tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49953421750211967492024-03-05T14:10:27.044-05:00Practice, Practice, Practice, PerformA Swimming Blog for coaches and swimmers.NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-64251198313816100062016-10-27T14:52:00.000-04:002016-10-31T10:59:59.875-04:00Michelle Konkoly's Race Comparisions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Leading into the Summer of 2016, eventual Paralympic 100M and 50M Champion Michelle Konkoly started to look pretty strong in the water. </div>
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Michelle had joined our team at T2 Aquatics in January of 2015, and although she had been training awesome in the water and in the weight room, the improvement on the clock wasn't happening the way it seemed it should. Sure, there was a half second over 100M…but not enough to justify a big move to a new place, looking for the bell to ring on the BIG GOALS. Just getting a tenth or two over 50M isn't enough improvement for anyone with the big goals, and it's not enough improvement to beat people who have previously been difficult to handle.</div>
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Michelle's quest was physical and mental, and the work was physical and mental. There was not a stone left unturned by the athlete in this case. One of the most eye-popping things for me to see was the obvious improvement with Michelle's ability to hold water while getting to high speeds. Take a look at the videos here, one from the Para World Champs in 2015, where Michelle won a Silver in 1:03.25 -- and one from Rio in 2016, where Michelle won the Paralympic Gold in 1:00.91:</div>
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The video above is from 2015. </div>
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43 strokes going down, 53 coming back</div>
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1:03.25, Silver Medal</div>
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The video below is from 2016.</div>
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41 strokes going down, 48 coming back</div>
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1:00.91, Gold Medal</div>
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And…..</div>
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Here is the 50M comparison:</div>
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The top is 2015; 29.4 / 53 Strokes / Silver Medal</div>
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The bottom is 2016; 28.2 / 47 Strokes / Gold Medal</div>
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-89169405704404849452015-12-19T15:42:00.000-05:002015-12-19T15:45:29.907-05:00200 Freestyle Predictors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was thinking about a way to get people to understand what they have to do to perform certain times in competition. It ain't magic!<br />
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Athletes want the times, but they must be ready to accept the training that it takes to get the times.<br />
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Here is the cheat sheet: <br />
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-15506347492122259392015-05-08T13:00:00.000-04:002015-05-08T13:54:54.819-04:00Teaching Through DQs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I figure the average swimmers gets DQed somewhere between 3-11 times in their life. That's a small amount of DQs, when you think about it. Of course to a 9 year old who has gotten their third backstroke turn DQ in a season, it may seem like a lot!<br />
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Getting disqualified happens, usually at a younger age, and then most of the DQ causes are pretty much gone forever. The breaststroke kick, backstroke turn, and the fly strength catch up to the needs of the race. The swimmers learn how to get to the block on time and avoid missing events. There are only a few things left to DQ after these items are mastered.<br />
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So to me it makes sense to use the DQ as a teaching source. It's a good time to teach because the athletes are very receptive after a DQ. They are probably at their most receptive point. Either they are receptive to fixing their technical issue, and so will have more intention on getting it resolved, or in the case of missing an event an athlete may be embarrassed and ready to listen up and pay attention with a heightened sense of awareness.<br />
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Last month we had a girl get DQed for the 5th time doing incorrect breaststroke kick. She just hasn't gotten it and we haven't taught it well enough. After the breaststroke, this girl had one of her all-time best swims in the next event, the 50 Back (an event which to a new/young swimmer has a challenging turn in it). She never would have nailed the 50 Back if her parents/family freaked out and fed her disappointment. Additionally, she wouldn't have nailed it if the coaches on deck would have brooded with her about the DQ. No one fed her disappointment, so this swimmer was free to set her mind on the task at hand: to get ready for the next race. Our staff pointed out to this swimmer that the most important thing was not the DQ, but the reaction and action that followed. <br />
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We made some progress with the Breaststroke kick the following week too. We can use DQs to teach.<br />
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Also, last month we had a boy miss an event at a meet. I told him he was a blockhead, but that was about it. There was nothing to say except, "You are a blockhead. See ya tomorrow at practice". What else can we do? This boy came to practice and was swimming with a heightened sense of awareness the next day. Fast, technical, the whole thing. He probably had one of his best practices of the year. You know that feeling you get when you did something wrong as a kid and then you were super-ready to show that you could do things well? -- that was this boy. <br />
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I pointed out to the boy and the group that I like the attitude he had of coming back the next day and kicking butt after accidentally no-showing the race. Isn't that what we want to teach? Having a momentary "failure" that is shrouded by the excellence of the next present moment? We can use DQs to teach! We want our kids to move on after disappointment. No one needs a sulking kid around the house, and no one wants to share a workplace with an adult that can't get over themselves. As parents and coaches, we've got to nip it in the bud and use athletics to teach life skills.<br />
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The previous month we had a boy miss an event in the Finals of a meet, and he was DQed for the entire meet. It was a tough situation. This boy had worked hard and was primed to make some cuts for the Championship meet the next month. He was pretty upset about it, as you can imagine. This is a fairly new swimmer and he was ready to pick up some valuable experience in this competition. So, what could we do? He came to the meet the next day and cheered on his teammates -- and also the day after that. He did a few sets on his own. Fast forward three days, and he's back to normal, training fast and more consistent than ever. The next month he moved into a new training group and is now swimming 7000 per session, twice the amount he was swimming two months ago, and he is swimming best times at the end of the training sets (6500 yards into the practice). We can use DQs to teach. No one in this athlete's life fed his disappointment. His Dad handled the situation with calm let the coaches coach the kid. Our coaching Staff was thinking big picture the whole time and coached him on how to handle the DQ. He is currently thriving as one of the most improved swimmers on the team. <br />
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We are using DQs to teach. We use any disappointment to teach. Coaches are involved in this, and the athletes must be receptive….but most importantly, the parents have to be on board. In each case I've mentioned, the parents have been on board. They essentially have left it up to the Coaches to deal with the swimming part, while using the opportunity to parent their kids. <br />
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What's the difference? It's an important distinction. Parenting is asking the athlete to take a deep breath, and then concoct a plan of action to move on in a positive way; coaching is helping the athlete take he next step and get the most out of the next present moment. <br />
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It always come down to the present moment.<br />
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In both instances, the positive action of helping kids and athletes centers around teaching them how to be present. Being present isn't really an action because it means to unhook attachment to the past and the future. When we do this, we are living and learning -- and life is free and fun. When life is free and fun, it's like being in fertile soil -- we grow into the freedom and the fun of the present moment.<br />
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Feeling our way through disappointment is tough, but when we view things from the correct perspective we can use our disappointments to learn how to behave like a Champion.</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-67167786689601424862014-09-03T11:13:00.001-04:002014-09-03T11:13:16.296-04:00Teaching is Taken, not Taught<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Most will agree, if learning is to occur there must be a 'student' and a 'teacher'. However, most may not agree on the means by which learning takes place.<div>
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Here is the way I see it:</div>
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Learning does not take place when the teacher <u>gives the instruction</u> to the student. </div>
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Learning <i>does</i> take place when the student <u><i>takes</i> the instruction</u> from the teacher. </div>
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A student must be among the most active of participants within any educational environment. Once a student's active participation in learning begins to occur, the lessons can become more difficult and thus more effective.</div>
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-33686196026301281612014-08-25T13:27:00.000-04:002014-08-26T09:16:17.167-04:00Flipping the Switch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="color: cyan;">Every great athlete</span></b> goes through a period of time where they flip the switch & begin to develop into a great athlete. <br />
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I spoke with a young athlete last summer, fresh off a near medal-winning swim at the World Youth Championships. I asked him, "What did you learn?" <br />
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He said, "I have to work harder."</div>
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"I have to work harder"<br />
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There is something about saying this phrase out loud that merges its intention to the athlete. <br />
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This phrase, said out loud with intent, is the switch flipping.<br />
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"I have to work harder". <br />
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Nothing comes before it & nothing comes after it.<br />
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Great athletes need greatness like they need air.<br />
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<b><i>"I have to work harder."</i></b></h3>
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-76100733849221800492014-07-23T13:17:00.001-04:002014-07-23T13:21:10.975-04:00Recapping July 2014 Championship Meets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">T2 Aquatics' has started its Championship Season with a Bang!</span></div>
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Congrats to all T2 Aquatics athletes who participated in our Sectional and State Championships this month! <b>T2's "Senior" athletes (age 15 and older) earned a 5th place finish</b> at USA Swimming's Sectional Championships held in Orlando (July 10-14), and <b>T2's "Age Group" athletes (age 14 and younger) placed 5th</b> in Florida Swimming's Age Group Championship competition held in Gainesville (July 18-21).</div>
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Here is a recap of each meet's highlights, "what's next" for each group of athletes, and a short description of our T2 Aquatics' athletes who are competing at National Championship meets at the end of the summer.</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Recap-- "Senior Athletes" -- USA Swimming Southern Zone Sectionals (Orlando):</span></h3>
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<b>T2 Aquatics foursome of Elise Haan, Justine Bowker, Kayla Tennant, and Abby Garner teamed up to win 2 relays</b>, leading our young team to a 5th place finish. </div>
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<b>Individual point scorers include</b>: Justine Bowker (individual Champ in the 200 IM, 4th in the 100 Fly), Elise Haan (3rd in the 200 Back and 4th in the 100 Back), Haley Fournier (10th in the 1500 Free), Kaitlyn Hauser (8th in the 1500, 13th in the 200 Fly, 16th in the 400 & 800 Free), Liam Hollowsky (8th in the 800 Free, 15th in the 1500 Free), Shawn Lemarie (11th in the 800 Free, 13th in the 1500 Free).</div>
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Read more about individual Champion Justine Bowker under the "Who's Who" section.</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">What's Next for "Senior Athletes":</span></div>
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T2 Aquatics athletes Justine Bowker, Elise Haan and Kaitlyn Hauser will travel to Irvine California in August to compete in the National Championships (Bowker), and the Junior National Championships (Haan and Hauser).</div>
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<b>The National Championships</b> will serve as a "Selection Meet" for USA Swimming's Pan Pacific Games Team, Pan American Games Team, and World University Games Team. USA Swimming will also choose its 2015 World Championship Team based on the results of Nationals and the Pan Pacific Games. T2 Aquatics' Justine Bowker is coming off an outstanding season, where she qualified for USA Swimming's prestigious National "A" Team and put up the 10th fastest time in the World en route to winning the 2013 U.S. Open Championship in the 200 IM. We are looking forward to seeing Justine swim faster than ever at this meet.</div>
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<b>The Junior National Championships</b> is the most competitive 18 and under Championship in the World. T2 Aquatics' representatives are poised for a great showing on this stage, having picked up valuable experience at increasingly higher levels of swimming. </div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">"Who's Who" (The athletes to watch in the "Senior Age Groups":</span></div>
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<b>Justine Bowker (University of Michigan</b>) is a former Big 10 "Swimmer of the Meet" and Big Ten Conference Champion. Justine's 2013 U.S. Open Win in the 200 IM was her third U.S. Open Championship Victory (she won two in 2009). Her time of 2:11.07 was the 10th fastest time in the World during the 2013 season, and is the 10th fastest time in the history of United States Swimming.</div>
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<b>Kaitlyn Hauser (Estero High School)</b> is going into her Junior year in High School. Kaitlyn won the 2013 2A State Championship in the 500 Freestyle, and is currently ranked 10th Nationally in the 1650 Freestyle, as well as 12th Nationally in the 1000 Freestyle among all 15 year olds.</div>
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<b>Elise Haan</b> <b>(Gulf Coast High School)</b> is going into her Senior year. Elise has won three 3A State titles in the 100 Backstroke and one 3A State title in the 200 Medley Relay, and is currently ranked 5th Nationally in the 100 Back, and 6th Nationally in the 200 Back, among 16 year olds.</div>
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Recap -- "Age Group" Athletes -- Florida Swimming's Age Group Champs (Gainesville):</h3>
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<b>T2 Aquatics foursome of Paolo Sunyak, Matt Limbacher, Cole Gutknecht, and David Olmstead </b>teamed up to win the 200 Medley Relay on the second day of competition, boosting T2 Aquatics to a 5th place finish at this Florida Swimming 14 and under Championship meet.</div>
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<b>Mason Laur </b>(age 11), Karen Liu (age 14), and <b>Matt Limbacher </b>(age 14) each brought home individual wins, and bragging rights that come with being the fastest athlete in the State of Florida. Mason won the 200 Free, 50 Fly, and 100 Fly in the 11 year old age group, Karen placed first the 200 IM, and Matt was victorious in the 100 Breaststroke.</div>
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<b>Individual point scorers include</b>: Madi Baron (7th in the 200 Back), Jacob Conner (7th in the 50 Back, 6th in the 50 Free), Audrey Delcompare (5th in the 100 Breast), William Erickson (9th in the 50 Breast, 10th in the 50 Back, 4th in the 50 Fly, 10th in the 100 Back, and 5th in the 100 Fly), Emma Feehery (6th in the 100 Free, 5th in the 200 IM), Madison Feehery (6th in the 200 IM), Andrew Garner (7th in the 50 Fly, 6th in the 50 Breast), Emmett Gillen (5th in the 50 Free, 4th in the 100 Fly), Cole Gutknecht (3rd in the 400 IM, 8th in the 400 Free, 8th in the 1500 Free), Makailey Hauser (4th in the 800 Free, 8th in the 100 Breast, 6th in the 50 Breast, 8th in the 400 Free), Maquinn Havig (8th in the 200 IM), Zoe Hendrickx (7th in the 50 Breast), Mason Laur (3rd in the 800 Free/200 IM, 1st in the 200 Free/50 Fly/100 Fly, 5th in the 100 Breast), Havana Layton (7th in the 50 Back, 9th in the 50 Free), Matt Limbacher (2nd in the 200 Breast, 1st in the 100 Breast, 5th in the 50 Free, 6th in the 200 IM), Karen Liu (5th in the 800 Free, 4th in the 400 IM/200 Fly, 8th in the 100 Fly, 1st in the 200 IM), Davis Olmsted (8th in the 50 Free), Olivia Owens (16th in the 50 Fly), Chloe Pankita (3rd in the 800 Free, 5th in the 400 Free), Anton Sunyak (8th in the 50 Fly), and Paolo Sunyak (8th in the 200 Free, 8th in the 400 IM, 6th in the 1500 Free). </div>
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Read more about individual Champions Mason Laur, Karen Liu, and Matt Limbacher, in the "Who's Who" section.</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">What's Next for T2's "Age Group" Athletes:</span></div>
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T2 Aquatics 14 and under athletes are finished with racing for the summer. Our next major competition will be in December. Our top athletes are encouraged to train through the first of August , and then take a break for 7-14 days. Many athletes/families have already started this process.</div>
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The training that takes place during August, minus the vacation time, is generally very good for T2 Aquatics athletes. We like to use this time to get ahead of the competition. One of the reason our athletes are encouraged to train for most of this "end-of-the-summer" period is because great gains can be made during this time, and we would prefer to not take a formal "break" from training. We tend to see families go on their separate vacations (as do some of our staff members), but for the most part we remain a cohesive team. We find that we move our athletes forward during the month of August in a progressive way -- which is not the norm in Florida or in most parts of the United States.</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">"Who's Who" (The athletes to watch in the "Age Group" groups):</span></div>
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<b>Mason Laur</b> (age 11) is currently ranked 4th Nationally in the 100 Fly, 5th in the 50 Fly, 11th in the 200 Free, and 12th in the 200 IM.</div>
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<b>Karen Liu </b>(age 14) is currently ranked 19th Nationally in the 400 IM.</div>
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<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Matt Limbacher</b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"> (age 14) has a number 1 ranking Nationally in the 13 year old 100 Breast, as well as 3rd Nationally in the 200 Breast. This weekend, competing his second meet as a 14 year old, Matt put up the 8th fastest time Nationally in his new age group.</span><br />
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-53920409145421524682014-06-10T11:53:00.001-04:002014-06-10T13:16:10.668-04:00T2 Aquatics' athlete Katie Kramer swims from Europe to Africa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
T2 Aquatics / Marshall University Student-Athlete Katie Kramer completed the "Straight of Gibraltar" last month, becoming the youngest American Female to complete the swim. <br />
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Of note, Katie made the decision to swim without the aide of a wetsuit!<br />
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Katie is a great example of what we are about at T2 Aquatics. She had a great IDEA, and turned that idea into something great. The IDEA was the necessary <u>first</u> part, and the ACTION was of course the necessary final part. But without the IDEA of doing something <i>this hardcore</i>....the swim never would have happened.<br />
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Listen to Katie's interview with swiminfo.com<span style="color: cyan;"> <a href="http://tv.swimmingworldmagazine.com/shows/all-studio-videos/tagged/27338">here</a></span><br />
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Check out this article & Q/A, on swimswam.com<span style="color: cyan;"> <a href="http://swimswam.com/kramer-youngest-american-swim-gibraltar-strait/">here</a></span><br />
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Way to Go Katie!!!</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-49014234530204830522013-10-20T15:13:00.004-04:002013-10-20T15:13:46.546-04:00Masters Swimmers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm going to post a week worth of Masters Practices on the following site:<br />
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<a href="http://mastersswimpractices.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://mastersswimpractices.blogspot.com/</span></a><br />
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Check it out!</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-82281842040587739702013-10-17T07:50:00.001-04:002013-10-17T08:34:14.584-04:00Workout posted to Proswimworkouts.com, Plus a video link<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Check out proswimworkouts.com -- a new T2 Aquatics workout has been posted: <a href="http://proswimworkouts.com/workouts/t2-aquatics-stroke-kick-swim-drills"><span style="color: cyan;">http://proswimworkouts.com/workouts/t2-aquatics-stroke-kick-swim-drills</span></a><br />
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Here's a direct link to the drill/exercise we filmed during the session:<br />
<a href="http://proswimworkouts.com/workouts/t2-aquatics-stroke-kick-swim-drills"><span style="color: cyan;">http://proswimworkouts.com/workouts/t2-aquatics-stroke-kick-swim-drills</span></a></div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-69830264485368837852013-09-19T07:12:00.000-04:002013-09-19T15:32:08.243-04:00Training and Competiting with an Edge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
For those of you who follow NFL Football, you have recently learned that the Cleveland Browns have traded their young Running Back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts, in exchange for the Colt's 1st round draft pick in 2014.<br />
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It's a bold move by both teams. The Browns have essentially conceded their season two games in, and are starting to prepare for two high draft picks next year, while the Colts are obtaining a much-needed running back to go with their prodigious Quarterback, Andrew Luck.<br />
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It's curious to me what Trent Richardson has said in wake of this trade. Keep in mind that Trent has shown flashes of greatness, but overall has not been outstanding (albeit while playing for a sub-par team in the Browns). Yesterday, after learning about the trade, Trent was quoted as saying:<br />
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“I’m going to get studying on my playbook and get ready to go against San Francisco,” he said. <strong>“When I do go in this weekend, I’ll be playing with a big chip on my shoulder. I play like that every week but this week I feel like I got a lot to prove to people.”</strong><br />
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A big chip on his shoulder? Now he's going to up his game? To prove that he shouldn't have been traded? I understand his statement, and I have no doubt that his effort will be higher than it has been. And that is my point. Where has this edge been for the last year, if it's true that NOW he is going to up his game?<br />
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Athletes with an "Edge" are the best athletes to have on your team, and they are the toughest to deal with in competition. Sometimes it takes disappointment to find that edge. The Michael Phleps', the Michael Jordan's, and the Tom Brady's of the world have that "Edge" every day of their lives. They hate losing, and take it personal when they don't perform their best -- and they carry that disappointment through months and years of time. They don't get disappointed for a day and carry it through the end of the week. The get disappointed and carry it through redemption...however long it takes.<br />
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Recently, at the World Junior Championships I spoke with an athlete who had finished his last individual race. He had hoped to win an individual medal, but fell short. He had raced well and performed his lifetime best time, but of course he wanted to stand on the medal stand after the race. Instead, he stood next to me. I asked him what he had learned.<br />
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He said, "I know now that I have to work harder, and improve the little things in practice." His expression told me that he knew his walls and his skills were not in line with his fitness -- and without the skill work he would continue to fall short. He wasn't thinking about the race at all. He did everything he had trained to do. His expressions told me that he was thinking about his practices and all the hours of wasted effort training at 95%. <br />
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Whether it's the skill part of the sport or the fitness part of the sport that needs to improve, you have to identify it and attack it.<br />
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I thought this swimmer's comment was right on. And it's coming from one of the best 18 and under athletes in the history of the USA. At 17 years old, he was learning young that you have to bring that edge to practice and competition every day, and practice being that edgy athlete all of the time -- or risk disappointment at the end of the season. What he had done, to get to be the best 18 and under in the USA, simply wasn't good enough!<br />
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-6626339844529424722013-09-12T19:59:00.001-04:002013-09-12T20:06:43.216-04:00Tempo Trainer Idea from Coach Adrian Dinis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My friend and colleague Adrian Dinis (Coach and Owner of Rattler Swim Club) has some ideas worth sharing; one of them -- posted a few months ago -- gets at the crux of the issue with many age group athletes: finding the correct dolphin kicking tempo. If you like reading about new ideas for training and learning about some things you can do to improve an athlete's skill set, check out this post: <a href="http://rattlerswimming.blogspot.com/2013/02/kick-workwith-tempo-trainers.html"><span style="color: cyan;">http://rattlerswimming.blogspot.com/2013/02/kick-workwith-tempo-trainers.html</span></a><br />
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I have not used the FINIS tempo trainer as often as I should, but after reading this post (while racking my brain for new ideas to get my athletes to kick better underwater dolphin kick) I may invest in a few for my athletes. Here is a link to the trainers: <a href="http://www.finisinc.com/tempo-trainer-pro.html"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.finisinc.com/tempo-trainer-pro.html</span></a> <br />
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Check out more of Coach Adrian's Blog Postings at "I Smell Like Chlorine" <span style="color: cyan;">http://rattlerswimming.blogspot.com </span><br />
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Pretty cool logo, eh?<br />
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Coming soon.....I have recently acquired a FINIS Monofin, and have been using it to help my athletes figure out a more effective way to dolphin kick. So far, it's been great. So, I plan to post a write-up on my athletes' Monofin use -- with a few videos to go along with it. Stay tuned!</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-15839665048702794352013-09-04T14:34:00.001-04:002013-09-04T14:34:34.697-04:00T2 Aquatics USA National Team Members & a little bit about our Post Grad Mentality<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="userContent">Congratulations to T2 Aquatics athletes Erika Erndl and Justine Bowker, and Elizabeth Pelton (Cal Aquatics) on their official selection to the USA Swimming National "A" Team! Each year, USA Swimming selects the top 6 athletes in each event, based off results from National Championship meets and International Championship meets. T2 Aqautics is one of only 5 USS "Club" Swimming Teams to have qualified multiple current athletes to the 2013 USA National Team (the others include NBAC, SwimMac, NCAC, and Mission Viejo). </span><br />
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<span class="userContent">At T2 Aquatics, we are really proud of these two Post-Graduate athletes. Each of these women were strong NCAA swimmers (Erika graduated from North Carolina and Justine from The University of Michigan), and each has continued to improve over the last two years.</span><br />
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<span class="userContent">When I arrived in Naples, Florida in the late summer 2010, Team President Kevin Erndl and I set out to create a "Cultural" situation where we could build not only a great Club Swimming Team that does well with 18 and Under athletes, but one where Post Graduates could thrive in the pool and out of the pool. My feeling is that we have been writing the first chapters of this book during the 2011, 2012, and 2013 season. Our results have been good (not great), but my feeling in that we are simply taking the first of many steps.</span><br />
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<span class="userContent">Unfortunatly we have only a small Post Graduate Team right now, and because of our low numbers I have started the Fall of 2013 running some combined practices with Post Grads and High-School aged athletes. I am anticipating an increase in Post Grads over the next few months, but until then we will work with who we have! As we increase in numbers, we will increase the times we spend sectioning off Post-Graduate athletes. </span><br />
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<span class="userContent">Just in case there are Post Grad athletes out there who are reading this (or college/International coaches looking to send their top athletes to a place where they can thrive personally and athletically), here is what we can offer you:</span><br />
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<span class="userContent">1 -- A Team Culture that is focused on winning Individual and Relay Medals at International meets (this is my background as a Coach and I will not waiver from my goals).</span><br />
<span class="userContent">2 -- A beautiful setting. I you haven't seen what Naples looks like, here ya go: </span><br />
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3 -- A pool that we have full control over (we decide lane space and times).<br />
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4 -- A supportive community that tends to enjoy and benefit from hiring our athletes. <br />
5 -- Support of International athletes. I don't care where you are from, as long as you are planning to compete on an International level.<br />
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Here is what we expect of our Post Graduates:<br />
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1 -- High Goals<br />
2 -- Team-Oriented Attitude. We want athletes who support our whole team, from the Post Graduate age group down to the 8 and under kids. This support is shown through daily interaction and palpable attitude.<br />
3 -- Flexibility & the ability to train with anyone at times, regardless of age.<br />
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Our team website is located here: <a href="http://www.t2aquatics.com/Home.jsp?team=flt2">http://www.t2aquatics.com/Home.jsp?team=flt2</a><br />
My Coaching Bio, with email contact info, is here: <a href="http://www.t2aquatics.com/Contact.jsp?team=flt2">http://www.t2aquatics.com/Contact.jsp?team=flt2</a><br />
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Thanks to all who have read this far. My hope is continue to develop the younger atheltes in Naples, Florida, but I am always looking for an opportunity to work with the best athletes in the World, regardless of age!<br />
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-85560398265228624922013-08-20T21:11:00.005-04:002013-08-20T21:14:41.813-04:00The Mindset of Pure Performance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Recently, I've been running anywhere from 15 to 30 miles per week. I like to get out there 4-5 times per week and do either a long run (8-13 miles), a medium run (4.5 to 5 or so, faster), an active rest set (half mile fast plus one minute walk easy x6), or some fartlek (3-5 miles, half mile moderate, half mile fast). Sometimes I do a circuit (a few exercises in the weight room, followed by a .62 mile (1/5 of a 5K, repeat 3-4 times).<br />
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What I do doesn't really matter, but I wanted to give a visual for what is happening. I probably don't do enough circuit training and fartlek training, and my actual routine is about 75% straight running between 4 and 8 miles. I have a Nike+ watch that calculates my current pace, average pace, total distance, etc. Here's the watch, it's a great tool <a href="http://www.finishline.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?productId=prod710985&NIKE&mkwid=st49OTA1D&CMP=PPC-PLA-Accessories-++SportWatch+GPS+Running+Watch&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CN-P0NigjbkCFenm7AodK0MAMw"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.finishline.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?productId=prod710985&NIKE&mkwid=st49OTA1D&CMP=PPC-PLA-Accessories-++SportWatch+GPS+Running+Watch&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CN-P0NigjbkCFenm7AodK0MAMw</span></a><br />
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I've noticed a few interesting things. The things I've noticed have helped me get a handle on my running training while simultaneously teaching me about my life. <br />
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Like most runners, I get into a zone after 10-20 minutes, and my mind begins to wander into places that I don't normally venture into....I'm relaxed, and the things that are in the back of my mind come to the forefront. <br />
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I've noticed the type of thought I'm thinking affects my pace directly. Here are a few examples:<br />
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*When I think about my daughter, my wife and family, or my friends -- and the fun things we've been doing, I tend to have relaxed easy speed; conversely, if I'm thinking about a conflict I have had recently with someone in my life, my pace slips and as I notice my pace slip (thanks to my watch), I notice that my posture is sagging or my tempo has slowed.<br />
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*When I think about swimming practices or competitions my athletes have been having, in which they have performed well, I notice a relaxed stride and easy high tempo; while the opposite is also true -- poorly executed practices or races will slow me down by affecting my body position and stride rate.<br />
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*When I am anticipating great performances in practices or competitions, I feel my easy speed. This morning, I found myself thinking about our upcoming Team USA trip to Dubai and I was considering what a particular athlete, who I don't know well but have seen race many times, could possibly do....and it was so exciting that I dropped 30 seconds from one mile to another -- and that was 5 miles into the run!<br />
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*Even when I am dealing with residual fatigue and I don't have a lot of pop, thinking about the positive aspects of accomplishing an increased workload will tend to give me an extra boost (and if I stop my thought at the simple self-statement: 'I am tired' -- then I run lazy and tired).<br />
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I've noticed these things, with consistency and regularity, over the last six months. I have no doubt that my mentality towards my training can affect my daily outcome, every time. I can't help but think about how this same mentality can positively affect my daily life -- and not just my run. Running has taught me what I have always known, but have tended to forget from time to time.<br />
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Many people believe that things happen in life, and how we react to those things will determine our success and our happiness. I don't believe this to be the case at all.<br />
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I believe that we create our life: how we feel, how we act, how we deal with tough circumstances -- it's all our creation. We affect our outcomes, every minute of every day. Our thoughts affect the actual outcome -- in our daily life just as it is when we exercise and compete.<br />
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Additionally, our thoughts create chemical reactions in our brain that allow us to feel good throughout the day. <br />
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This outlook and this ability to "affect life" and not "be affected by life" does not mean that people who aspire to this lifestyle live in a land of make-believe where everyone is happy all of the time, and no one gets anxious and stressed out.<br />
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You have to think about it like playing offense vs. playing defense. Both offensive players and defensive players are playing the same game, but they are on different sides of the ball; and it's only the offensive player that can score points and actually win the game. Looking at your life from one side of the ball is quite a bit differnt from looking at it from the other side.<br />
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I believe that it is possible to take our 24 hours of the day and, through controlling our thoughts, begin to spend more time in a positive, confident state of mind and less time in a negative, anxious state of mind. Once we start to tip the scale toward the positive, it builds....and that is when things get fun! <br />
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So athletes, get yourself into a competitive situation -- whether it be pratice or competition, and find something that fires you up. Get into that zone, and stay there. If a negative or non-motivational issue comes up, toss it to the side. Eliminate it. Bye bye. Stay on task. Smile. Expect great things. Be confident by remembering your best performances. Be optimistic that your best is yet to come. And let these thoughts flow through you. Greatness will appear!!<br />
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NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-90079112936535061122013-08-14T15:40:00.001-04:002013-10-14T11:35:19.756-04:00Measuring Success (Correctly) in Swimming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Measuring
Success (Correctly) in Swimming<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the sport
of Swimming, athletes, parents, and coaches seem to have an obsession with
“dropping time”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This obsession can be
healthy when approached with perspective and maturity; but oftentimes our
obsession with “dropping time” is not only unhealthy – but inaccurate when assessing
forward-moving or stagnant performance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a
disclaimer: I realize that one of the beautiful things about swimming is that
the stopwatch can tell us exactly what is going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things seem black and white with swimming
like they seem to be with Track and Field, which are much different sports when
compared to football, basketball, or soccer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Many people are drawn to the sport of swimming because it seems relatively
easy to see where you stand and where you rank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But here’s the problem: the human organism is ever-changing, and to
measure its changes from a black and white perspective simply doesn’t make
sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swimming isn’t really black and
white; it just seems to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oftentimes,
we don’t account for growth, or lack of growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We may not account for how that growth affects stroke technique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may not account for the learning of a
better racing strategy – or simply trying a new strategy that is less effective
than a previous strategy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our sport is
not as black and white as we may think it is when looked at from these
perspectives!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take a look
at the numbers below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve looked at the
USA Swimming database to determine the 1<sup>st</sup>, 10<sup>th</sup>, and 50<sup>th</sup>
ranked times for single age groups (I used men age 14 through 16, and women age
13 through 15 -- from 2011 through 2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I looked at the difference between the Top Ranked time at age 14 (for
men) and 13 (for women), and calculated the amount of time dropped over the
next two years (for age 15 and 16 for men, and age 14 and 15 for women).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did the same thing for the 10<sup>th</sup>
fastest time each year, and the 50<sup>th</sup> fastest time for each year, as
well as for each gender.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I averaged the
time drops for the #1 ranking, the #10 ranking, and the #50 ranking to get the
“Average Time Drop” for the particular age and event.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The facts
show the following: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the 200M distance, Men drop an
average of 4.4 seconds per year from age 14 to age 15, and an average of 2.4
seconds per year from age 15 to age 16.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">B.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the 200M distance, Women drop an
average of 5.0 seconds per year from age 13 to age 14, and an average of 1.9
seconds per year from age 14 to age 15.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are the
raw numbers:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Freestyle -- Men<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop/year<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:56.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1:59.3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:01.6<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:52.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1:54.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1:58.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4.3 seconds </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (16)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:48.6<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1:53.8<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1:55.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2.3 seconds </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Backstroke – Men<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:08.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:11.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:16.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:02.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:07.8<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:10.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4.8 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (16)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:03.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:06.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:09.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>0.8 seconds </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Breaststroke – Men<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:21.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:28.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:35.2<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:19.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:23.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:28.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4.7 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (16)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:15.8<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:20.3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:25.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>3.6 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Butterfly – Men<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:04.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:09.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:15.7<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:00.9<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:06.8<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:10.4<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>3.8 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (16)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:56.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:04.4<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:08.4<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2.9 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Freestlye --Women <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (13)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:05.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:08.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:11.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:00.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:04.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:07.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4.3 seconds </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1:59.3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:03.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:06.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>0.9 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Backstroke – Women<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (13)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:19.8<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:21.8<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:27.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:14.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:17.7<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:23.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4.6 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:10.3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:16.6<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:20.7<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2.8 seconds </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Breaststroke – Women<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (13)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:37.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:41.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:49.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:26.3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:37.7<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:44.3<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>7.0 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:31.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:36.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:42.7<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2.6 seconds </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">200
Butterfly – Women<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Year (Age)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#1 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>#10 US Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>#50 US
Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Average Time Drop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2011 (13)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:15.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:22.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:27.5<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 (14)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:11.1<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:18.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:23.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4.2 seconds </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 (15)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2:10.3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:17.5<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2:21.6<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>1.3 seconds</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s easy to
draw a few conclusions with these facts:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are not dropping 4-5 seconds
off of your 200, during the critical years (14-15 for men and 13-14 for women),
then you are simply not keeping up with your competitors throughout the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many athletes, parents, and coaches will be
very excited to see a 3 second time drop in an event, from year to year; but
between these years, a 3 second time drop means that the athlete is simply not
holding their US ranking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">B.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are not dropping about 2
seconds the following year (15-16 for men and 14-15 for women), then you are
not keeping up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same idea applies,
but here the challenge is to keep our stagnant swimmers into the sport and
looking forward with optimism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To have a
smaller time drop during this time of their career is normal; and certainly we
would like to see a bigger drop, but this is when “relative plateaus” may
occur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These athletes need to keep
plugging.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">C.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Men, when compared to women, drop
less time ‘early’ and more time ‘late’; whereas women drop more time ‘early’
and less time ‘late’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The implications
for this are vast, particularly on the women’s side: women who are dropping the
big time ‘early’ need to realize that it’s normal to see their time drops level
off a bit (they still may be gaining on their competitors if they drop 3.8
seconds from 13 to 14, and only 2.5 from 14 to 15); but on the other side of
the thought process, both the women and men should realize that at the age of
15 or 16 many of their peers are not improving at the same rate that they did
when they were 14 or 15 – which leaves an open door for a committed, focused
young athlete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly the top
athletes in the US keep the ‘pedal down to the floor’ from age 15 through age
18 – and they do so with better efficiency than their peers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is a lot to this type of comparison, and certainly I’m
aware that it is small sample size. I don’t see this type of comparison as a
way to determine what types of athlete will make the 2016 Olympic Team – it’s
more of a comment on 18 and under athletes in the US, and how we can accurately
assess performance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We need to be careful when assessing performance, because
swimming is not the black and white sport many of us are guilty of believing it
to be.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
See my post on FloridaSwimNetwork.com:<br />
<a href="http://flaswimnetwork.com/paul-yetter/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://flaswimnetwork.com/paul-yetter/</span></a></div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-2686083465265648692013-08-12T20:55:00.002-04:002013-08-13T06:10:02.477-04:00ISCA Conference August 28-30, 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ISCA has released their adenda for their coach's clinic coming up in Clearwater, Florida (August 28-30). Lots of great talks coming your way. Check out the line-up: <a href="http://www.nasaswim.com/clinic.pdf"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.nasaswim.com/clinic.pdf</span></a><br />
<br />
More about the pricing: <a href="http://swimisca.com/event/4th-annual-hall-of-fame-coaches-clinic/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://swimisca.com/event/4th-annual-hall-of-fame-coaches-clinic/</span></a> I'm pretty sure that if you sign up for a year membership between now and the date of the clinic, the ISCA administration will take $75 off your Clinic fee.<br />
<br />
I am going to be out of town that week, so unfortunatley I won't be able to attend. Hopefully next year I can make it. <br />
<br />
The big difference, from what I hear, with this type of conference -- is the interaction and synergies created by the speakers and the coaches in attendance. There is a large percentage of the talks that are more like "public forums" and less of what most coaches are used to: getting talked to for 50 minutes, with 10 minutes of questions.<br />
<br />
I'd say it's worth checking out. </div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-81132812879504078972013-07-29T19:35:00.003-04:002013-07-29T20:29:20.053-04:00ISCA -- International Swim Coaches Association<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K37iIPNwVWVYpcZXMekRDePUszgxX1HJ3JoXXhaLfJ30lSBd23_fS2CH0lPHT1y3nt0-YTWgktCF6xn6SkQywiHKshI54ZITVYnGCyXJ2noKMqxrGYfBu-9SByjHf4CUcIrbjBVxHo8/s1600/ISCA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2K37iIPNwVWVYpcZXMekRDePUszgxX1HJ3JoXXhaLfJ30lSBd23_fS2CH0lPHT1y3nt0-YTWgktCF6xn6SkQywiHKshI54ZITVYnGCyXJ2noKMqxrGYfBu-9SByjHf4CUcIrbjBVxHo8/s320/ISCA.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had the pleasure of speaking with Clearwater Aquatic Team
and Hall of Fame Coach Randy Reese last week at the Orlando Sectionals
Meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talked at length about our
sport, and what the future may hold for athletes and coaches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both agree that on many fronts the
future of our coaching profession can be (and should be) better than its past;
and as part of this assessment we have to realize it is up to us -- as coaches
-- to create our community the way we'd like it to be.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are a few ideas we spoke about:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coaches and Teams should be able to create a
more viable financial situation for ourselves by having more control over the
meets we run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some ways, we simply
need to be creative within the current “rules” of USA Swimming and our LSCs;
and in other ways we need to take initiative to challenge the status quo, and
change things into what we’d like to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coaches tend to have a hard time building pools,
which is the number one source of revenue for our teams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where does one start?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is entailed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a huge job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But with new pools, we can hire coaches and
attract swimmers – and expand our programs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Health insurance for coaches and coach’s
families is important to have, but many teams do not offer comprehensive health
insurance packages to their coaching families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are many reasons for this, and they all make sense, but it doesn’t
change the fact that we must go outside of our teams for health insurance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many coaches do you know do not currently
have health insurance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More coaches need to make health insurance a
priority.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All of this leads me to the point of this blog post:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every coach who has not checked out the
International Swim Coaches Association should really make it a priority to do
so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Randy Reese heads the Executive
Committee. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The ISCA costs $75 per year to join.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is the website link: <a href="http://swimisca.com/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://swimisca.com/</span></a></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is part of what you get:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">$75 off the cost of ISCA’s 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> annual
Coaches Convention in Late August, held in Clearwater Florida. Here is a membership link: <a href="http://swimisca.com/product/coaches-subscription/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://swimisca.com/product/coaches-subscription/</span></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Member-exclusive pool pricing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you want to build a 25M x 25Y pool?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s how you can do it for $372,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t think that’s cheap?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Randy is building one himself right now, and my team is looking forward
to using it when we attend his CAT meet in December.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s the link to learn more about what ISCA can offer you in terms of help building a pool: <a href="http://swimisca.com/build-a-pool-exclusive-pricing/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://swimisca.com/build-a-pool-exclusive-pricing/</span></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Member-exclusive insurance coverage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get an insurance quote right now by following
this link: <a href="http://swimisca.com/members/insurance/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://swimisca.com/members/insurance/</span></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Much more….check the top link.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are many perks of memberships, which you can read more
about by clicking through the website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
I am not currently a member (although I probably will be soon), and I have nothing to gain by posting this except to let everyone know about ISCA, which seems to be doing some great things for coaches. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the price of $75 per year, this should be a no-brainer for coaches
around the world!</span></div>
</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-41387736360903176512013-07-26T09:49:00.000-04:002013-07-26T10:05:02.994-04:00Coach Bud McAllister & Thoughts on a Certain Set Style<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwj0I35CswUaAkcCC4-5QG06gwYmS8uyvL8v7buVkw5UE-NMvsyylvJL_BLpWRhBGGgzj9jUpxk-vT-3gzZBKEC2gYzwK1mHXQ5EbaMu6YCMjBMXxu34r31JDnif5Mb95P0gv48PBJMo/s1600/bud+jazz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwj0I35CswUaAkcCC4-5QG06gwYmS8uyvL8v7buVkw5UE-NMvsyylvJL_BLpWRhBGGgzj9jUpxk-vT-3gzZBKEC2gYzwK1mHXQ5EbaMu6YCMjBMXxu34r31JDnif5Mb95P0gv48PBJMo/s1600/bud+jazz.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you don't know much about Coach Bud McAllister, here's a bio from his ASCA Hall of Fame induction (2007): </span><a href="http://www.swimmingcoach.org/hof/coaches/mcallisterbudinfo.html"><span style="color: cyan; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.swimmingcoach.org/hof/coaches/mcallisterbudinfo.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> . Since 2007, he has spent time coaching in Canada and Great Britain -- and is currently coaching British Distance Phenom Jazz Carlin, who has been 8:18/15:47/4:04 in the 800/1500/400 Freestyles so far this year.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coach McAllister is best know as Janet Evans' coach through the Olympics in 1988 when she won Gold in the 800 and 400 Freestyle.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I referenced Coach McAllister in my blog earlier this week, found here: </span><a href="http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/07/more-on-volume-velocity-and-rhythm.html"><span style="color: cyan; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/07/more-on-volume-velocity-and-rhythm.html</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll briefly restate that as a young athlete I was privy to the types of sets Coach McAllister was doing with Janet Evans because my coach Murray Stephens told his NBAC swimmers from the early 90s all about Janet's training, and as far as he knew about what Coach McAllister was asking for. That knowledge spread through NBAC, and certainly through me as I eventually became an NBAC coach in 2001. My athletes have always done Coach McAllister's style of sets, as I did back in the 90s. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a description of a certain type of work Coach McAllister put out there in the late 80s, which I still use often in 2013. Following is my take on what is going on within the set. I have never spoken to Coach McAllister about these sets, so my take is simply my viewpoint -- and I only surmise that I'm correct about what sort of idea he was after.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take this SCY set, for example:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1x150 Free (150) + 3x150 Free (135)</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2x150 Free (145) + 2x150
Free (130)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3x150 Free (140) + 1x150
Free (125)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used to do this one a lot
as an athlete, and we did the same thing for 200s, 300s, 400s, and 100s –
pretty much every week it seemed like, in the early 90s. We would flip it
around and go 3-1, 2-2, 1-3 sometimes as well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's important to get
the concept of the set, which is this: the left side is more moderate than the
right side (which is the faster part), but as you go through the set, the
interval on the moderate side descends, AND you've got to do more moderate at
one time, on a faster moderate interval. So you can't just do something fast,
and then fall apart like many of our athletes like to do. The additional moderate swimming, even though it's on a tougher interval, provides added active recovery throughout the set. But it's the kind of recovery that forces the athlete to swim with their best stroke. The stroke technique must remain consistently strong on the moderate part, and because the pace never strays too far from racing pace the stroke technique will never stray too far from the athlete's racing stroke.</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning I had one of
my distance guys do a prep set for Zones next week, and we used this style of
set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was <u>12x100 LCM</u>, and it went like
this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1x100 (1:35) – @106<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>+
3x100 (1:20) – @104/103/103<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2x100 (1:30) – @107/106<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>+ 2x100 (1:15) – @102/102<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3x100 (1:25) – @108/107/106<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>+ 1x100 (1:10) – @101<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The athlete has to pick it
up doing a portion of the set, then ease it back down for the next portion –
but in part due to the intervals (which get quicker), the athlete can’t go into
“slop mode”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the moderate “honest”
portion in the middle of the set (the first set of 2x100), the athlete must
then swim a strong set of 2 on the fastest interval of the set – which leads
into the set of 3x100 on 1:25, which are moderate, but ideally they are the
same pace as the other moderate 100s at the beginning of the set. My athlete did this pretty well. I'd have preferred he didn't go up to 108 on the first of 3x100 (1:25), but other than that I thought it was pretty good for a 4:07/8:29/16:27 guy.</span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If an athlete does the set
correctly, they are using three different gears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One gear is the “moderate” part (the left
side); the next gear is the beginning of the right side (the set of 3, and
maybe the first repeat of the pair); and the final gear is the last one, and
maybe the second one of the pair.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this set were done six
weeks ago, the intervals would be (:05) faster than they are here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But my athlete is swimming a “Zone” meet in a
few days so I wanted to make sure he was successful and didn’t get into
struggle mode.</span></span></div>
</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-23372100318375019422013-07-23T22:40:00.001-04:002016-02-05T13:58:56.721-05:00More on Volume, Velocity, and Rhythm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexuWG_59RNOaaYBlHEDLukdk8dwbvMDDcpc3d6BrHr_gbAjEch6yb14J0Zg53iXWlhROeaS66R8Wss8PBzk5GcZsK6XDQo29hTf-oF42mIWHOe0w53KdUT8Yq2m9PvIvqEtXvbrYJVu4/s1600/Wind-up_Metronome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexuWG_59RNOaaYBlHEDLukdk8dwbvMDDcpc3d6BrHr_gbAjEch6yb14J0Zg53iXWlhROeaS66R8Wss8PBzk5GcZsK6XDQo29hTf-oF42mIWHOe0w53KdUT8Yq2m9PvIvqEtXvbrYJVu4/s1600/Wind-up_Metronome.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I recently reposted a blog I had originally posted on my “older”
blog site: developingthechampionwithin.blogspot.com .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blogpost can be found below this one, or
here: <a href="http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/07/volume-velocity-and-rhythm.html"><span style="color: cyan;">http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/07/volume-velocity-and-rhythm.html</span></a></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I have received a few questions about how we actually
achieve this at T2 Aquatics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does
this sort of training entail?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I feel like I could write on this subject for pages on
end, and still only crack the surface of conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, to pick up where I left off: what goes into this type of training for my athletes at T2 Aquatics?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Well, first: we have a weekly plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read something on swimswam.com a few weeks
ago about a young distance swimmer named Jazz Carlin that Bud McAllister is training in Great Britain
right now….and she is doing times that are comparable to what Janet Evans was
doing in 1987-1988 when Janet Evans was training with Bud McAllister (which by
the way are still great times in 2013).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wouldn’t you know that Coach McAllister is doing the same sort of thing
with this young athlete that he did with Janet, and combining those ideas with
the ideas (weekly planning) that Coach Bowman has been using with Michael
Phelps, Allison Schmidt, Connor Dwyer, and Chase Kalisz? (Coach McAllister's assessment, not mine).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved reading the article, because it was
pretty in depth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reading it I
laughed and thought, “That’s basically what we do at T2 as well”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Funny thing, Murray Stephens -- my coach when I
was in High School -- used to give us Bud McAllister sets all the time. He would tell us
all about Coach McAllister's ideas and Janet, and what Janet was doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Murray had us do the same sets Janet did from 1990-1994 (in between 3300 TT Backstrokes -- Thanks John Collins). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I can't say for sure, because I haven't talked with him specifically about it, but I imagine there were some things Coach Bowman used as well -- because although Coach Bowman changed NBAC's training style significantly from 1998-2003, in my view there were certainly some things he and I and the other NBAC coaches all considered to be "NBAC" -- style sets and ideas, which came from the beginning of NBAC's history and well before any of us were coaching at NBAC. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Coach McAllister's sets found their way into the fold -- and it's it's obvious to me know after reading this article that things do come full circle -- at lease in the sense that my T2 Aquatics athletes do the same type of thing! Certainly Kaite Hoff did the same things, and when she did it meant that the two fastest 400M Freestylers in USA History (at the time, in 2008) had been doing the same sort of workouts, 20 years apart from each other. This is why thinking "Outside the Box" makes me roll my eyes....and thinking "Inside the Box" feels oh so right. Great training is very simple, straight forward stuff that allows the athletes to perform within the set, and doesn't let the athlete take a break during the work (even though the effort and speed requirements may fluctuate during the set). C</span>heck out the article on Coach McAllister here: <a href="http://swimswam.com/mcallisters-insights-on-jazz-carlins-trainings/"><span style="color: cyan;">http://swimswam.com/mcallisters-insights-on-jazz-carlins-trainings/</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I plan to post on one of my favorite Bud McAllister sets later this week on this blog! Look for it if you'd like.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now, there’s a lot more that goes into it than "what type of set you are doing"….training is not
just “sets” and, going into more depth, “putting the sets together to form a
week, month, season, year, or quad”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There’s the mental side, which is immeasurably huge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s technique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s Hidden Training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s picking the right events, and the
correct meets in which to do those events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But if you don’t train right – and by training right I mean that you
have to find that middle ground of threshold-speed-pace-stroke
rate-technique-kicking-pulling-and consistency – then you are not going to get
to the medal stand at an International meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
Finding the middle ground helps you build a ryhthmic racing stroke instead of a thrashing stroke that is hard to hold together. Too much volume training, and you can hold your stroke together, but it's not compartively fast; likewise, too much velocity training, and you can go fast, but you can't hold your stroke for longer than 60% of the race. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And when you figure out that everyone is different and some people need
the training shaded a little more toward threshold and some people need it
shaded a little more toward pace work, and some people need more strength, etc –
then the possibilities with what you can do open up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the art of coaching.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Second, at T2 Aquatics we do some stroke count stuff every week, and we mix
it with pace training without stroke counts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At times during the season, we swim slightly above pace with stroke counts
slightly under racing counts every other day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve heard athletes from other teams comment to my athletes that they
have never heard of such a thing, and I think it’s a real shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many programs simply do not care about the
athlete’s stroke count, and if they do not care about stroke counts what they
are really saying is that they do not care about stroke rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if they don’t care about stroke rate,
they are missing a huge part of high end training for their athletes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s that simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to take stroke rates and know what
you are looking for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do the best
athletes do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check out this awesome
power point by USA Swimming:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
<a href="http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/e2fa7ee0-eee6-4c63-984a-05d267cf7389/Race%20Stats%20-%20ONLINE%20CLINIC%20July%2014%202010.pdf"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/e2fa7ee0-eee6-4c63-984a-05d267cf7389/Race%20Stats%20-%20ONLINE%20CLINIC%20July%2014%202010.pdf</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you don't traing stroke rates, you are going to be just fine up through the entry level at Junior Nationals, but good luck competiting at the higher-level International meets. You simply need that precise level of skill.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Third, at T2 Aquatics we don’t put a lot of value on top speed in
practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Admittedly, I used to value the top speed stuff a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably around 2006 I changed my view, and
one of my athletes (Katie Hoff) set her first World Record in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I did it right – I asked her to swim
very fast in practice almost every day of the year for three years, and then
backed off that goal and asked her to do more threshold-oriented practices
from 2006-2008.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had some pretty serious
“pace” capability in 2006, which she took to her threshold training over the
next few years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had I started her in
2003 with a heavy dose of threshold, maybe she never would have developed the
type of speed needed to go 1:55 in the 200 Free or 4:02 in the 400 Free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because she could do 15x200 on (2:30) in 2006
and go every third fast at 1:51-1:48-1:48-1:47-1:46….all negative split, when
she went to threshold sets like 10x200 with the last 5 on (2:10) she could hold
1:52 without killing herself to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is how she was able to go 9:10 in the 1000 SCY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Would the reverse had worked (threshold first, then speed/pace work)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it would have, maybe not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps for some athletes it would have, and for
some it would not have worked.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So now (really, since 2006), I have tempered the speed/pace
training and try to mix it well with the threshold training. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learned a lot and really it took me
trial and error through my 20s and early 30s to come up with some sort of idea
about what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I still ask my athletes to do some top speed training (matching a certain pace needed for racing with a certain stroke rate (or stroke count) needed for racing) -- and I ask this of them for many different distances -- we just vary the type of speed we are asking for, and we find value in training a little bit over the pace with a stroke rate that is a little bit lower than the racing stroke rate. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">W</span>hat I do now
will be revamped at some point – because I will learn in 8 years how I really need to change x, y, and z to be successul as we approach 2024. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I am constantly watching my athletes and thinking about all of things we can and will do better.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">To close....</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">At T2 Aquatics everyone does some fast stuff when
they are young, and they do it with low stroke counts relative to their
races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And everyone learns how to swim well technically. We work on the younger athlete's technique, starts, and turns. </span>We train at threshold too, don't get me wrong, but we swim fast and we swim with the type of stroke we'd like to use when we race. Then we put more and more threshold on
top, while maintaining pace work and improving technique and skill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not all of what we do is pace (it just kills
the kids to race so much high lactate stuff in practice) – and not all is
threshold (who can do this 5x per week unless we’re talking about a 1500 guy?). I consider the perfect mix at all times.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I see so many athletes who are limited by the time they are
16-17 because although they can swim forever they just don’t have enough easy speed
to win at the highest level. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not “crank
it up and hold it speed "– I’m talking about relaxed, easy speed that comes from
stroke count training and pace training mixed with threshold training).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at Conner Jaeger, and think about the
amount of 1500’s he has done in his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Refer to this blog post to read more about how I feel about this: <span style="color: cyan;"><a href="http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/06/thoughts-on-distance-racing-for-younger.html">http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/06/thoughts-on-distance-racing-for-younger.html</a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’d be happy to address more specific questions if anyone
would like to shoot’em at me in the comment section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a special gift for anyone who has read this far, here is the most important piece of non-swimming, training-specific literature I've come across in the last 10 years. It's a gem: <a href="http://www.swiss-hurdling.ch/upload/dokumente/c_hart.pdf"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.swiss-hurdling.ch/upload/dokumente/c_hart.pdf</span></a> ....and it may explain this stuff a little bit more. Running is a lot different than swimming (higher heart rate, more pounding, different seasons)....but when you consider the 100M Swimming and look at the similarity in events duration when compared to a 400M running race, there are some things that are tough to ignore. And it's hard to ignore a coach who coached the 400M Gold Medalist in the same event for three straight Olympics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> Thanks for reading! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br /></div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-50234710865916159782013-07-17T10:01:00.002-04:002016-02-25T11:08:46.683-05:00Volume, Velocity, and Rhythm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<em>This post is a re-issue from an my blog developingthechampionwithin.blogspot.com</em><br />
<em>It covers some key training ideas that I employ with my athletes:</em><br />
<br />
<strong><u>Volume, Velocity, and Rhythm</u></strong><br />
<br />
If you follow the “Swim Media” like I do you’ve noticed that one topic never seems to go out of style – the topic of VOLUME TRAINING vs. VELOCITY TRAINING. For those who are unfamiliar with this debate, it goes like this: in one camp there are the proponents of VOLUME TRAINING, who believe that larger volumes of training are of irreplaceable value to the athlete. The VOLUME TRAINING athlete spends a large amount of time training, and when they train they swim a relatively high volume of yardage per each hour in the pool. In the other camp there are proponents of VELOCITY TRAINING, who believe that higher velocities of actual swimming have irreplaceable value to the swimmer. The VELOCITY TRAINING athlete spends a large percentage of their training time swimming at race speed, with racing stroke rate or faster-than-racing stroke rate, and as a result they swim a relatively low volume of yardage per each hour in the pool.<br />
<br />
This debate amazes me because it’s withstood the test of time, and to this day no one has won! And the reason no one has won the argument is because the “answer” is not found in either extreme. <br />
<br />
I don’t hear as much debate regarding the teams who train with neither volume nor velocity as their main emphasis. The reason I don’t hear as much about these teams is twofold:<br />
<br />
First, I don’t hear as much about it because when speaking of volume and of velocity, we are speaking of two seemingly opposite philosophies – and so as the discussion turns toward a type of training that has no logically-apparent opposite, it’s hard to find (and argue) an opposing viewpoint. <br />
<br />
Second, I don’t hear as much about it because the concept of both “volume” and “velocity” has to do with two of swimming training’s most-measured features: volume, and velocity. We tend to value (and discuss) that which we can measure.<br />
<br />
The interesting thing to me regarding this argument is this: neither volume nor velocity has anything to do with winning a competition! No one wins by swimming the furthest, and no one wins by swimming the fastest. An athlete wins by slowing down the least over the given volume of the race!<br />
<br />
Because of this fact, I believe that proper training must incorporate rhythm and stroke development. I’m not talking about 25s learning technique or video-taping swimmers and graphing their hand placement (both of which do have a certain value, I’ll admit). I’m talking about training the stroke to handle the stress of the race, so that the athlete can maintain their VELOCITY through the entire VOLUME of the race. <br />
<br />
My belief is that the athletes who train at either extreme can be good, but not great. There are so many 8:30-8:45 Female 800 Freestlyers out there...but not as many sub 8:20. What do the 8:19 or faster women do that the 8:35 women don't? I believe the talent level is in many cases the same! Likewise, there are plenty of 15:38-15:59 1500 swimmers out there in the 18 and under age group....but not too many sub 15:30 guys. What are the guys who go sub 15:30 in High School doing differently than the guys who are going 15:50? I feel like the talent level is the same! <br />
<br />
And why do teams continually produce athletes who go basically the same time in certain events? If you don't think training matters, think again. While one program may be good at developing the entry level National qualifier, others are good at the next steps. In my opinion, the athletes who can maintain a high velocity through the entire volume of the race are the athletes who are doing the fastest times -- at any age.<br />
<br />
Perhaps at another time I’ll get into exactly what I like to do with athletes to help them achieve this goal. Much of what I apply with the athletes in training I’ve learned from some of the top coaches in the USA, who along with me and my former athletes have produced some of the fastest swimmers of all-time over the last three decades. (And some of these coaches have been unjustly labeled as VOLUME coaches or VELOCITY coaches over time – by the media, other coaches, or the athletes themselves -- but they’d be the first to tell you that there is a lot more to their programs than one adjective over the other!) <br />
<br />
I submit that interested coaches and athletes should consider: what does an athlete’s stroke look like when racing the final 50M of a 200M swim? What are the differences in the stroke technique of an athlete who is finishing the final 25M of a 100M swim VS the third 100M or a 400M swim? Certainly, the technique and rhythm used is specific to the swimmer as much as it is specific to the race. But as we place training emphasis on the VOLUME of an athlete’s training or the VELOCITY of an athlete’s training we tend to neglect putting the emphasis where it belongs: the specific stroke rhythm achieved in training that helps us form repeatable racing strokes, which can only be obtained through training rhythm, volume, and velocity simultaneously.<br />
<br />
EDIT: for more on this topic, see "Part 2" here: <a href="http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/07/more-on-volume-velocity-and-rhythm.html"><span style="color: magenta;">http://createperformance.blogspot.com/2013/07/more-on-volume-velocity-and-rhythm.html</span></a></div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-29176265316960902752013-07-11T14:11:00.000-04:002013-07-11T14:11:22.528-04:00Masters Swimmers are allowed to compete at Masters Nationals -- even if they are FAST!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
According to Swiminfo, Roland Schoeman and Clark Burckle are going to compete in the Masters National Championships in August....which is awesome. <br />
<br />
Of course somebody had to write into the comments section to let everyone know how unfair it is that International-Level swimmers are competiting at a Masters meet. <br />
<br />
What a joke. I had to respond. Here is the article, with the comment section below. Feel free to chime in!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/masters/35022.asp"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/masters/35022.asp</span></a></div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-40583498527858914312013-07-02T14:00:00.000-04:002013-07-02T15:12:23.412-04:00Erndl and Bowker set 13 Master's National Age Group Records <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyxv4xyuJBf_1H6NKR1cNK46xiHc6-p4cvEgQs6EtrUQRhPr8EliInHpiPZG_WVenQlpnoDPBs3i6oknWDUfE8WKxxrAUDq8aa9RNT33eN7TVVbtTo4nMD-JUm8cdERXrD3JVSq0OXk4/s576/erndl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyxv4xyuJBf_1H6NKR1cNK46xiHc6-p4cvEgQs6EtrUQRhPr8EliInHpiPZG_WVenQlpnoDPBs3i6oknWDUfE8WKxxrAUDq8aa9RNT33eN7TVVbtTo4nMD-JUm8cdERXrD3JVSq0OXk4/s320/erndl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Photo by Kevin Erndl, 2010.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Congrats to Erika Erndl and Justine Bowker on swimming fast last week -- between them they set a US Master's National Age Group Record in every event they raced! They broke and re-broke 8 different records for a total of 13 record-setting swims last week at the US National Championships:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/USA/34956.asp?q"><span style="color: cyan;">http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/USA/34956.asp?q</span></a></div>
<br /></div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-29081610139596896842013-06-29T12:12:00.004-04:002013-07-02T15:10:29.553-04:00The "Performance Mindset" -- an Antidote to Mediocrity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76Wzf3IZZRQg9O8CZR_bsOuo-wn3jOKuE06C-ZKcCYQfxg_UNOsYd1eCYkKDaMeGVZTA8ujtIWuboIePmCOUNwJZWIqD_Qh5mC6nYkLmHrPMWrikHmtN4FCBDnCSV5hyphenhyphenC8JXyHTwtxQk/s605/WCT_05_D1F_101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76Wzf3IZZRQg9O8CZR_bsOuo-wn3jOKuE06C-ZKcCYQfxg_UNOsYd1eCYkKDaMeGVZTA8ujtIWuboIePmCOUNwJZWIqD_Qh5mC6nYkLmHrPMWrikHmtN4FCBDnCSV5hyphenhyphenC8JXyHTwtxQk/s320/WCT_05_D1F_101.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Photo: by Peter Bick, 2005 Indianapolis</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For more of Peter Bick's photos: <span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto; white-space: nowrap;">http://www.printroom.com/pro/PeterBick/default.asp?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is our intention as competitors to "Perform" at
Competitions -- rather than to simply "Participate".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Performance" can be quantified in
many ways, most of which are black & white and some of which are personal to an individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, unless we put ourselves
in the correct mental position, society and normal 'family life' / 'school life' allows us to
be OK with simple participation. We get points for 'participation' -- and
reserve the great accomplishments and performances in this world for those who
we deem capable of accomplishing great things and performing at peak levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some may think, “Who am I to consider that I may be the best
at something?” without having the slightest idea of what ‘being the best’ might
look like, and never fully understanding just how close the target actually
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mindset of “Performance” that
allows one to consider great accomplishments and performances possible – is the
antidote to mediocrity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We tend to consider ourselves worthy of victory and of a
higher status, in whatever field we are in, before we actually get to that level
of accomplishment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as accomplishment goes, we rarely move
past where we see ourselves performing!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This weekend at the US Nationals in Indianapolis, our small
team at T2 Aquatics has come perform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are not perfect, and at this stage in the game we are not as good as we can be
in the future – and in some cases, have been in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But each athlete has achieved a few things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though our ages span from 15 to 35, each
athlete has swum at least one race faster than they ever have before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two of our athletes have achieved high enough
to earn the distinction of a “National Finalist” (The fact that each of these
athletes is well out of college, and Married {not to each other <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">} – is a different ‘accomplishment’
in itself).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And most importantly, when
considering “Performing” VS. “Participating”: each athlete on our team has earned
a “Finals” swim in every event they’ve swum in the preliminary heats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have had 11 morning swims, and after
tonight we will have 11 swims in the finals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have not had a single person sitting on the bleachers at night after
having swum in the morning session!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Congratulations to all of our T2 Aquatics’ athletes, and to
those at home in Naples. Get ready, because we have a few more of these meets
this summer – and we want to be ready to perform well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t have any room for those who are only
interested in ‘getting the cuts’ for the meets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are going to improve as a team, the
next step is to understand that it’s performance -- and planning for
high-performance in a positive, optimistic way -- that matters most.</span></div>
</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-59685719461576311422013-06-16T16:55:00.004-04:002013-06-17T08:47:50.828-04:00Training for Impact<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGRc87-QfG-JKfaBHXYosjCG2WaN98eh-cxNK4Bk7223hWL6h9F8IwXh12yKvW7CjJATO7Vra7z_Iy5IgvRIy2KthBNsdqPZGjfRaJvq6BDvIR-3X5Wz8_KJNGOkXONLVpk1TwERYjgg/s1600/2004+Trials+Pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGRc87-QfG-JKfaBHXYosjCG2WaN98eh-cxNK4Bk7223hWL6h9F8IwXh12yKvW7CjJATO7Vra7z_Iy5IgvRIy2KthBNsdqPZGjfRaJvq6BDvIR-3X5Wz8_KJNGOkXONLVpk1TwERYjgg/s320/2004+Trials+Pool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2004 US Olympic Trials Pool<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Long Beach, California<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was talking with one of our T2 Aquatics coaches last week
about an athlete on our Senior Squad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
were discussing the fact that this athlete has an exceptional ability at a
certain aspect of training-- in this case, 50s Long Course Butterfly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The athlete’s ability to swim under 200M
pace, for multiple 50s, is exceptional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Shouldn’t the athlete be able to go a great time in the 200M Fly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the athlete can do 4x50s Fly on (:50) at 31.0
seconds, shouldn’t the athlete be able to swim a 2:04, or at</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">least a sub 2:10,
in the 200M Fly?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The multi-faceted answer to this question gets to the heart
of the challenge with athletic development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are at least 8 different areas of training in which an athlete
must excel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because an athlete might
hit some good “markers” in one area of training does not mean the athlete is
ready to make a breakthrough in the event!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Multiple markers must be hit for an athlete to make a breakthrough.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are the markers I look for in athletic development:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aerobic Capacity Development</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neural Racing Development (Race Pace training,
with proper Tempo and Distance per stroke cycle).</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Start/Turn Training </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kicking Development (including the development
of underwater kicking ability)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mental/Psychological development (including
development of ability to ‘self-talk’ appropriately and ability to handle
pressure)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dryland/Strength Development</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hidden Training Development (ability to control
outside challenges like nutrition & sleep)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Practice Attendance</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s clear that an athlete who swims 4x50 on (:50) at 31.0
seconds has the<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> potential</i> to do a
2:04 200M Fly, but it's the athlete’s ability to kick well underwater and
train to be aerobically fitter than he/she has ever been that will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><strong>directly determine</strong></i> the outcome when it’s
time to perform in a competition. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve mentioned in a previous blogpost** that an athlete’s
ability to develop each of these areas will determine an athlete’s
general performance level (i.e. whether an athlete will become a Nationally-ranked
swimmer vs. a Regionally-ranked swimmer).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the same way, when thinking about individual event performance, <strong>hitting <em>multiple
</em>markers will determine an athlete’s performance level (their time!) in a certain
event.</strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></strong><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">{*Photo by
Paul Yetter}<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">{**Previous Blogpost here:
<a href="http://developingthechampionwithin.blogspot.com/2010/11/competitive-swimming-order-of.html"><span style="color: cyan;">http://developingthechampionwithin.blogspot.com/2010/11/competitive-swimming-order-of.html</span></a>}</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-61403480215644454202013-06-16T13:07:00.002-04:002013-06-16T17:39:28.767-04:00Proswimworkouts.com -- New Post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I posted a workout that appeared on Proswimworkouts.com last week. Here's a link:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://proswimworkouts.com/workouts/t2-aquatics-freestyle-descending-set"><span style="color: cyan;">http://proswimworkouts.com/workouts/t2-aquatics-freestyle-descending-set</span></a><br />
<br />
We are trying to get our 400-1500 guys doing some good work (of course!). This was a good set. <br />
<br />
Yesterday we went 9x500 SCY -- 3 on (555); 3 on (545); 3 on (535) -- descend 1-3 x3. The first one of each set of three was faster than the previous round; the second one of each set was faster than the previous round; and the third one of each set got faster than the previous round. True to the way I thought it would go: the guys who tend to be a little bit quicker in the 1650/1500 were the ones who could do a strong 3 set descend as described (descending 9-6-3/8-5-2/7-4-1 in terms of "speed rankings" through the set)....... All were good and at least close to this, and all will do this set again soon.<br />
</div>
NBAC Performancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01184050029749872671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995342175021196749.post-36374968544931911272013-06-10T11:26:00.001-04:002013-06-10T20:03:02.395-04:00Thoughts on Distance Racing for Younger Athletes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjua_amgqkHgDAnVA7Hff7YlFaY92M6ht06ZY49heGsTd9siajL7sGBZKjDLt1gfII8OVwU2EVXEabyVtjxJFpkc8_Jle0ao7xDjo7AsvatKlwJR4_1x8Tu5nH9TdACTQnwx8KRRNRI4I0/s1600/Rio+pool+and+village+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjua_amgqkHgDAnVA7Hff7YlFaY92M6ht06ZY49heGsTd9siajL7sGBZKjDLt1gfII8OVwU2EVXEabyVtjxJFpkc8_Jle0ao7xDjo7AsvatKlwJR4_1x8Tu5nH9TdACTQnwx8KRRNRI4I0/s320/Rio+pool+and+village+043.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love watching athletes swim fast in practice and in competition. Watching
athletes swim slowly up and down the pool? -- well...not so much!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Certainly there are many coaches out there who are with me on this
issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I believe that in many cases, a coach’s general stance on “getting
the young kids into distance swimming” is well-intentioned – but at times can
be a bit misguided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is it we are
really trying to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly much of
our thought process is guided by which side of the fence we are on:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are we trying to get a National Qualifier out
of our training squad, or are we trying to get a World Record Holder/Olympian?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(We should always
treat our 10-12 year olds like they are all going to be a World Record
Holder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will realize later that the
vast majority will never do it, but at least we will have done it right for the
one or two that need to be treated that way! – and for the rest, we will have
gotten the most out of them.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">These are just my thoughts, and I’m probably both right and
wrong (there are always exceptions to the “rule”)….but we should consider
training our athletes to move <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">up</b> in
distance instead of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">down, </b>as they
get older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Let’s train them for distance early, but race them for distance late!<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Consider 2012 US Olympic 1500 swimmer Connor Jaeger’s
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connor swam with the Central
Jersey Aquatic Club growing up, and developed into a strong 400IMer, and
particularly in the later years of High School he developed a strong 400M and
200M Freestyle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the University of
Michigan, when he was 20 years old, he raced his first 1500 (according to the
USA Swimming database).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seven months
later, on his 5<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> 1500 ever, Connor made the US Olympic Team in the
1500.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connor’s 1500 in London was his 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
1500 ever!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is the breakdown:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Age<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Date<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Lifetime
1500 in Competition<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">15:35.10<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>20<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>11/2011<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1st</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">15:07.29<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>21<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>5/2012<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2nd</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">15:16.84<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>21<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>6/2012<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>3rd</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">14:59.97<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>21<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>6/2012<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4th (US Olympic Trials, Prelims)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">14:52.51<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>21<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>6/2012<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>5th (US Olympic Trials, Finals)</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Connor made the Olympic Team in an event he had only done 3
times in his life!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One advantage to this
was that he never gained experience racing the distance slow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time he started competing in the 1500
he was ready to hold 102s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe there
is something to that.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take a look at two-time Olympian Katie Hoff’s progression in
the 1650.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Age<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Date<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Lifetime
1650 in Competition<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">17:40.55 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>12<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2/2002 1st</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">17:30.36<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>13<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2/2003 2nd</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">15:24.35<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>18<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2/2008 3rd</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Katie was an Olympian in 2004 in the 200 and the 400IM, and
then made the Team in 2008 again in both IMs, as well as the 200, 400, and 800
Free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along the way, in 2008, Katie swam
the 1650 for the third time – and broke the American Record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t need any experience in the event
because she had swum many 1000s and 1650+ efforts in practice, backed by a lot
of fast 150s, 200s, 300s, and 400s.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the racing pool, Katie had no experience swimming 1:00
pace in the 1650.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t swim the
event when she could have during the 2003-2007 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was an already-established athlete who
had set a few American Records, and for me as her coach – I didn’t need to see
her swim a 16:15 1650.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may have done
her some good, but generally the 1650 and the 200 Back/200 Fly double were on
the same day in competition, so we chose the double….it was more valuable to
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after she got her 200 and 400/500
down to an extremely fast level, we knew that if she swam the 1000 and the 1650
she would be able to hold an extremely fast pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t view the 1000 and 1650 as long; we
looked at it as a race she could take hold of because those races are only a
few minutes longer than the 500.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
not like she was going from a 500 to a 10K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My opinion is: If Katie would have done the 1650 three times per year
when she was 12-13-14 she probably would have considered the race to be
somewhat of a struggle to actually go fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Having no experience going slow, and getting an opportunity to swim it
in 2008 – she had the speed to race the fastest swim in US History.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best athletes like to go FAST!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hate going slow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best athletes realize that there are no
points for the people who can swim the farthest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not in our sport.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To be clear: I’m not suggesting that everyone has to hold
off swimming the mile until they can set a big record in the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is GREAT value in putting young kids in
these events when they can either win locally, or make the top 10 list
Nationally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we have kids who can do
these things, as coaches we need to give the chance to do it – because the
confidence they build at meets (winning or getting National recognition) is
irreplaceable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have someone who
can win, or perhaps drop time in the mile when they haven’t had a time drop in
anything for 3 months, then they HAVE to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is coaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we have to
have gone through that particular thought process with the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not like the 100 Free, which to me is an
event an athlete can and should race many times every year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Please understand: the examples I’ve used are the extremes –
but they do show that it can be done, and perhaps the examples will make us think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do believe that many 11-13 year old girls
and 12-14 year old guys should race the mile 2 times per year SCY and 1-2 times
per year LCM…but I think we have to watch it with the particular personalities
and perhaps try to encourage their performance in the 200/400 with more
intensity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should consider waiting
until they can swim a good 100/200 when they are 10-11 before putting them in
the 400/800 – even if the 400/800 are the only events offered on the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
believe that we should train them for the mile and the 400 IM at all times
after age 10 (and before age 11, for the 100 Free and the 200IM)….but just
because we are training them for something doesn’t mean we need to race it 6-8
times per year at the younger ages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are all in this for the Long Term!</span></div>
</div>
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