What to expect during Taper?

I have been thinking about this a lot the last couple of weeks as we head into our final Championship meets this weekend.  I have been having several conversations with swimmers and parents about what to expect so I thought I would write it all down. 

First, there are several very important things you must do to get the most out of your taper that does not even involve being in the pool.  My motto for the Taper Week is “Think Fast, Move Slow!”  The reason I use this motto is outside the pool I do not want you expending energy doing things that can cause you to get injured.  I could not tell you how many swimmers get hurt during taper doing something outside the pool.  This includes skateboarding, surfing, skiing, roller skating, etc.  Why do I see so many injuries during Taper Weeks? During taper your energy level begins to rise because you are not expending as much energy at practice as you were during your training phases.  This means when you are not at the pool the best thing to do is rest and conserve your energy.  You should also stay relaxed and positive.  Focus on the positive things that have gone on during your training and be ready to race. 

During taper a lot of swimmers have a tendency to also over eat.  They are used to eating like they would during their normal training schedule; however, during taper you are not expending as much energy so your diet should change to represent that.  About 2 days from competition you should switch your diet to a high carbohydrate diet.  This means about 80% of your total calories should come from carbs.  Great carbs include:

Pasta/Noodles

Potatoes

Pizza

Pancakes

Fruits

The above are two vital aspects you should be conscious of to make your taper a success. However, there are some other things you should be aware of as well.  A lot of swimmers come to me with concerns of not feeling right in the water or being sore.  This is actually very normal.  Many times you go into taper right after some of your most intense training and your body is recovering.  As a result, instead of focusing on is how your body feels you need to focus more on the little aspects of your training.  You need to focus on the little details from how you will be approaching the race to stroke counts and streamlines.  What do I expect from my swimmers during taper? I expect my swimmers to swim fast when they required.  We spend a lot of time working on speed.  Most of the time when I taper swimmers yardage is down, but the intensity is up. 

The Benefit of Taper

As a result of a proper taper on race day your body should be ready to compete at your highest possible level.  You have worked throughout the season on establishing your great routine at meets to include warm-up, warm-down, staying cool (or warm depending on the season), hydrating, refueling and focusing on the aspects you can control.  There are some things you cannot control which includes who is swimming next to you, what the water temp is, air quality, weather, how crowded it is, what lane you will swim in, etc.  You need to be prepared for these variables and adjust your routine as needed.  Otherwise, you need to do your best to stay relaxed and confident. If you can follow my rules of taper you will be ready to swim your best races!

Why is Recovery Important?

One of my biggest fights after every swim at every swim meet has to do with recovery.   You would not believe the number of coaches I talk to that deal with the same issues.  I just do not think swimmers (and parents) understand the importance of recovery.

There are two main parts to recovery at a meet.

Part I

The warm-down.  If you swim a 50 Free (a sprint race) you actually need to warm down until your body feels good.  This probably means swimming at least a 400.  I always have swimmers say “I only swam a 50 I do not need to do much to warm down.”  This logic is completely WRONG!  During any sprint race your body switches from aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration. ***Aerobic respiration uses oxygen to produce energy and anaerobic respiration is done without oxygen*** Why does the body switch? This is because your body is burning oxygen faster than you can replace it.  The biggest bi-product of anaerobic respiration is lactic acid.  Now this may be way too scientific, but I do not know a better way to explain it.  Lactic acid in your muscles leads to muscle fatigue and cramps.  To get lactic acid out of your system you need to spend time warming down and making sure you drink plenty of WATER!  Just because you are a swimmer, swimming in a pool of water, does not mean you do not need to drink water.  You actually need to drink more! 

Now if you are swimming anything 200 and above your body still produces lactic acid which feels like your muscles are literally burning or “Muscle Burn.”   And because you are swimming for a longer period of time your body is producing more lactic acid and you will feel that “muscle burn.”  A good rule of thumb is your warm-down should be twice as long as your race.    Yes, that does mean if you swam the 1500 you should probably swim about 3000 for your warm-down.  This is why coaches have such a battle with warming-down.  It seems like a lot work, and it is, but it is necessary.  Your body is like a high performance race car.  You cannot turn it on and off over and over again and expect it to perform at its peak every time.  Many times I tell my more experienced swimmers to swim until they feel good.  If you were ever a swimmer you know that feeling and generally that is produced by swimming double your race. 

Part II

Refueling.  You just burned a lot of energy.  You need to make sure you are refueling your body properly before your next swim.  Of course, this means drink more water!  Nothing is more important or can replace water!  You also need to provide your body with protein, complex carbohydrates, and simple sugars.  One of my favorite items to suggest is a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  This covers all three categories and it is simple to make.  I see people with all these performance bars, gels and whatever else they think might work; however, nothing refuels you like water and simple natural foods. 

Great things to have in your cooler at meets:

Fruits: watermelon, bananas, strawberries, grapes, etc.

Hard boiled eggs (great source of protein)

Pasta Salad

Yogurt

Fig Newtons

Peanut butter crackers

Gatorade/Sports Drinks

WATER!

Common things found in coolers not ideal for refueling:

Crackers (think gold fish and other cheesy varieties that does not supply protein)

Chips

Candies/Cookies

Soda

Why is the warm-down & refueling so important? 

I started this year reviewing results from various meets throughout the season and I have started to notice a trend.  At almost every meet the swimmers first race(s) of the day were their best.  The reason is that they all had eaten a proper meal before the meet and their body was ready to perform.  But as the meet continued I noticed their swims were getting weaker.  I started asking my swimmers what they had eaten, how much they were warming-down and how much water they had to drink.  Shockingly enough the answers normally went like this, “I swam a 200”, “I have had some (insert some form of Junk food)”, “I drank this much water (normally less than a cup).”  They wonder why they are not swimming well.  So, I started having my swimmers carry water bottles with them everywhere.  We live in Phoenix you cannot possibly drink enough water.  I ask them before and after every race what they have had to eat and what they are planning to eat.  Lastly, until they fully understand what the feeling is too completely warm-down I am giving them an exact yardage to swim.  It is amazing the difference it has made.  The swimmers have more energy throughout the sessions of the meet and throughout the weekend.  

Now the meet is over. What does this mean? It does not mean your recovery is over.  It means you still have some recovery to complete. Even if you did your full warm-down at the meet and ate properly throughout the weekend you still need to make your next practice. Yes, make your next practice, even if it is the next day.  In my opinion that is one of the most important workouts.  This way your body can work through any remaining lactic acid, fully recover and hopefully avoid injury associated with the lack of proper recovery. 

Disclaimer: These are my opinions and are to not be a reflection on anyone other than myself.

Why I Coach

I always get asked this question in one form or another.  I guess I should start from the beginning.

I began swimming before I can even remember.  I swam for a summer league team in the Prince William Swim League called the Lake Ridge Lancers.  I was hooked on the sport from the first day.  I wanted nothing more than to be in the pool 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  I started competing when I was 5 years old.  I remember how much I thought my coaches walked on water and were amazing.  Many of whom are still involved in the sport today!  I would spend the next 9 years swimming for the Lancers along with different club teams (OCCS, FBST and QDD).  The summer that I was 14 my youngest sister joined the team so I was at the pool for 2 hours after my practice was over.  I decided to start helping out with the 6 and unders.  It was amazing.  I still remember every one of those kids that was in that group.  Many of whom swam all the way through high school (I even coached a few in high school).  Who would have thought that at 14 I would find my passion and love of coaching. 

The next season I became a paid coach working with the 10 & unders.  As I continued to train and work hard through high school I began to realize that I may not be the greatest swimmer but I had an understanding for the sport many of my team mates did not have.  In high school, I attended C.D. Hylton High School (HHS), my junior and senior year I would stay after practice (because my club team practiced a couple hours after high school practice at the same pool) and work on meet line ups with my high school coach.  We would talk about the line ups and how she tries to set everyone up for success.  This stuck with me.  I had plenty of coaches who I felt tried to set their swimmers up to fail and that made it hard for me to give it my all. 

After high school was over I was still coaching with my summer league team every year and somehow always had the same group of kids I had as 6 & unders.  At this point they were 9-10s or 11-12s.  I was always trying to find new ways to challenge them and every time they met my challenge.  It made me strive to be better for them.  I was doing everything I could to learn and get better. 

I went off to college and my freshman year I swam at Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington).  I did extremely well for a walk on, but my coach drove the fun right out of it for me.  After that season I decided to hang up my cap and goggles and never got back in the pool to train. 

Apparently things happen for a reason.  My HHS coach contacted me that fall and asked if I would be interested in helping out with the team.  So now I was on deck coaching in the winter.  It was a blast, but definitely not without some bumps in the road.  My sister who is 3 and half years younger than me was on the team.  I had to make sure nobody thought I was playing favorites.  I learned a ton that year being on deck with my former coach. 

The following spring the HHS coach told me she would not be returning next year and wondered if I would be interested in taking over high school team.  I did not even hesitate and quickly I said “YES!”  She took me into the Athletic Director’s office and sat through my interview and gave me a great recommendation and I became the new Head Coach of HHS.  I was 19 years old at the time.  I had friends still on the team along with my sister.  I had to draw a hard line in the sand and tell my friends we could not be friends until they graduated high school and they were no longer on the team.  It was very challenging, but it all worked out. 

We had a rough start my first few years at HHS.  A new school had been built and the majority of the swimmers were going to the new school.  I had to rebuild the team.  I recruited swimmers from crew, football, lacrosse and any sport that was off during the winter just so I could fill my roster.  Then things started to change.  Some of those kids decided to swim year round and we went from the bottom of the district right to the top. 

A couple of years after I got into coaching high school I ran into my old club coach.  He was no longer coaching but the General Manager for the team and his new senior coach was looking for an assistant.  I told him if the schedule did not interfere with my job and high school coaching I was interested.  He brought me in a few weeks later to interview with this new senior coach.  I walked on deck to see this 6 foot 6 guy with long blonde hair and his dog running around deck. He was yelling out numbers and it sounded like he was speaking another language.  I just sat down and started to watch. 

We go into the interview and the senior coach tells me, “this is how I run my program and this is what I expect from you.”  I just kind of sat there.  Not knowing what to do or say.  Somehow I got the job.  My first day on the job I followed him around like a puppy dog.  I was trying to soak in as much information as humanly possible.  After practice we went out to dinner and the coach asks me, “do you talk?”  I said,  “Absolutely! I just feel like on deck it is your show.  I am trying to learn your language and how you want things done.”  This continued for 2 more months.  Finally I was comfortable enough that I understood what was going on.  We ended up being a great team on deck.  I always described us as Yin and Yang.  He wore his emotions on his sleeve and I was very calm and relaxed.   We worked together for 2 years and I think I learned more in those two years than all my other years of coaching combined. 

After our second season together a new General Manager came in (my old coach retired) and wanted to take the team in a different direction.  The senior coach left and I tried to stay on, but eventually made the move to another team where I got the opportunity to start my own program from the ground up.  The one downfall was the pool I was going to be running was 60+ miles one way from my house.  I decided to do it anyway.  My first winter there was long and hard.  I had about 12 kids but only 4 showed up on regular basis.  The problem was the 4 that showed up should have been in 4 different groups.  By that spring I started questioning my decision and decided to take ownership of the program.  I started talking to parents about bringing friends and then started reaching out to local summer league teams.  That next fall my group of 15 kids was over 200.  Now I had a different problem…I needed coaches.  I ended up bringing on another 3 coaches and we ran it like a well oiled machine.  However, it was hard.  I was working an 8 hour day, driving over an hour to practice coaching for 2.5 hours and driving home which was an hour away.  It started to take its toll, but I loved coaching so much I could not give it up.  I did this for 3 years eventually building the program to just over 300 swimmers. 

It was amazing, but the toll on me was becoming too much.  If I wanted to continue to coach it would have to become my fulltime job but my boss for the team had no interest in paying me a full time salary.  So I started looking for a way to make my dream happen.  That is when I met Joe through a friend.  I flew out 4^th of July weekend of 2011 and moved to AZ shortly thereafter. 

I guess I got a little long winded here.  The whole reason for this is “why do I coach?”  I guess now that you know my background I can answer that question.  It is an absolute passion for me.  I love working with swimmers trying to make them better than the day before.  I know plenty of people that want to coach the next Michael Phelps.  That is not what I am looking for.  I am looking for kids to have a great passion for the sport, enjoy it, and continue swimming as long as they want.  If there goal is to swim in high school I want to help them get there.  If it is to swim in college I want to help pave the way.  If they just do it because they love it, I want to make it as fun as possible.  I want to help mold great well rounded individuals that are just as successful out of the pool as they are in the pool.  Swimming made me the person I am today because of the great coaches I had.  They taught me time management, goal setting, and perseverance.  These are all things I hope to pass on to my swimmers.  

What is Senior Swimming?!?

This is my first post and I thought I would go right to the issue I have to explain most to parents and swimmers.  I have been coaching now for 15 years in 2 different states from entry level to national level swimmers.  The one thing I have learned in all those years is the transition from Age Group Swimming to Senior Swimming is a tough one.  It is tough for parents, swimmers and coaches.  I am going to focus on three different aspects that are different.  Competition, Training and the Role of Parents.

There are two very different mindsets when it comes to training and competing.  As an Age Group Swimmer the thought is always to beat your time.  You are racing the clock every meet focused on shaving minutes, seconds, or tenths off your previous time.  When it comes to Senior Swimming you are more focused on implementing your training into your racing.  There are a lot of meets in Senior Swimming that are just extensions of your training.  This is probably one of the most difficult aspects to grasp.  Parents will get upset when their swimmer does not drop time and most of the time it is because they are not educated on the process.  Unlike other sports, swimming is a very individualized sport that has delayed gratification.  When a swimmer goes to one of these mid-season meets they are focusing on taking the training and implementing it in a race scenario.  So say the swimmer is swimming the 200 Free and during training they have been focused on attacking their turns and increasing tempo and kick third 50 that is what the coach is looking for.  They may add time they may not that is not the focus.  I typically have my senior swimmers focus on 2  to 3 meets a season.  These 2 to 3 meets are the meets we are focused on going best times.  We will have rested and tapered and are set up to swim fast.

Now comes the hard part.  Most people love competing and going to meets but meets are such a small part of the sport.  The majority of the time is spent training.  Now you are probably wondering what the difference could be between Age Group Training and Senior Training.  The answer is A LOT!  There are two different types of Age Group Swimmers.  For the first type, swimming is just one of their sports.  It may be their primary focus, but they also participate in other sports depending on the season.  These swimmers are committed but have other obligations that keep them from practice and limit their practice times. For the second group, swimming is their only sport.  This group can be broken into the swimmer that comes to every practice and the swimmer who shows up occasionally. During Age Group Training they are learning the skills to advance them in the sport.  Things like good under waters, proper technique (to prevent injury), reading a pace clock, etc.  They may practice anywhere from 3-8 hours a week depending on age and commitment.

Senior training is all about commitment.  When you get to this level most teams expect that swimming is your only sport.  This is not because your coach is trying to be mean and tell you to decide between sports it is because the requirement to compete at the highest level means you need to have that level of commitment.  Lots of senior groups have practices offered 10-12 times a week.  If each practice is 2 hours that means they are practicing 20-24 hours a week.  Depending on your coach this can vary.  That does not include commute time, dry land practices and 8 hours of school a day plus homework.  Don't forget to factor in that swimming is a sport that competes 12 months a year!  Now that is a commitment if you ask me.  I have learned over the years that successful swimmers learn how to manage their time well between their swimming commitment and school work. I will never tell you it is easy, but I will tell you it is not impossible.

Lastly, what are the parents role?  This is where I see people make mistakes most often.  In Age Group Swimming parents take the lead on communication with the Coach in regards to practice attendance, meet sign-ups and just about everything else.  This level of interaction between coach and parent greatly diminishes when you get to Senior Swimming.  Senior swimmers have the responsibility to communicate with the coach about everything!  This includes practice conflicts, what meets they will attend, and many other items.  I am not telling parents not to be involved in their swimmers sport, I am just saying the role the parents takes shifts.  Now the parents have become the drivers (for those that are whose swimmers do not drive yet), cheerleader/supporter and anything else the swimmer needs.  You need to remember this is the swimmers sport, not yours.

I know many of you can probably think of a million other aspects that are different, but these are just the three that I see are always the hardest to adjust.

Disclaimer: These are my opinions and are to not be a reflection on anyone other than myself.