Quality vs. Quantity

There is always a great debate in swimming of quality versus quantity.  Every coach and team has their own thoughts and feelings on this, but I am a big believer in quality. 

To start off, quality is all about learning to do things the proper way.  I believe this has to start from the very beginning.  This means when a young swimmer first joins a team they need to be taught through drills by focusing on how to swim smart.  What do I mean by swim smart? Do not recreate the wheel.  I am a firm believer in streamlines, jumping off the wall with power, and using your whole body when swimming. Yes, even during drills.

Any coach can give a kid sets to complete and just have them swim laps back and forth across the pool (quantity) and some swimmers will do fine in that setting. However, this form of coaching in my opinion does not hold a swimmer accountable for what they are doing.  I have been known to call these kinds of practices “Garbarge Yards!”  What I mean by this is that they are likely swimming yardage but in the process forming bad habits such as not holding their streamlines, breathing on break outs, not focusing on body position or head position.  “Garbage Yard” practices normally do not focus on the quality of the swim rather just yards. Think of this as a runner who simply runs to run and not a runner who runs to train for a marathon where they focus on stride, breathing and technique. 

By focusing on quality you can also prevent many swimmers from becoming injured. Most injuries occur when coaches just push the kids to get as much yardage in as possible.  Rather, when swimming for quality the simplest drills can help teach proper hand entry, kick and body position.  And yes, even when doing mainly drill sets the kids are being challenged.  Again, this challenge may not come at yardage but rather forcing the swimmer to focus on and implement technique. It makes them responsible in not only understanding directions that I give them but forcing them to be accountable and apply what I am saying each and every time. I find that focusing on quality keeps the swimmers, as well as me, engaged in what they are doing.  They are constantly being challenged and learning to swim smarter not further. 

This form of coaching can make my job more challenging, but it also makes it that much more rewarding.  It is also much easier to keep your kids progressing through the sport because they are more like to stay injury free, which becomes imperative as swimmer begin to add more hours in the water.   

Now, as you get further into the sport there is a point where your quantity needs to increase.  With an increase in quantity it cannot be at the cost of your quality.  There is no point in doing a long yardage challenge set if part of the way through your technique falls apart.  This is where even with quantity swimming I also expect them to swim with good quality and where implementing my coaching comes into play. As a swimmer, they need to create a strong base so when those long yardage sets are done the swimmer is set up to be successful. 

How can you create that strong base?  Personally, I start off every season focusing on “long axis” strokes. Long axis stokes are free and back which are the strokes that rotate around your spine.  With this focus, I break each stroke down to underwaters (jumping off the wall, streamlines, and underwater kicks).  Then I focus on kick strength and speed.  Your kick is your motor, it drives your body rotation and helps maintain your body position.  Lastly, I focus on body position.  I spend a couple of weeks teaching them stroke and technique breakdown by implementing them into all the drills and then working it into their swimming.  As we work on each stroke and continue to focus on specific technique I continue to add new sets that will challenge the swimmers, but still focus on the details. Don’t worry… I did not forget “short axis” or breast and fly, but I focus on those once a strong base is set on long axis strokes.  

Now just because I focus mainly on quality does not mean I do not focus on quantity.  Quantity at a young age I feel is a detriment to the swimmer.  If they are just swimming yards to swim yards they are not learning anything.  It would get rather boring for the swimmer and I see this commonly leads to them burning out at a much younger age.  But as a swimmer gets older and they have a strong technique base behind them the quantity does need to be increased.  This can be increased in a couple of ways.  The first is adding more practices in a week.  Many teams offer morning and evening sessions which makes getting in additional practices in easier. With the added days the quantity of yardage each week will increase.  I also will add longer sets with tougher intervals but I still expect smart swimming.  I never write a workout with in the intention of swimming “garbage yards.”

With all this said I am a firm believer in quality over quantity.  I know there are plenty of people who disagree with me, but in my experience those swimmers who swim for coaches who focus on yardage commonly get bored with swimming, are burnt out too soon or are injured too quickly in their swimming careers. However, I think there is room for both but never at the cost of quality.

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