Interesting, huh?
4. Warm-up gradually and completely before exercising.

Other interesting facts and implications:

One source I found stated that 70% of humans breathe when their left foot hits the ground, and only 30% breathe when their right foot makes contact. Why is this? The rough percentage of right and left handers in the world is somewhere around 90 and 10.

Runners generally breath in a 2-1 stride-to-breath ratio while jogging and a 4-1 ratio while running at a faster pace.

Nowhere did I find anything saying that a stitch should be a reason to stop activity or that any damage would be done by a prolonged stitch. Did you read that, swimmers?

So how does this relate to swimming? And why do swimmers get stitches? I suspect that swimmers get stitches mainly due to ischemia (theory #2) due to shallow breathing during training. It is also possible that the reaching and pulling down motion of free, back, and fly could cause the tugging mentioned in theory #1. Perhaps the aspect of all of this that most piques my curiosity is the relationship of breathing to striding in running, and how this relates to swimming. What percentage of swimmers prefer to breathe on which side during freestyle? Does this relate to their handedness? Is there a correlation between this preference and getting side stitches while swimming?

Don't you just love it when a question leads to not to an answer but to even more questions?

The Six Myths of Fast Swimming

1."There is an easy way, I just haven't found it yet." There is no easy way. All fast swimming for everyone comes as a result of hard work. There is value in always trying to find a better way (the reason for this blog), but there will never be an easy way. Realizing this is key to tapping your motivation to give maximum effort every day.
2."That swimmer is fast because he/she is just talented." These words are usually spoken by somebody who believes in myth #1. If you find yourself believing or maybe even saying this myth out loud, consider your own talents and find a way to maximize them to better achieve your own goals. This is far more effective than bemoaning your talent deficiency.
3."This is just practice, I will do it correctly/faster at the meet." This myth is perpetuated by those who have poor practice habits. When it comes to anything technical, only perfect practice makes perfect. The pressure and excitement of a competitive situation tend to exacerbate your bad habits rather than magicly improve them. Factor in the fatigue you will feel in a swimming race, and you can see that you are truly only as fast as your habits will let you be. Strive daily to eliminate your bad habits and practice good technique at all times.
4."Swimming is an individual sport." Ironically, this myth is usually believed by someone who has always been in a good team situation. Though it is true that we mostly compete as individuals in a race, the social nature of our sport cannot be totally discounted. If you believe this myth, try training by yourself. Better yet, imagine swimming at a meet where the only people in the building are you and your 7 competitors. Make the most of your teammates by supporting them, and they will support you.
5."That little technical thing won't make a difference." This myth is believed by people with poor attention to detail. This "pennies on the sidewalk" mentality leads them to believe myths #1 and 2, because only big improvements are worth the effort.
6."I messed up my taper." Usually stated after the meet or season concludes by someone who is unhappy with his performance. Though it is possible to not hit a taper correctly, the far more likely culprit is poor preparation all season long. Many swimmers and coaches who believe this myth don't honestly evaluate what came before the taper.

If you find yourself buying into one of these myths, honestly evaluate where this belief comes from and whether it truly holds any water (pun intended).

Stop and Think About the Flop

Forty years ago a lanky American made headlines and captivated the crowds when he won the gold medal in the high jump at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games using an innovative technique. His name was Dick Fosbury and his unusually daring maneuver has since been immortalized as the Fosbury Flop. Until Fosbury came along, the prevailing high jump techniques included the scissor kick and the straddle. In the scissor kick, the jumper elevated and then kicked first one and then the other leg over the bar. Using the straddle, the jumper passed over the bar face-down, essentially rolling over the bar with one arm and one leg at a time. Fosbury’s technique involved him passing over the bar on his back while passing his head, shoulders and then his hips and legs over the bar. Thus he was actually able to pass his center of gravity under the bar even as his body travelled fully over the bar. The Flop was a sensation, even distracting the crowd’s attention from the finish of the marathon, traditionally one of the Games’ most celebrated events. Some decried his technique as foolishly dangerous and mocked its awkwardness even as his jump broke the existing Olympic record and put him on top of the podium.
The most fascinating part of the story isn’t as well known. The fact is that Fosbury didn’t debut his technique in 1968 at the Games. He had begun perfecting his Flop five years earlier in 1963. Though he had never jumped higher than 1.6m using the scissor technique, by 1965 Fosbury was clearing 2m with his flop. Incredibly, most high jumpers continued using their old techniques rather than adopt the Flop method. According to Fosbury, "most of the elite athletes had invested so much time in their technique that they didn't want to give it up.” It took a gold medal winning performance at 2.24m (7 feet 4 ¼ inches) for people to sit up and take notice. Even then, it took a decade for the new technique to be fully adopted by the sport.
This story is interesting but not surprising to me. The high jumpers of 1968 are not altogether different from the swimmers of 2008. The most common reason I hear from a swimmer about why he won’t change his technique is that “it will make me slower.” True, it probably will. At first. Consider that in a swimmer’s career he might perform a stroke literally millions of times. Thus, the chances are high that by performing a stroke in a manner that he has never tried before, he will immediately go slower. Now imagine Fosbury trying his flop for the first time. Do you think he magically jumped a foot higher than when using his previous method? Not likely.
Swimmers are not the only ones to blame. I am amazed by the number of good coaches who allow obviously poor technique (even injury-causing technique) to persist in swimmers simply because we are unwilling to risk going slower in the short term in order to achieve long-term gain. We become comfortable with a swimmer’s level of performance and fear that if we change a swimmer’s technique he won’t be able to change it back!!! This irrational fear is paralyzing.
I believe the reason for this hesitant attitude in both swimmers and coaches lies in the lack of a change mentality. By being afraid of change and unwilling to risk the short-term loss, we prevent ourselves from reaching our long-term performance potential. If we are truly intent on achieving excellence, this cannot be.
Coaches, we must first adopt the belief that change is beneficial. Second we must realize that change is not merely beneficial but necessary. Third, we must have the wisdom and the foresight to see the changes that will maximize a swimmer’s long-term performance. Finally, we must impart the value of change to our athletes at a young age and instill it as one of their core swimming beliefs.
Swimmers, you must be willing to change and understand that the point of practice is not to become a better practice swimmer. You must be willing to be a bit slower in training if it means following your coach’s vision for a change you need to make. This is the beauty of practice. It is a place to not only train but to rehearse, to experiment, to attempt, to fail, to attempt again, and to innovate.
Fosbury's technique is still in wide use today, though it has been modified and improved as jumpers go ever higher. Thanks to Fosbury's change mentality, the course of an entire sport was altered. We too must develop a change mentality. This is a frame of mind that welcomes change as a positive necessity to helping us achieve our swimming excellence. This is a risk that requires courage and faith, and it is a risk we must not be afraid to take.

Swim Like a Monkey

In this first video, the monkey has very little wasted motion and there appears to be very little energy expended. Now check out this video of Alexander Popov, perhaps the most efficient sprinter the world has ever seen:

Popov clearly has tremendous hip and shoulder rotation, and though the video is in slow motion, he shows incredible fluidity of movement. He has very little wasted motion and when racing appeared to barely be trying.

This swinging "monkey bar" action looks a lot like swimming freestyle if you turn it on its side. As the monkey anchors his hand on the bar, Popov anchors his foreharm and hand in the water. As the monkey turns his hips and shoulders and trades gravity for forward momentum, Popov rotates his hips and shoulders and trades gravity (from one hip being elevated) for leverage on his forearm anchors. Whereas the constant force for the monkey is gravity, this constant force for Popov is his legendary kick.
So to swim with fluid efficiency of a swinging monkey like Alexander Popov it is vital that one use 1) a high elbow catch to establish a solid anchor, 2) a fluid, connected rotation of the core to get from one stroke to another with maximum length and leverage, and 3) a powerful kick.

The Key

It’s been pouring rain in Chapel Hill for about 48 hours straight it seems, and as I left Home Depot today, the deluge seemed to have reached its peak intensity. Despite barely being able to see my car halfway across the parking lot, I made a dash for it. I ran clutching my purchase in one hand and my keys in the other, stooping as though being shorter would keep me from getting as wet. At my car, I fumbled with my keys for a moment before picking the right one. As the raindrops blew hard into my face and the wetness soaked through my t-shirt, I tried to quickly put the key into the lock. I missed. Tried again, missed again. Now, getting frustrated, soaked and even more hurried, I tried again and finally the key went straight into the slot. I quickly hopped in and slammed the door behind me. Totally wet and out of breath from the run, I wondered why that was so difficult. Why was putting my keys in the door, a task I performed at least 6 times every day without messing up, so difficult for me to do in the rain?

At practice, most of the yardage we swim is at easy or medium intensity. This has to be the case, because it is just not possible for us to do everything fast. So we must do some things easy. Most of the time when I put my key in the car door, I am not in a hurry. I do it slowly, and I do not miss the keyhole. But today when I was hurrying, I messed up not just once, but twice. If I want to get better at putting the key in correctly in a hurry, I should gradually work on doing it faster and faster correctly each time.

The same is true about our technique at swim practice. We need to start by doing things correctly when we swim slowly, for this is the easiest time to do things right. Next we must focus on doing them correctly as we begin to go faster. And faster. And faster. And eventually at maximum speed.

Almost anyone can use proper technique at slow speeds. Swimmers who can use great technique at any speed including all-out racing speed have a tremendous advantage at the race. And that could be the key to helping you unlock your potential!