What is Developing the WHOLE PERSON?

It has been over 5 years since I have added anything here.  I have been feeling inspired the last couple of weeks so I decided to try diving back into writing.  Please share with anyone you feel could get something out of this.

Coaches talk about developing not only the athlete, but the WHOLE PERSON.  Have you ever sat back and thought about what that meant?  I am going to try and explain what it means to me in 10 simple parts.

1. Time management/Punctuality – It is not just about being able to manage your time with all of your different responsibilities, it is also about being on time.  “Early is on time, and on time is late, and late is unacceptable!” -Unknown
2. Goal Oriented – Understanding how to set not just BIG long term goals, but also set short term SMALLER goals that help you continue to work towards that long term goal.  A good example is I (Coach Anthony) am trying to walk 1500 miles in the calendar year.  Each month I set a goal of what mileage I want to be at by the end of the month in order to ensure I will succeed if not supersede my goal.  
3. Responsibility – Being accountable to yourself and others.  When you say you are going to do something, follow through.
4. Teamwork – Swimming may seem like an individual sport, but it actually requires a lot of team work. This means developing friendships, mutual inspiration and admiration, and respect amongst team mates.  Great examples of teamwork would be cheering on everyone swimming in your lane as they finish a long set, providing words of encouragement throughout a long set, or challenging each other during a tough set.
5. Confidence – Having belief in yourself AND the group.  Believing in your coaches, leaders and team. 
6. Courage – The ability to “Fail Beautifully”.  During points of failure is where you can learn the most about yourself.  If you are not willing to take the risks, you will never know your true potential. Despite what you may think, no one succeeds at everything they do the first time.
7. Communication – Being able to communicate with your teammates, coaches, parents, teachers and anyone else in your life.  You need to be able to communicate your goals, schedule, and conflicts.
8. Honesty – Being 100% honest with yourself. 
9. Diligence – Being able to continue working towards long term and short term goals even when obstacles or setbacks happen.  Working towards a goal is never a straight line.  Life will get in the way.  It is how you work your way through the hard times that you will begin to thrive and grow not only as an athlete but as an individual.
10. Leadership – Not everyone is a vocal leader. I was not a vocal leader growing up.  I would lead by example, meaning I would know the whole set, know the intervals and when we were leaving and I was going to push everyone by pushing the pace every day.  Vocal leaders need to be a positive force that rallies their teammates towards their own goals.  Leaders are about the “WE” not the “ME.” As cliché as it sounds “There is no I in TEAM.”  Leaders look for the glory of the team, not just themselves.

If as coaches we are able to help hone each one of these skills and traits we will be doing a tremendous job.

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

Dealing with Injuries!

Managing swimmers with injuries is sometimes the most difficult part of coaching. As a coach you get frustrated, are bummed because of setbacks, yet determined to make sure your swimmer heals as needed. As a swimmer (or any athlete in most cases) you are just frustrated because the healing process is never quick enough.  You feel you are going to miss out, be left behind and never recover.

I have a swimmer who recently got injured in an Advanced PE Class at her high school. How did the injury occur? Well that is the tough part. I do not know exactly how or what my swimmer was doing when the injury occurred and the truth is they are not 100% sure what they were doing either. This doesn’t surprise me because athletes are stubborn by nature.  I sure know I was when I was still swimming.  We think we are invincible and can push ourselves through anything with no repercussions. 

My swimmer did not say anything to me to start.  I noticed a few times during a tough aerobic set that this swimmer kept grabbing her shoulder.  I asked the swimmer if everything was okay and she said that her shoulder was a little sore.  As she kept swimming I started to notice the pain on her face.  So, I pulled her out of the water and started to ask more thorough questions. 

As an athlete it is very important that you are honest with yourself, your family and your coach.  The injury I mentioned above turns out it is not as serious as it could have been had, but mainly because we caught it so early.  As a coach, you need to be aware of each and every one of your athletes to the best of your ability. You need to pay attention to signs that indicate something is wrong…physically or emotionally.

As a result of my discussion with her we decided to take a couple of days of rest to see if it was just something minor. However, and the pain remained.  The swimmer was able to go to the doctor and after x-rays and an MRI they found one of her tendons was beginning to fray in the rotator cuff.  Yikes! This sounds bad, but it is not nearly as bad as it could have been. 

Based on my swimmers PT requirements and MRI results we have completely shut her down from using her arms. We decided since being out of the water is not an option for her that our focus would turn to her legs while she completed about 6 weeks of physical therapy. This allowed her to continue her cardio work and let the shoulder recover.  She is also supposed to ice and take an anti-inflammatory medication (talk about a challenge) daily to help promote the healing. 

In the long run, this has turned into a learning experience for me as a coach.  I can do everything to pay attention to all my swimmers and stay aware of everything going on in the pool, but unless they physically and obviously show signs of injury I do not know unless they tell me.  As an athlete it is important that they are aware of what their body is telling them and that they be their own advocate if something is not right.  I have mentioned the importance of communication between athlete and coach. But the truth is, a good athlete wants to push themselves no matter what.

 I read an article today about an NFL player (Russell Allen) that hid his injury that drives the point of communication home. (Here is the link to the article about Russell Allen)  There was a football player that took a hit that looked like nothing, but described it as getting his bell rung.  He hid it from the coaches and it turns out shortly after the hit he had a stroke.  He also was lucky, but his injury was much more severe.  He can no longer play football but he is alive.  Now in my case, my swimmer’s injury was nothing life threatening but it serves to make my point. 

As a coach, in a highly competitive sport, it is sometimes hard to try and not push your athlete through an injury. And many injuries athletes can push through with any side effects or repercussions. But when an injury potentially sidelines one of my swimmers I find myself  telling my swimmers, and myself, this is a marathon not a sprint.  There are going to be bumps in the road, mountains to climb, plateaus to cross, but in the end the most important things are to be happy, healthy and have no regrets!

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

Technical Suits

Technical suits have become common place at every swim meet level in recent years.  I have seen them at local recreation meets/summer league meets all the way to the highest level of competition.  I was at a meet recently and saw $4000 worth of suits in a 10 & under heat.  Yes you read that correctly…. that is $4000 worth of suits.  That value in suits in that one heat was more than the cost of my first car and possibly more than the cost of those swimmers parent’s first cars.

So now you may be asking why I am putting so much emphasis on the topic of “tech suits.”  After the 2008 Olympics when numerous world records were broken tech suits were given all the credit and became the “must have” item almost overnight. Yes, the suits those Olympians wore gave the swimmers a lot of advantages from buoyancy to reduced drag, but they have all since been banned.  This does not mean the suits that are out there today do not give you an advantage, but they are much different than what those in 2008 were wearing.  Today’s tech suits offer compression, reduced drag, water repellency, etc.

The truth is, despite the changes in tech suites, I still have “fights” with my swimmers and parents at almost every meet about which suit they should wear.  Here is the truth about tech suits and where I pull my rationale from…First, these suits are expensive. Second, you only have a couple of swims in your suit before it has become too stretched out, loses their water repellency and compression. Third, the advantage the suit gives an average age group swimmer is minimal.  At your non-championship level meets there is no reason to wear one of these suits.  A tight textile/practice suit is perfect.  You are not rested and probably had tough practices leading up to your meet.  So why waste the few swims you have in a tech suit in your less competitive non-championship meets?

The reality is for many swimmers wearing a tech suit is just a mental game. They get in their head that they need the suit to swim fast and without it they have no chance.  It is all part of this new mentality they get by simply putting on the suit.  I am a big believer that the swimmer needs to learn to swim fast and not rely on the suit. If they are successful without the suit they will be successful with it and their swimming becomes less about what they are wearing and more about the technique they have been working on.   

From my standpoint, a tech suit should be saved for meets when you are tapering, which for my swimmers would be three meets a year.  We have a taper meet normally at the beginning of December, and then we have Championship meets in March and July/August.  These are the only meets these suits make sense.  You want it to be a “special occasion” to wear the suit.  If you wear it to every meet there is nothing special about putting it on and any mental advantage you would feel is lost as a result of the redundancy of wearing it too often. 

Picking your suit

There are several different brands and styles of the tech suit.  However, before you choose your suit you should go to FINA and make sure the suit you are looking at is approved.  The suits now have a logo that says FINA Approved and looks similar to this:

 

Having this logo is really important as there are still a lot of banned suits out there and you do not want to be the swimmer wearing a banned suit. 

Once you find approved tech suits and are narrowing down your options make sure you try them on. The biggest mistake a swimmer makes is not having a suit that fits properly. Every suit is cut differently and you need to find what works best for you and your body. You also need to make a decision if you are going to wear a Kneeskin or traditional style suit.  And boys need to consider if they want a high waist suit or not.  Lastly, when considering a suit always remember “the most expensive does not always mean it is the best suit for you.” Just because one suit costs more than the next does not mean it will help you swim faster. It simply means it is more expensive. Price should weight very little in your decision of what to buy.

As championship meets are approaching if going the route of wearing a tech suit is your plan you need to start thinking about what you want NOW. Why? Because suit retailers cannot keep tech suits (especially the most popular ones) in stock around big meets. 

And my last and most important suggestion as you start to consider what tech suit to purchase is to talk to your swimmer’s coach. You are making a pricey investment and your coach will likely have some invaluable insight of what he/she thinks will best “suit” your swimmer.

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

Managing Expectations

As the group I coach is getting older I have started having to work on managing expectations.  This is a very interesting and touchy subject with my swimmers and families.  As swimmers grow and mature the expectation of a best time every time in a race is impossible to achieve, but what they always seem to expect.  However, I look at each meet as a stepping stone towards their goals not  as a race for best times. 

 Right now we are in the heart of our training cycle for our Short Course season building towards our Spring Championship meets.  So as part of this training cycle I have sat down with most of my swimmers to discuss goals, their calendar (practice and meet schedule), and my plans leading into our championship meet.  During our discussions we talk about the opportunities to race at any upcoming meets over the next few months and what our strategies will look like during practice and those meets.  One of the most important topics that I discuss with them is my expectations for each meet.  I am not always expecting best times at every meet, but what I do expect to see are the skills we have been working on in training implemented into their racing.  A perfect example was over the past few weeks we have been working on our turns and under waters.  We had a meet this past weekend and that is what I expected to see my swimmers focus on during their race.  However, what I found was, despite what I have told them, some of the swimmers felt that if I am not expecting best times they did not have to put forth their best effort.  And this is completely wrong.  I am looking for each swimmer to give 100% effort during a race while also focusing on those skills we have been training to improve. 

Why do I not expect best times? Simple.  At this point in the season as we are not tapering for these meets.  These meets are meant to hone certain skills so when the big competition meets come up in the spring my swimmers are in the best shape and form they can be in. The goal is for everything to become second nature so come spring championship meets we are no longer worrying about turns and under waters, but concentrating on best times.

I know swimmers are not going to be perfect at every meet or every race but we are striving for that perfection in the long run.  

For more information on tapering check out: What to expect during taper  

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

Who am I swimming for?

Over the years I have seen swimmers come into the sport, swim really fast at a young age, and they leave before they even graduate high school.  I have always found this an interesting phenomenon, though I am sure it is not limited to just swimming.  However, I believe this happens for a couple of reasons. 

The first reason is that these swimmers commonly develop strength at young age and they are much bigger and stronger than their peers.  They may not have the greatest technique, but they swim fast times and can do so on strength alone.  These swimmers eventually are caught by their peers because not only have they gained strength but do so while gaining better technique in order to be more competitive.   As a coach, I see this every year. I try to work with swimmers like this, but they are normally only successful if I can get them to buy in to the importance in developing their technique to go along with what is sometimes natural strength.  Yes, their peers do catch up to them, but they normally have started to work on their technique in order stay competitive.

The second reason is because they begin to see swimming as a job. Many times I associate this with the swimmer whose parents push them to the point where swimming is no longer fun.  This is the swimmer who swims because “Well my Mom wants me to.”  This same swimmer after a race comes up to me and says, “My Dad is not happy because I lost to (insert name).”, or “My Parent’s are upset because I added time.”  I have heard this more times than I can even count and it still makes my blood boil.  This swimmer is not swimming for them; they are swimming for someone else.  This is in my opinion one of the most difficult athletes to work with.  The only way they are motivated is by the repercussions of how their parent might reacts.  Over the years I have spent a lot of time trying to educate parents on expectations and explain in detail why we are doing what we are doing in practice and meets.  This is still a challenge as these parents believe they have their swimmers best interest at heart. I understand this, but parents have to learn and trust in the plan of their child’s professional coach.  Because despite what some parents think, the coach normally has their swimmers best interest in mind.  If the swimmer is only swimming to please their parent and not themselves they will only get so far.

The truth is swimming is very much an individualized sport.  You have to have the desire and drive to achieve the highest levels. Swimming needs to be something that you want to do. Yes, you swim with a team, but ultimately your success is not determined on how well your team does in a given meet like most sports. The swimmer spends hours upon hours immersed in water staring at the black line on the bottom of the pool.  You rarely hear anything else that is going on around you other than the thoughts in your own head.  I remember some days wondering how many tiles were on the bottom of the pool and trying to count them.  (I never found out the answer to that question, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t try to figure it out.) 

The question ever serious swimmer needs to ask themselves is… are you swimming for yourself or someone else? 

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

A Swimmer's Diet

A swimmers diet is equally as important as their training.  Your diet plays a much larger role than most think in overall performance.  If you are not fueling your body properly throughout the day you can affect yourself more than you can imagine.  An improper diet can lead to tiredness, slow recovery and compromised immune system.  And improper eating during a swim meet is normally the #1 reason for poor swims and results. I just wish swimmers would believe me when I say they need to be constantly eating throughout the day. 

What do you think is the most IMPORTANT part of your diet?  Making sure you drink plenty of water.  NOTHING, I mean NOTHING replaces water.  And do you know how many times a swimmer says “but I am surrounded by water, why do I need to drink water?” Truthfully I just laugh to myself because that just shows how little younger swimmers get it. The truth is being surrounded by and swimming in water does not mean you get hydrated through osmosis. Swimmers need to drink more water than most people.  This is not just during training but throughout the day.  If you get dehydrated it will make you feel like you have to work harder and at the same time it will decrease your overall performance.  There are plenty sports drinks out their (ie. Gatorade and Powerade), but none of them replace water.  I tell my swimmers if they bring a sport drink to practice they should also bring and drink twice as much water.  I am not saying there are not advantages to sports drinks as they help replenish your electrolytes and also give you so much needed calories during training.  But sports drinks should never replace water.

As for the food you should consume…There are a couple of rules of thumb everyone should follow.  The first is to snack often.  Every hour or two you should eat something small.  Something like granola bars, fruit or nuts.  You should snack during training as most practices are longer than an hour.  Now I know some swimmers who if they eat during practice, they get sick to their stomach.  My suggestion is to try different things.  If all else fails this is a good time for a sports drink as it will help supply the energy needed to complete the workout.  At the end of workout it is just as important to consume something with protein to aid in your recovery as to hydrate.  This should be done within 30 minutes of finishing your activity.  That means if you have a 30 minute drive home you should bring something with you to eat at the end of practice.  You also need to make sure you are getting plenty of protein throughout your day as well.  

Now as we get close to a competition your diet should become comprised more of carbohydrates.  These include things like pasta, potatoes, fruits and breads.  This will act as your fuel during competition. One of the most common things I get asked at a meet is “what should I eat?”  One of my favorite things to suggest to my athletes is to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  This gives them the protein to recover (peanut butter), the simple sugar for immediate energy (jelly) and complex carbs (bread) they need to sustain their energy.  Other great things are bananas, apples, cheese & crackers, granola bars, and trail mix. Food such as wheat thins, cheez- its and gold fish are not great sources of nutrition, but I see them all the time at meets with the assumption they are “carbs”.

But despite what you eat,  at meets hydration is still key.  I tell my swimmers I want to see them with a water bottle in their hands at all times.  I expect them to bring their water bottle with them when they are warming up, warming down and heading behind the blocks. 

Now the last thing and probably the most controversial thing I need to talk about are supplements.  Supplements are not regulated by the FDA.  What this means for you as an athlete is you can never know 100% what is in the supplement.  Of course there are two different levels of supplements.  There are your high risk (stay away from):  Muscle Builders, Weight Loss Supplements, and Mega-Doses and there are your low risk (use at your own risk): Carbohydrate drinks, Iron/calcium, and Vitamin D.  I always tell my swimmers when I am asked about supplements to talk to their physician as there are just too many variables involved and I would never want to be responsible for suggesting something that could be potentially harmful. However, the truth comes down to the fact that I am a big believer if you cannot get what you need out of the foods you are eating, you need to change what you are eating. 

Ultimately, I hope that if you get anything out of this it is that you need to eat throughout the day and drink plenty of water as those are probably the two most important things to starting a successful nutritional plan. But as a swimmer you are responsible for taking control over what you eat, how you eat and learning how to create/manage and prepare a proper swimmers diet.

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

High School/Club Swimming

High School/Club Swimming

Swimming high school and club seems to present a challenge every year for those swimmers who choose to do both.  Every year I deal with conflicts between high school and club swim expectations and this year (though it is not the first) I was on both sides of the conflict. For many families this is a true battleground. 

When I first got into coaching I started as a high school swim coach.  I had absolutely loved my time as a high school swimmer and I wanted my high school swimmers to have the same experience.  My team had very few club swimmers but we had enough for me to learn what the battle as between high school and club swim.  High school swimming is all about the team, your school and fun!  Most schools cannot offer the type of training that can be done with your club because the lanes are congested and you have a large variance in abilities.  As a result, I worked with each of the club swimmers on my team to come up with a practice schedule that worked best for their training in club and also gave them the full high school swimming experience.  It was not easy for them all, but we managed to make it work.  Because of the requirements of club swimming I only required my club swimmers to attend one practice a week. Now this year I am an assistant coach of a high school team so the control I have is very limited when it comes to administrative duties. This year my high school team required 3 practices/meets a week.  In my opinion this can put a strain on your overall training, but the truth is it is not impossible to find a balance for both the high school experience and maintaining your club training.  Lately, I hear some schools expect even more from their swimmers and have varying expectations. Some of these expectations, which I will not mention specifically, in my opinion are beyond unrealistic and are actually detrimental to the club athlete. 

What it comes down to is that each swimmer needs to make a decision on what their expectations are for their overall swimming goals/expectations. 

One thing I noticed this year, and one of the biggest misconception about swimming, is that if you do not swim for high school you will never get noticed by colleges.  I am here to tell you that is completely untrue.  The truth is college coaches are paying more attention to what swimmers are doing at Sectionals, Junior Nationals, etc. What someone does in high school weighs very little on the college recruitment process and the truth plenty of swimmers swim for colleges without ever swimming on their high school team.  This does not mean the swimmers who swim in high school have no shot of getting noticed by a college, but the likelihood is very slim. 

The reality is club swimming is all about the individual.  Club swimmers are focused on much larger more individual goals than just swimming well for their high school team.  This does not mean they should not be able to get the enjoyment out of swimming for their high school and skip the whole experience;  they simply have different overall priorities.  As a result, I suggest that club swimmer take the time and discuss with both their high school and club coach their schedule, expectations and goals.  If reaching your goals is going to be hampered by swimming high school, which 95% of the time is not the case when both coaches have the best interest of their swimmers in mind, you really need to weigh your options.  I would never suggest not swimming high school.  I enjoyed it too much and think it is the experience that helped make me who I am.  But I also have to emphasize that you need to go into high school swimming with a clear understanding of what your overall goals and expectations are from the sport.

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

Setting Goals

It has been a while since I have posted.  I have been working on this post for a few months.  Now that High School Season is over and we are getting through Championship Season I should have a few more to post soon.  If you have ideas on things I should post please comment.  Also if you like what you read I would appreciate you sharing my posts.  

Swimming is a sport of delayed rewards.  What this means is that you put in a lot of work and do not see the results for weeks, months and sometimes even years.  This can be extremely frustrating and difficult to deal with.  One way I have helped my swimmers deal with this is through goal setting. 

Of course when I ask a swimmer what are their goals and they tell me, “Make the Olympics” or “Swim at (insert College name)” I cringe.  These are great long term goals that require a lot of hard work and perseverance to achieve, and when I am looking for goals I am also looking for ones that are more short term. Obviously these long term goals are what we are working towards, but to even hope to achieve them a swimmer needs to strive towards short term and intermediate goals.   I also do not like the long term goal that is so concrete.  The reason is a lot of the swimmers who say this to me are 13 or 14 years old.  In 4 years they may not even want to go to whichever school they picked.  I would much prefer “Swim in College,” or “Get a scholarship to swim.”  These are goals that are achievable and do not box you in.

Short term goals are goals that require a lot of work and I normally base them on the immediate swim seasons.  These goals can be to achieve certain cut times or break a certain time barrier.  I do not like to hyper focus on getting a certain time in one event but something broad like achieving a certain amount of cuts for a meet.  Every season I sit down with my swimmers and discuss these short term goals and what we need to do to achieve them. 

As we work towards our short term goals we will focus on more intermediate goals.  These are goals that you focus on day-to-day.  Every day you are at practice the swimmer should be focusing on the intermediate goals we set.  These goals normally include improving under waters, kick strength, technique flaws, etc.  These are what we spend hours focusing on during practice and they have a direct correlation to achieving our short term goals. 

This is a challenge because sometimes you get so focused on trying to achieve your short term goal you forget all about the intermediate goals you are supposed to be working and focusing on.  You always want that instant gratification and unfortunately with swimming you do not get that very often.  When you are younger instant gratification comes more easily because we are more likely to see time drops at more meets, but as the swimmer gets older those time drops come fewer and farther between.  I have seen some swimmers go years between time drops in some events.

Why are time drops more difficult to achieve as you get older? Let’s just say there are many factors, and I will probably not name them all.  The most common reason is everyone eventually reaches a point where they stop growing.  You see time drops all the time when you are younger because you are constantly getting taller and stronger.  You do not have any control on when you stop growing, so that is why focusing on the aspects you can control like the intermediate goals is so vital. 

I read an article earlier on Swimswam ( http://swimswam.com/swimming-sysiphus/) that gave a great explanation on swimming and some of the trials of trying to achieve your goals.  Just because you do not achieve them right when you are hoping does not mean it cannot be done.   Please take a moment and read the article.  I could not agree more with what it says.

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

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.

The Supportive Parent

Swimming is one of the few sports that require a lot of support from parents.  This support can be shown in various ways from being your swimmers biggest cheerleader to being an official standing on the side of the pool for hours during a meet so your swimmer can compete. 

I know each parent sacrifices a lot of time between commuting and getting your child to and from practice, meets and other team activities.  I know several weekends a month are spent on a pool deck when you need/want to be doing other things.  And the truth is this is the sport your child has chosen and it is difficult.  However, there are a few things you can do to make the time you are spending more enjoyable.  Get involved!  How you may ask?  Every team is different, but several have the same needs.  Does your team have a booster club?  Do you wish to understand the sport more? Become an official.  Every team I have ever coached for is always in need of officials.  These two areas can help you get involved in ways that help the team, support your child, get to understand the sport of swimming, and allow you can meet other parents. 

This is your child’s sport. 

The most important thing to remember is…This is your child’s sport.  The focus should be on your child and not anyone else’s child. And truthfully the focus should also not be on yourself and how you feel. 

With that said there are some parents who take getting “involved” too far. And this is not in ways that I just mentioned above. Too many parents sit in the stands dwelling on a bad swim or a bad meet with their child, which does not help the swimmer.  Your swimmer is going to have bad races, bad days, or bad meets.  It is normal and it is natural.  I have so many swimmers every meet walk up to me saying my mom/dad are upset because I got beat by so and so, or they are upset because I did not drop any time.  Honestly this is one of the few times parents you can be the good guys.  I ask my parents no matter what to tell your swimmer they did good job and ask “what did your coach say?” Let me be the bad guy if necessary.

Now sometimes you may not understand why a coach is doing what they are doing.  And if this is the case, the best way to find out is to communicate directly with the coach.  There are several appropriate times to do this, but during practice is not one of them because the coach needs to have his full attention on practice/swimmers.  If you can catch the coach prior to practice, after practice, via e-mail or by phone those are the ideal times to talk to the coach.  You can also set up a meeting with the coach.  As a coach I appreciate those parents who want to understand what I am doing, my method and my goals; however, there is always a place and time for this communication to happen. 

Ultimately, your child(ren) need to be swimming for themselves not being in fear of their parents and what they are going to say.  That is why I say get involved with the sport and/or the team.  This way you are not dwelling on the bad swim or bad day.  You are involved in your own way and your swimmer sees that you are involved in something they are passionate about.  Let the coach do their job and be there to help guide your swimmer through the rough patches.

 

By being a supportive parent you are helping create an environment where the coach can be successful, the swimmer can be successful and ultimately the team can be successful. 

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

How to Choose the right group and coach?

With a new season starting I always seem to have a lot of swimmers and families contact me expressing interest in my program.  During those e-mails, phone calls and face to face meetings I like to take the time to explain how I do things. This can be from selecting the right group, to why my groups practice as much or as little as they do, to my expectations and even explaining the dynamics of those swimmers already in my groups. 

I have learned over time I am not the right coach for everyone, as much as I would love to be.  I always suggest that a swimmer and their family come to try out a few practices to get a good feel the commitment.  Participating in just one workout does not give you a good example of what our training or practices are like.  You could choose to come on a day when the group is tapering, doing a drill heavy work out or even on a day when we are doing a test set. And if that is the case any one of these practices does not show you what our season plan will be. 

As a swimmer or family you should be looking for a couple of different things as you are trying to choose the best team/group for you.  First, does the schedule work with your school, after-school activities, family activities, etc.?  Second, does your swimmer seem to connect with the coach in charge of the group and do they respect him/her?  Third, after communicating with the coach do you agree with the direction he/she or the team is going?

Now this seems simple, but if one of these three items does not fit when you are looking at teams the team is probably not going to be a good fit for you.  The reason I say that is if you disagree or do not fulfill one of those items there will be constant strain when it comes to the team and your athlete’s training.  For example, if the schedule does not work and you are missing a lot of practices the coach is not going to be happy and your swimmer is not going to get the most out of their training. 

Now at the same time I have plenty of swimmers come and try out one practice and never return.  As I said before to get a real feel of the team and coach you need to come to more than one practice and I suggest coming for an entire week to get the best feel for the program and coaches. 

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

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.