Don Swartz and Ken DeMont over at Swim Coach Direct had an interesting post Sunday on race splits and training for the 200. I highly recommend it.
Their post encouraged me to share with you a tool we use to help swimmers on our team establish race paces for training purposes.
Click here to download our Excel spreadsheet for determining goal paces.
Here are the instructions once you have the sheet open in Excel:
1. Type the swimmer's name where it says 'Name here.'
2. Enter a swimmer's goal time in the C column. Do not use any punctuation. For instance, for a goal time of 24.99 in the 50 free, type 2499. For a 2:28.50 in the 200 breast, type 22850.
3. The sheet should automatically compute pace times for you. 'Pace' means the swim is from a push. 'Start' means the swimmers goes off the blocks (or from a start for backstroke). The sheet computes different pace values for different events based on what I deemed the most useful information. A 15m start time is of little consequence in the mile, but could come in handy in the 100 fly.
4. Print out the pace card and take it to practice!
A few other notes:
* The sheet is based on the assumption that a swimmer will swim an even pace for every length after the 1st 25. For freestyle, the difference between the 1st and 2nd 25 is 1.7. For fly, the difference is 2.0, for backstroke the difference is 1.0, and for breaststroke it is 2.5 seconds.
* The C column is cross-hatched and the goal time is in gray in order to keep the swimmer's focus on the race pace rather than her goal time.
Enjoy - let me know how it goes!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Top 8 Christmas Gifts for Swimmers (and 1 for your coach)
...and you don't even have to go out on Black Friday!
For the gift that keeps on giving, get The Original Backnobber II ($28.95)and help your swimmer get rid of those tight back and shoulder muscles by making him do it himself. Or, if you really want to pamper your swimmer and save a little cash, get the Original Palmassager ($7.95). While relaxing, your swimmer can watch The Three Styles of Freestyle DVD ($39.95). Mike Bottom is the world's preeminent sprint freestyle coach, and his philosophy on freestyle technique can help swimmers improve at all distances. To help your swimmer figure out what style is best for him, get The Athlete Village video review ($49.99 or use this discount code for 10% off: RW21846) Have an elite coach review your swimmer's stroke remotely through the internet. The best part - it's 100% guaranteed money back if you aren't satisfied. For a little inspiration and a dose of history, put The Great Swim by Gavin Mortimer ($6.40) under the Christmas tree. After all that therapeutic massage, education, and inspiration, it will eventually be time to get in the water for that post-holiday training. The Finis Tempo Trainer ($31.99) is the ultimate tool for the precision-oriented athlete. A yardage monster who swims for fitness might be more interested in the SwiMP3 ($149.99). And don't forget to get Games, Gimmicks, and Challenges by Bob Steele ($29)for your coach who may need a few ideas for games to break up those New Year's distance sets.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Fun
Today at practice, the quote on the top of the workout read: "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney
A swimmer walked up to me and said, "but coach, impossible is nothing," parroting a phrase I have uttered once or twice.
"That's correct," I said, proud that my words were sinking in.
"That means it's kind of fun to do nothing, so we should do nothing."
Ha ha! Clever. Made me laugh.
A swimmer walked up to me and said, "but coach, impossible is nothing," parroting a phrase I have uttered once or twice.
"That's correct," I said, proud that my words were sinking in.
"That means it's kind of fun to do nothing, so we should do nothing."
Ha ha! Clever. Made me laugh.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Coaches Are Thieves
That statement is true of every good coach I have ever known. We are thieves.
We take training ideas from each other, borrow a saying, or use a set that we saw or heard from another coach.
And this is a good thing. Stealing from another coach's idea stash keeps our training fresh. It helps keep the athletes and the coach motivated. In the most successful eras of American swimming, coaches openly discussed, shared, contributed, and stole training ideas. In my experience, just one idea from another coach has often been the inspiration of many new sets, workouts, or training exercises.
I want to make this exchange of ideas among coaches (and swimmers) easier. There are a ton of brilliant minds, great sets, and fantastic drills out there that we can all benefit from. To that end, I have created the Swimming Wizard at swimmingwizard.blogspot.com. It is an open-sourced blog designed to collect ideas, bounce them around, and inspire new innovation.
Coaches, check it out. The Swimming Wizard would love to hear from you.
We take training ideas from each other, borrow a saying, or use a set that we saw or heard from another coach.
And this is a good thing. Stealing from another coach's idea stash keeps our training fresh. It helps keep the athletes and the coach motivated. In the most successful eras of American swimming, coaches openly discussed, shared, contributed, and stole training ideas. In my experience, just one idea from another coach has often been the inspiration of many new sets, workouts, or training exercises.
I want to make this exchange of ideas among coaches (and swimmers) easier. There are a ton of brilliant minds, great sets, and fantastic drills out there that we can all benefit from. To that end, I have created the Swimming Wizard at swimmingwizard.blogspot.com. It is an open-sourced blog designed to collect ideas, bounce them around, and inspire new innovation.
Coaches, check it out. The Swimming Wizard would love to hear from you.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Stop Wasting Your Walls
You are a fast swimmer. But are you a fast turn swimmer? There is a difference, you see. Many swimmers have been defeated by slower competitors who simply have superior turns, thus gaining an advantage that leads to victory. Most likely, we have all faced someone who turns faster than we do. The solution, in part, lies in your mental approach to your walls.
Without realizing it, you may have subconsciously allowed yourself to believe that the turn is a place where you get a little rest. You push yourself really hard when you swim, and you are so happy to get to the wall that you take an extra few fractions of a second to reverse your direction. It is an easy habit to fall into, but a very bad one.
To reprogram yourself for new turn habits, begin thinking of each turn as an opportunity to accelerate, to pick up speed, and to gain ground on your competitors. With this approach, your eyes will be opened to how much faster you can be. So stop wasting your walls and start making the most of every opportunity!
Without realizing it, you may have subconsciously allowed yourself to believe that the turn is a place where you get a little rest. You push yourself really hard when you swim, and you are so happy to get to the wall that you take an extra few fractions of a second to reverse your direction. It is an easy habit to fall into, but a very bad one.
To reprogram yourself for new turn habits, begin thinking of each turn as an opportunity to accelerate, to pick up speed, and to gain ground on your competitors. With this approach, your eyes will be opened to how much faster you can be. So stop wasting your walls and start making the most of every opportunity!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Junior Year Myth
There is a belief common to many swimmers and their parents that one's junior year of high school is the "make-or-break year." They view the junior year as a swimmer's final opportunity to earn a spot on a college team. I won't argue that the junior year isn't important, but here are a few concerns I have with emphatically taking this approach:
1) Whether they mean to or not, when parents frame it as the "make-or-break year," it places an undue pressure on the swimmer to perform. Often, high-achieving parents have high-achieving kids, and the parents just want to make sure their swimmer understands what is at stake. Inadvertently what the parents are really doing is turning the pressure up a few notches. More often than not the result: A swimmer who shifts his focus from the reasons he joined the sport (fun, self-improvement, competition) to a new goal; earning a college scholarship. This makes swimming feel like a job for many, and takes the fun out of it. Some swimmers even tighten up under the pressure at meets, causing poor results and increasing the pressure again. Parents, please understand that if your swimmer is a high-achiever and is planning to swim in college, he probably already realizes the importance of his penultimate year as a club and high school swimmer.
2) This approach emphasizes the swimmer's short-term performance rather than her long-term athletic development. A swimmer's performance isn't merely a function of how hard she trains that year. Rather, it is the sum of the years of well-planned and committed training that have progressively improved a swimmer's skills. Yes, it will help the swimmer's college prospects if she swims well. Ideally though, the coach and swimmer have been focused on steady improvement all along. The junior year will just be another step forward from that firm foundation. I am glad to have anything that motivates a swimmer, but I am skeptical when I hear "it's my junior year, I am REALLY going to work hard now!" Welcome to the party, you are a few years too late.
3) Rarely does the prospect of swimming in college serve as a proper motivator. Just as paying employees more on the job has been shown not to increase productivity, earning a scholarship spot on a college team does not always bolster a swimmer's motivation to compete well. My theory is that this happens when the athlete's primary motivators have been intrinsic and outside influences counsel him to trash those in favor of the extrinsic motivation of a college scholarship.
4) What then becomes of the swimmer's senior year? If the junior year is the make-or-break year, what comes after that -- the made-or-broken year? From the standpoint of the athlete, if he now has it made, then what's the point in trying to improve? If he has blown his chance to swim at the college program of his choice by not posting the necessary time, then his drive to improve may be even lower. As a coach on both the club and collegiate sides of the recruiting fence, I have seen this happen too many times. The athlete has a great junior year, signs a letter-of-intent to swim collegiately, cashes in his chips during his senior year, and then suffers the consequences well into his collegiate career.
Don't buy into the Junior Year Myth. Though parents (and coaches) may have the swimmer's best interests at heart, the high school junior year should be just another step in a long-term program emphasizing continual improvement toward individual excellence. Making it out to be much more than that is often counterproductive.
1) Whether they mean to or not, when parents frame it as the "make-or-break year," it places an undue pressure on the swimmer to perform. Often, high-achieving parents have high-achieving kids, and the parents just want to make sure their swimmer understands what is at stake. Inadvertently what the parents are really doing is turning the pressure up a few notches. More often than not the result: A swimmer who shifts his focus from the reasons he joined the sport (fun, self-improvement, competition) to a new goal; earning a college scholarship. This makes swimming feel like a job for many, and takes the fun out of it. Some swimmers even tighten up under the pressure at meets, causing poor results and increasing the pressure again. Parents, please understand that if your swimmer is a high-achiever and is planning to swim in college, he probably already realizes the importance of his penultimate year as a club and high school swimmer.
2) This approach emphasizes the swimmer's short-term performance rather than her long-term athletic development. A swimmer's performance isn't merely a function of how hard she trains that year. Rather, it is the sum of the years of well-planned and committed training that have progressively improved a swimmer's skills. Yes, it will help the swimmer's college prospects if she swims well. Ideally though, the coach and swimmer have been focused on steady improvement all along. The junior year will just be another step forward from that firm foundation. I am glad to have anything that motivates a swimmer, but I am skeptical when I hear "it's my junior year, I am REALLY going to work hard now!" Welcome to the party, you are a few years too late.
3) Rarely does the prospect of swimming in college serve as a proper motivator. Just as paying employees more on the job has been shown not to increase productivity, earning a scholarship spot on a college team does not always bolster a swimmer's motivation to compete well. My theory is that this happens when the athlete's primary motivators have been intrinsic and outside influences counsel him to trash those in favor of the extrinsic motivation of a college scholarship.
4) What then becomes of the swimmer's senior year? If the junior year is the make-or-break year, what comes after that -- the made-or-broken year? From the standpoint of the athlete, if he now has it made, then what's the point in trying to improve? If he has blown his chance to swim at the college program of his choice by not posting the necessary time, then his drive to improve may be even lower. As a coach on both the club and collegiate sides of the recruiting fence, I have seen this happen too many times. The athlete has a great junior year, signs a letter-of-intent to swim collegiately, cashes in his chips during his senior year, and then suffers the consequences well into his collegiate career.
Don't buy into the Junior Year Myth. Though parents (and coaches) may have the swimmer's best interests at heart, the high school junior year should be just another step in a long-term program emphasizing continual improvement toward individual excellence. Making it out to be much more than that is often counterproductive.
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