Free Videos Your Swimmers Need to Watch

Coaches, if you aren't using video to teach, inspire, and correct your swimmers, you are missing out in a big way.  Here are some videos that you simply must show your swimmers:
1. Ryan Lochte Backstroke Technique.  Perhaps the world's best all-around swimmer performing his best stroke.  Excellent underwater example as well.

2. Men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay from 2000 Sydney Olympics.  One of the most exciting races in history, with a background story that you can use as an anti-trash-talking lesson.  It can also be used as a lesson on how NOT to chase down your competition.

Top Christmas Gifts for Swimmers (and One 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) and 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) in your swimmer's stocking.  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.

The ABCs of Coaching

Some lessons learned from a decade in the sport...

A is for Accountability.  Be accountable for your actions and hold your athletes accountable as well.
B is for Basics.  Stress the basics of sound technique every day.
C is for Communication.  This is the foundation for your success or failure as a coach.
D is for Developing your skills.  Keep learning and improving your skill set.
E is for Encouragement.  Your athletes need to hear it from you more than you think.
F is for Fitness.  If you are physically fit you will feel good and your athletes will respect you more.
G is for Games.  There is a place for these in every training program.
H is for Hard work.  There simply is no other way.
I is for Individualize.  Show an athlete that you are planning specifically for him and his motivation will soar.
J is for Jokes.  Tell them from time to time.
K is for Know your athletes.  As people first, as athletes second.
L is for Learn.  From your mistakes and from every possible source.
M is for Mentor.  Have one and be one.
N is for Negativity.  Run from it.  Be a force against it.  The world puts enough of it in your swimmers' lives already.
O is for Openness.  Be sure that your athletes feel they can talk to you.
P is for Parents.  The successful coach makes them his partners.
Q is for Question the conventions.  "Because that is how we do it" is not a good enough reason for anything.
R is for Racing.  Teach it. Preach it.  Encourage your swimmers to compete.
S is for Swim yourself.  You will have a better understanding of what you are asking your athletes to do.
T is for Teach.  The primary mission of a great coach is to be a teacher.
U is for Use your time wisely.  Coaching can take over your life if you don't prioritize your time.
V is for Vacation.  Make sure you take it.  It will make you a better coach.
W is for Winning.  Celebrate it, but don't make it your sole focus.
X is for eXamine your process and your results.
Y is for Yourself.  Being yourself is the most fundamental form of honesty.
Z is for Zeal.  Be a zealous fan of your swimmers.

One for Mom and Dad

Don Swartz and Ken DeMont had an amazing post over at Swim Coach Direct. A must-read for all swim parents.

Confessions of a Psycho Swim Parent

Today, I received an e-mail from a swim parent whom I have never met:

Dear Coach,
Last year I discovered your blog Swimtelligence and have really enjoyed reading your insights and tips into the sport my eleven year old son has come to love.

I must confess that for the first two years I was probably best described as the epitome of a psycho swim parent. I pushed my son to push his own limits, I pushed the coach to do better, I bought all the training tools, 47 different suits--although even I drew the line a the purchase of a technical suit for a 10 year old going to state for the first time.

It must be something about parenting, and kids sports that causes some of us to lose our minds so completely.

I will tell you that our team, is blessed with a really great coach. Coach X has a skill and wisdom that far outstrips his youth. At less than 25 years old he seems to have gained the patience of Job himself when it comes to parents and swimmers.

He is also a truly gifted coach when it comes to developing some swimmers to the amazing results leading them to sectional, zone and even junior nationals---all the more amazing when one considers the team is only about 100 swimmers total. But, it isn't just with the "super stars" that he is a great coach. It is with the overweight kid who has no shot at state times but continues to improve and strive to do his best, it is with the middle school girls who frequently have to pause in the middle of sets to discuss in detail the drama of their lives. He is great with the kids who screw around and the kids who are shy and quiet. He is great with the kids with disabilities, and the kids who are only there because their parents "make them."

In short, in the last couple of years I became a much less "psycho-swim-parent" in large part because of the calm professional demeanor, cool temper and quick wit of our coach. Sure every coach has a bad day, and lets slip something regretful, but those are extremely rare with Coach X.

I guess the reason I am writing to you is because I was hoping you might include something in the "for the coaches" section--encouraging them not to give up on the crazy parents---just keep their cool, remain professional, let us blow off the steam---Parenting is much more difficult that I ever thought it was going to be, and being a "psycho-swim-parent" was only one of the mistakes I made along the way. I was fortunate enough to have a Swim Coach with enough patience to let me discover the problem and correct it.

While not perfect by a long shot, I have become a much more encouraging parent, a supportive parent (of both the coach and of my kids).

I focus on the contributions I can make to my son's development of character, integrity, and commitment instead of on his stroke count, streamlining and freestyle technique. The leadership and modeling of behavior that I give my son in those areas transfers to his performance in the classroom, in the pool and with his friends. I let the coach do his job and I do mine and my son gets the best that both of have to offer.

Sincerely,

Former Psycho Swim Parent

Thank you, Swim Parent. I published your e-mail in its entirety because I couldn't write it any better than you did.

Those Who Do

Here's an excerpt from Dara Torres' book Age is Just a Number.

"When I was training for the 1984 Olympics at Mission Viejo, a sociologist named Daniel Chambliss watched us practice nearly every day. Chambliss then wrote a book called Champions: The Making of Olympic Swimmers. That book totally captures the details-matter mind-set... swimming is sort of like one of those Impressionist paintings made with millions of dots. Sure, a dot is a dot. What's the big deal? But if you care enough to make each dot the exact right size and the exact right color in the exact right place, something amazing occurs."

She goes on to say:

"The truth is simple: Most swimmers choose every day not to do the little things. They choose, in effect, not to win...In some sense everyone 'could' win the Olympic Games, but 'could' doesn't count. The gold medal is reserved for those who do."

I couldn't have said it better myself... the gold medal is reserved for those who DO.

Not those who dream.

Not those who wish.

Not those who want.

THOSE WHO DO.

The Case for Breathing Every 3

Every swimmer should breathe every 3rd stroke during freestyle training. Many are reluctant to change. Allow me to state my case:

Exhibit A: Breathing bilaterally keeps your stroke even. Ever seen a swimmer who "limps" as they swim? Was he breathing every 3? Exactly.

Exhibit B: Breathing every 3 helps avoid neck and shoulder tightness. Swimmers who breathe only to one side try this: Turn your head to the right. Turn your head to the left. Is your flexibility equal in both directions? Most likely you can turn your head further to your breathing side.

Exhibit C: Head position determines body position. We breathe with our heads. In my observation, 99% of freestylers could improve their breathing mechanics. Thus with better breathing mechanics, almost every swimmer can improve her body position, reducing drag.

Exhibit D: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. To pick your head up or to pull your head to the side to side to breathe, you must support that position. Thus, unless your breathing mechanics are perfect, you are exerting energy and effort to support that imbalance. This is energy that could be used to propel you forward.

Exhibit E: "I get less oxygen when I breathe every 3rd stroke," say the every-stroke-breathers. Changing a habit is not easy. Learning a new skill takes time. At first, you will get less oxygen when you breathe every 3. As you develop your bilateral habit, you will learn to relax and breathe deeper. Soon you will be able to take in nearly as much oxygen as before.

Exhibit F: With imperfect breathing mechanics, the equal and opposite reactions can often cause stroke irregularities that can cause injury, most often to the shoulders. Who would have thought that simply breathing could injure you?

The floor is open for cross-examination.

Are You an UGLY Swimmer?

Do you exhibit these traits that might make you an UGLY swimmer?

U sually late is how you arrive to the pool. Be prepared and start on time to maximize your improvement potential.

G oal setting is a chore for you. Become a champion goal-setter if you wish to become a champion.

L azy around your walls. The turns can make an ordinary swimmer good and a good swimmer great. Concentrate on making yours better to make the leap to the next level.

Y earning to be better without making an increased commitment. Achievement follows a commitment to excellence.

Check out SwImtelligence at The Athlete Village

SwImtelligence is growing wings! I will now be simultaneously be publishing here and at The Athlete Village (www.theathletevillage.com). Hopefully, this will attract some new interest from readers and help inspire more innovative ideas. Check it out!

Featured Drill: Flags-In Finishes

The finish is among the least frequently practiced skills in our sport, in my observation. This drill serves as a mini-progression to help swimmers adjust to the presence of the wall appropriately during a finish, thus practicing for that gold medal moment.

We did this as a set of 16 x 50 today, 6 done like phase 1, 6 in phase 2, and the final 4 in phase 3. Here's the progression.

Phase 1
At the conclusion of the 50, the swimmer takes his last stroke at the backstroke flags and then positions his body for the finish, kicking strong all the way to an extended touch.



Phase 2
Same idea as the first phase, just move everything closer to the wall. Take the last stroke halfway between the flags and the wall. Make sure the swimmer is paying close attention to the spacing with the wall.



Phase 3
Now do an all-out finish, touching with the body at maximum length. The swimmer should touch with the fingertips. With the wall-judging ability honed in phases 1 and 2, the swimmer should be able to time his finish very precisely.



Try this progression for any stroke. You never know when your finish will make the difference between gold and silver!

Thank you to Heath Hudgins (the swimmer in the videos) for being a willing example.

A Father's Example

Last week, I was struck by the brilliance of American speedskater Apollo Ohno's daring tactics and last-minute heroics at the Winter Olympics' short-track speed skating events. I was even more in awe of NBC's "human interest" story on Apollo and his father. It went something like this:

Apollo was raised by his single father Yuki in Seattle. As a young speedskater, he excelled in his sport despite skipping out on training from time-to-time without the knowledge of his father. He and his father lived the crazy life of a skating family, so similar to that of many swimming families - up in the morning for practices, entire weekends spent at meets, much of the family time devoted to the sport. Apollo eventually became an elite athlete by 1998, but finished dead last at the Olympic Trials. "He could tell that I didn't give my best effort, that I gave up, and it crushed him," says a more mature Apollo now. When they returned home, Yuki took him to a remote oceanside cabin and DROPPED HIM OFF, saying "you need to decide what you want to do with your life." Heavy stuff for a teenager! Young Apollo sat in that cabin and thought, and finally EIGHT DAYS LATER, called his father and said, "this is what I want to do, I want to skate." Ohno has since become one of the most decorated Winter Olympians in history, by his own admission largely due to the path he has chosen since that day.

Hearing that story, part of me thinks Yuki must have been crazy to drop his son off and not go check on him for eight days. The lesson here is not in the details, but that Apollo's father asked him to make a commitment. After his son's last-place finish, it would have been easy for him to say, "You've reached a high level, and you did your best," even when it clearly wasn't the case. Instead, he asked his son to make a commitment, and backed it up with an equal commitment on his part. What a terrific example to sports parents everywhere who might struggle to get up early to drive their kids to morning practice, or who question whether their child needs to attend ANOTHER competition. Maybe the kid will become an Olympian, maybe he won't. But by encouraging him to make and keep a commitment and making the same one yourself, you are teaching your child a valuable lifelong lesson that won't be undone.

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?

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.

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."

Determining Goal Pace

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!

World's Fastest Man

Check him out... 7.4 seconds for a 25 yard fly.

Fun stuff

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.

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.

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.

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!