Coach Guy's Group - August 2007
Posted: 1/6/2008
Connecting the Dots:
by John Leonard, SwimFast
Posted: 12/29/2007
One of the things I see in the SwimFast Team Members in the last
couple of months that i think is very positive, is the ability
to “connect the dots” that exist between practice
and swim meets.
It is easy, when you are a child, to live so “minute to
minute” that while y ou may focus on good streamlining in
practice because Coach John, or Coach Guy or Coach Alexis asks
you to, you will tend to “forget” all about that in
the excitement of racing in a swim meet. Our athletes are getting
considerably better at making the connection.
One of my most common questions to our athletes is “what
do we practice for?” the answer is simple...we practice
to gain skills we will use when we race. And the fact is, when
we race, we are not always fresh, in fact, in the most important
latter part of every race, we should be very, very tired! And
when you are tired, we get sloppy with our habits. Great streamlines
on the first turn, become rushed “superman” steamlines
with a hurry to get up and get a breath on the last turn. Yet
the fact is, success if there for those who can maintain the same
technique at the end of a race, as they had at the beginning.
Everyone “deteriorates” during a race...those who
succeed, deteriorate technically, LESS than those who do not succeed.
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all”. It also makes us
more eager to get a breath than to be disciplined, hold our streamline
and hold the kicks off the wall. Success comes from the self-discipline
to do those small things that make all the difference.
And an even more simple fact is this....what we do in practice
is what we will do under pressure in the meet. If we practice
correctly, we will perform correctly when we are tired. If we
practice poorly when tired, we will compete poorly when tired
in the race. Its a simple “connect the dots”.
You have all seen me ask an athlete to “do that set”
or “do that swim” over. That’s not about “punishment”.
Its about teaching the athlete that no matter how tired they are,
they ARE capable of doing the technical things correctly.
And then, at the end of a race, when it counts, that technical
skill will be there intact.
We’ve made great strides in practice since the end of summer
in this regard, so congratulations to all our swimmers. But it
can always be better!
Swim Fast! All the Best, John Leonard
Further Thoughts on Swim Racing
by John Leonard, SwimFast
Posted: 7/30/2007
Continuing on from our last article on this topic.....here are
some “more specific” recommendations and thoughts.
1. Racing Technique and Tactics matter almost as much as good
stroke technique.
2. Part of Race Technique is the ability and “will”
to control breathing patterns. Breathing patterns are a key to
controlling rhythm of the swim. Rhythm makes speed. Lack of Rhythm
destroys speed.
Continuity and maintenance of momentum in the race matters.
3. In fly, the 50, breath every 2 or 3, in the 100 (short course)
breath every 2 or maybe 3 on the last lap. 100 Long Course –
breath every other stroke. In the 200, consider “2 up (2
breaths in a row) 1 down”. It gives you 50% more air than
“1 up, 1 down” and it may hurt the first 50, but payoff
in the last 50 when everyone else is dying coming home.
All things being equal, the person with GREAT breathing technique,
who can “breath down” in the ½ inch of air
above the water, can then breath every stroke and will be in FAR
better shape at the end of the race to sprint, than the swimmer
breathing every 2 or 2/1. It PAYS to work on efficient breathing
technique.
4. In all backstroke events, you should inhale on one arm entry
and exhale on the entry of the other hand. The “availability”
of breathing and air likely accounts for a good deal of the even
or negative splitting we see in backstroke swimming. Again, “keep
the rhythm” the same...don’t just breathe whenever
you chose.
5. In breaststroke, no one has yet demonstrated any advantage
in holding the breath, even though “theoretically”,
having the head lowered, (eyes looking downward) should enhance
body position and hence, speed. More experimentation probably
needed.
6. In Freestyle racing, typically in the 50, an age group swimmer
should breath every 4-5 strokes. In the older age groups, going
down on one breath coming back on one more is common. In senior
swimming, competing in a 50 and taking no breath at all is common.
7. In the Long Course 100, breathing every 3-4 is common with
all ages, except the large people, to whom those cycles are too
long to hold their breaths, and so they “start out”
breathing every stroke.
8. In all strokes, when you are fatigued and your body line and
form begins to break down, taking More Breaths is probably a death
knell. So it is important to breathe plenty early, so you can
assist your weak body position with less breathing in the latter
stages of a race.
9. Distance swimmers typically breath on one side or another,
every 2 strokes. It is counter-productive, in almost all cases,
to breath to both sides. We just don’t use air that fast!
:-)
10. In all races, try to take at least two strokes off the wall
to re-establish your speed and maintain your pushoff momentum
before you breathe.
11. It takes “core strength” to hold your body in
“racing position” for a whole race. Lots of good dryland
work will help you immensely in activing this.
Next time, we’ll talk about how world class racers swim
specific distances and strokes.
All the Best, JL
Thoughts on Swim Meets
by John Leonard, SwimFast
Posted: 5/16/2007
Here is a list of ideas I hope everyone will keep in mind when
it comes to swim meets:
1. Meets are special. We want to make them meaningful.
2. Ideally, we’d race about once a month. This gives us
time to train and get better in between meets. Sometimes the meet
schedule is such that we even have to go back to back weekends.
Not ideal, but...not much choice in some cases.
3. The less time we have between meets, the less opportunity to
improve.
4. Swimmers need to pay attention to body language and “self-talk”
at meets. Confidence and positive approaches to events are important.
Confidence comes from quality practice performances.
5. Race all out, all the time. No holding back. Race one event
at a time.
6. Race with a purpose: Know your goal...best time, technical
improvement, intelligent splitting, winning the race, etc. Don’t
go to the blocks without a purpose. Evaluate the race based on
that purpose and that purpose ALONE.
7. Relays are the best event in swimming. That’s why they
score twice as many points.
8. Fast prelims mean fast finals. There is no such thing as “taking
it easy in the morning”. All swimming slow does is put doubt
in your mind.
Swim fast in the morning. Swim Faster at Night. Move up places
in the final.
9. The worse the “conditions” the more you should
focus and the tougher you should get, mentally and physically.
Compete better than anyone else when things are rough.
10. We train hard and smart. Use this. Get better as the 3 day
meet progresses. Others get tired. You get better each day.
11. We “enter away from success”. See number 1,2,3.
Contrary to intuition, we want to place some time between swimming
the same “good event” so we have time to improve.
So if your 100 fly is good one week, next week, expect to swim
something else to also be good.
12. Swim meets are chances to learn from mistakes. You’ll
make mistakes. Understand them. Correct them. Get Better.
13. If you want to achieve something great, you can’t do
it “carefully”. When you want a great swim, you have
to have courage and GO FOR IT! Courage wins regardless of the
outcome of the race.
14. “Everyone” lets up in the 3rd quarter of a race.
Don’t do it. Learn and train to ATTACK in the 3rd quarter.
You’ll be amazed who you can beat like that!
15. Starts and Turns can win races. They can also lose races.
Which do you prefer? You get many, many chances each day to do
great turns. Are you?
16. “Fast and Relaxed” is the concept to master to
race well.
17. Make good choices at the meet. In what you eat, before and
during the meet. In what you wear. (stay warm, dry). In what is
on your feet. (wear sneakers with an arch, not flip-flops).
Take two pairs of goggles to the blocks for the time when one
breaks.
18. Any best time (even a tiny one) is something to celebrate.
19. Best times are not the ONLY good thing to celebrate.
20. There are no “bad tapers”. Only bad training.
If you have good training consistently, you’ll have a great
taper.
More later. Enough for now. Parents feel free to print this
for the swimmers. All the best, JL
News
Posted: 2/19/2007
Congratulations to Mikayla Otero and Geena Squartino for fine
swims at Sunrise this past weekend.
Mikayla dropped 7.9 seconds in the 200 IM, and 3 full seconds
in the 100 free, while coming within tenths of best times in the
100 breast and 100 Fly (both of which had some weird timing issue,
with the final times being a full second slower than the time
shown on the scoreboard.....) Geena dropped 13 seconds in the
200 IM, and 2 full seconds in the 100 free (only one one-hundreth
off the JO cut for 11-12) while also going best ever 50 fly times
in both the individual event and the lead 50 of the 200 IM. Geena
also dropped 11+ seconds in the 100 back. Great swims ladies!
Technically well done and effortful!
Geena and Mykayla will join Robin Holmes in swimming at the Division
II meet in Jupiter in two weeks.
Emily Kasmer swims the 100 fly and 50 free this saturday at Plantation,
then 100 free and 100 back on Sunday. Bean (Christina) Edson joins
Emily in the 50 on Saturday and the 100 free on Sunday.
Then Emily and hopefully, Bean, compete in the Sectional meet
in Fort Lauderdale on 8-11.
Florida Gold Coast JO's follow March 15-18.
Then we will train for Two More Weeks, March 19-30, and then take
a one week break during the April 1-April 6 week, which is Broward
Schools vacation. We're back in the pool on Monday, April 9. I
will be gone from March 19-30 representing the USA at the World
Championships in Melbourne Australia and Coach Cindy will conduct
workouts during that time.
Good news is that we will train Long Course at Sunrise Pool (where
the meet was this past weekend) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
from 6-8 AM this summer. Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be at the
JCC pool short course at the same time in the morning. We'll also
be a the JCC M, T,W,Th evenings from 5-7 PM as we are now.
Nice swims to GEENA and MYKAYLA, and LETS GO MISS EM and BEAN!
All the Best, JL