Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Deciphering Bowman

Some fascinating quotes out of Rome at today's World Championships, particularly from Phelps' coach Bob Bowman after Phelps was drubbed by German Paul Biedermann in the 200 free in WR time. So I'm bringing out my magic deciphering device to help us all:

Bowman
: "Probably expect Michael not to swim until they (restrictions on high-tech bodysuits) are implemented."
Deciphered: "We will not participate in another race that we aren't sure we can win. We are taking our ball and going home."

Bowman
: "I'm done with this. It has to be implemented immediately. The mess needs to be stopped right now. This can't go on any further."
Deciphered: "Right now! Before we get egg on our face again!"

Bowman: "Does a 10-year-old boy in Baltimore want to break Paul Biedermann's record? Is that going to make him join swimming?"
Deciphered: "10,000 kids in Berlin just joined their local swim teams. Watch out for the German team in 2020!"

Bowman: "The sport is in shambles right now..."
Deciphered: "The world is upside down! Michael is human!"

Bowman: "...and they better do something or they're going to lose their guy who fills these seats."
Deciphered: "Ryan Lochte is going home too!"

Underdogs Watch This

Great motivational video. Gives me the chills.



Here’s the thing that makes life so interesting.
The theory of evolution claims “Only the strong will survive.”
Maybe so.
Maybe so.
But the theory of competition says “Just because they are the strong doesn’t mean they can’t get their butts kicked.”
See, what every long shot come-from-behind underdog will tell you is this:
“The other guy may in fact be the favorite.
The odds may be stacked against you. Fair enough.
But what the odds don’t know is this is not a math test.
This is a completely different kind of test,
One where PASSION has a funny way of trumping logic.
So before you step up on the starting block, before the whistle blows, and the clock starts ticking, just remember:
Out here, things don’t always add up.
No matter what the stats may say, and the experts may think, and the commentators may have predicted, when the race is on, all bets are off.
Don’t be surprised if somebody decides to flip the script, and take a pass on yelling ‘uncle.’
And then suddenly, as the old saying goes, ‘We’ve got ourselves a race!’”

Saturday, July 18, 2009

How To Be Mediocre...

Set goals you can easily achieve...Count on luck to help you reach them...Count on your talent even more...Congratulate yourself for trying...Accept less than your best...Be inconsistent in your daily effort in training...Arrive late to practice...Blame others for your failures...Forget to thank others for helping you succeed...Speak every negative thought you have...Relish being a big fish in a small pond...Rationalize your results when you come up short...Let your bad habits persist...Let factors you cannot control get in your head...Avoid improving your weaknesses...Commit halfway...Take it personally when your coach says you CAN do better...Ignore the clock at practice...Draft instead of passing...Do NOT kick under any circumstances...Read this list again and say "That's not me - I don't do that!"

Folks, this list is intended to be tongue-in-cheek and it is far from complete. Do you have any more ideas we should add to the list? Obviously, EXCELLENCE is the object of our pursuit.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Six No-No Phrases for the Swimming Parent

Several parents have asked me what to say to their swimmers to help them succeed. The conversations that happen between a parent and child can have a dramatic impact in shaping a swimmer's attitudes toward swimming. The phrases below are all things I have heard before, and I just cringe when I hear them. Each is an example of what not to say to your swimmer.

1. Introducing your child to someone as "the swimmer." "This is Johnny, the swimmer." Swimming is something your child does, not who she is. Help your child cultivate his identity as a person, and encourage him to be the best he can be at swimming. Ultimately, he will better be able to weather the storms of failure and enjoy the fruits of success in swimming if his identity is not wrapped around it.

2. "We came all this way/spent all this money/took all this time... and you swam slow/didn't try/performed poorly." Your kid is probably already disappointed in her own performance, without adding the weight of your parental sacrifices. Understand that it is the nature of human performance that your child will not perform at his or her best at every meet or in every race. The effect of making this comment is that the next time you make a sacrifice to go to a meet, your child will feel the added pressure - possibly to the detriment of his performance.

3. "Good job" (When your child doesn't perform well) She knows when it was a good swim and when it was a bad one. False praise does nothing but cheapen the praise when it is actually deserved. Try "good effort" or "you'll get 'em next time" or "I love you anyway."

4. "WE need to get this cut, WE need to win this event, etc." How many lengths of the pool are you swimming, mom? It is your child's swim, not yours, and you should try to promote his ownership of his performance. Be his biggest fan--there to support him through good and bad--not his teammate.

5. "It's probably your training" (reason why you swam slow). As a parent, it is important that you buttress your child's confidence in his coach. If you have concerns about your swimmer's progress, address them with the coach. Passing your concern on to your swimmer is likely to weaken the coach-swimmer partnership.

6. "It's okay, you don't have to go to practice today." This one comes up when your child is tired, cranky, or is just not wanting to go to practice. It is going to happen at some point that your age grouper will have one of these days. But rather than act as enabler by caving to your swimmer's desire not to attend practice, remind him that it his swimming and his results at the end of the season that will be affected. Remind him of the commitment he has made to his team and to his own swimming. The key is to get your child to make the decision, rather than having you the parent act as the passive enabler. It's tough -- you may not want to take him to practice either, but taking this approach consistently will help your child take ownership of his performance.

Coaches, do you have more you would like to add? Parents, any questions about effective ways to talk swimming with your kid? Let me know!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Featured Drill: Triple Turn

This drill was recommended to me by Griff Helfrich, one of our assistant coaches. It is designed to help a swimmer set up and execute a breast or fly turn correctly with maximum rotational speed. I'll call it Triple Turn drill.

The explanation is simple enough: when the swimmer approaches the wall, he or she executes three consecutive open turns. During the first two, the swimmer does everything but the push-off, then reloads the body for another turn. On the third one, the swimmer pushes off the wall as normal.

When executing the Triple Turn, the swimmer must pay attention to several technical elements - a strong knee drive, swift compact arm action, and driving the head straight back into an agressive streamline to depart the wall.

This drill could be performed in the middle of any breast, fly, or IM set, or could be done with the swimmer beginning from a prone kicking position and initiating the Triple Turn on command or on a whistle.

Here is a brief look at one of our swimmers, rising senior Bryce Mendes performing the Triple Turn during a breaststroke set.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

What It Looks Like... Breathing to the Side in Butterfly

The following picture appeared on the front page of wwww.usaswimming.org this afternoon. It is Christine Magnuson, American record-holder in the 100 fly performing her signature event.

Magnuson demonstrates great technique utilizing a side-looking breath in butterfly. There are many swimmers that use this technique, but curiously, the forward breath persists in many butterflyers. I believe this is because many swimmers will not take the time to learn it and coaches will not take the time to teach it. If you can learn, it can be advantageous for several reasons:
1. Allows the swimmer to stay lower to the water on the breath, which means more of the swimmer's energy is directed to going forward.
2. Because of #1, the swimmer may be able to breathe more often without sacrificing speed.
3. Enables the swimmer to see the competition more effectively than with a forward breath. If the swimmer can breathe to both sides, this is an even more useful skill.

If you want to learn to breathe to the side in butterfly, here are a few pointers.
1. Work on your neck flexibility. In my opinion, this is the primary reason why swimmers who try side-breathing have difficulty - tightness in their neck prevents them from doing it correctly.
2. Be sure to keep your hips and shoulders on plane. By this I mean don't let your body roll to the side simply to get your side-breath.
3. Continue to do all the other technical elements of butterfly correctly. Strong kick, strong pull, good body dolphin, etc. The importance of these hasn't changed at all!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Featured Drill: Open-Mouth Swimming

Just as during many other elements of swimming technique, when breathing it is advantageous for a swimmer to relax to exert minimal energy while producing maximum forward motion. The goal of today's drill is to teach you to relax your jaw and facial muscles while breathing.

Try swimming freestyle with your mouth open - when it is in and out of the water. Try it for backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly too. Yes, you will get water in your mouth. Don't swallow it - spit it out as you exhale and keep going. This drill can also help swimmers become more aware of when their inhale/exhale cycle and prevents breath-holding. Try it and let me know what you think!