Saturday, December 12, 2009

The T-Shirt Watcher Reports from Ohio



Here are a few of the best t-shirts spotted at this week's Junior Nationals in Columbus, Ohio.

This one was my personal favorite:



And this one a close second:



"Trying is for little girls with easy-bake ovens."

"Life without goals is like a race without a finish line."

"Fo Sho!"

"Onipa `A - Life is too short to live any other way."
(The phrase is Hawaiian for 'steadfast and true')

"OpportUNITY"

"Strong in body, strong in mind"

"When you are behind, don't give up. When you are ahead, don't let up."

"The fire of glory is the torch of the mind."

"Do work, son!" - BB

"Fate rarely calls upon us at the moment of our own choosing." -Optimus Prime Transformers

Though this one wasn't a t-shirt, it was too funny not to include here. Can you guess which coach this is?

Sunday, December 6, 2009

4 Laws for Your Best 400 I.M.

Want to have the race of your life in the "Decathlon of Swimming?" Obey these four fundamental laws of the 400 I.M.

1. Negative split the backstroke, breaststroke,and freestyle legs. Ideally, the difference is less than 1 second. Because of the time spent executing the back-to-breast and breast-to-free turns, this actually represents near even-pace swimming.
2. Finish each stroke before you begin the next one. It sounds so simple but requires a focused effort to make it happen. Finish each stroke with a bit of extra "oomph" and you will catapult yourself into the next stroke. Limp into the transition and you are already off to a bad start on the next 100 yards.
3. Exploit your strengths. This is your opportunity for an advantage over your opponent. Failing to do this is like keeping your pistol in its holster during a swordfight.
4. Cover your weaknesses. Swim the worst stroke well, with an extra eye for efficiency. Does it seem like this means you have to do EVERYTHING well? Welcome to the 400 I.M.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Determining Goal Pace for SCM

Had a request for a SCM version of the Goal Pace worksheet. I have posted one at swimmingwizard.blogspot.com. See the column on the right called "Tools for Coaches."