tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54945001360641741152024-02-19T09:22:04.770-05:00Getting Even FasterThoughts on Age Group Swimming and the coaching of younger athletes.tyetterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02146541700352444181noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-13188513052011871612015-09-26T11:25:00.003-04:002015-09-26T11:25:39.358-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrj2qSnUEGejwoxJlcpcpxzbvMBKpBMUQ2xp0Po1acYzbTYVknVpDFi-DScOOo4vnO8ehm7LLGX1M4WDZjNxAqAr_R818nMEhZAbB4pt-2WOWrBxSlBGCXNmlU8WTA-8ar-KCWor-gc3al/s1600/eyeball.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrj2qSnUEGejwoxJlcpcpxzbvMBKpBMUQ2xp0Po1acYzbTYVknVpDFi-DScOOo4vnO8ehm7LLGX1M4WDZjNxAqAr_R818nMEhZAbB4pt-2WOWrBxSlBGCXNmlU8WTA-8ar-KCWor-gc3al/s320/eyeball.png" width="309" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Eyeball Game</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This week we played the famous "eyeball game". The eyeball game is really quite simple. It is a great way to start practice and get kids in the water and also a great way to finish practice on a good note with some smiling kids. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have these eyeballs (thank you Party City) and I throw them in the water - one for each lane. Sometimes two for an added challenge. Maybe I toss them under the flags? When I yell "GO!" then your lane works together to push the eyeball down the pool and into the gutter at the other end. Two rules: The eyeball has to stay in your lane and you can not touch the eyeball!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Swim speed does not matter much in this game either. I love playing games from time to time where speed does not give you some advantage that is very difficult to overcome. It also creates an opportunity for the entire lane to work together creating a big wave that pushes the eyeball to the other end.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I also have a funny story about how these eyeballs are actually mine and I get them changed out every year from my right eye (which is not true) because when I was young I stabbed myself in the eye with a pencil (which is true)! Sometimes these stories put a little added joke to the game. You can also play with a ping pong ball - same thing. Face it though, eyeballs are MUCH more fun!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />tyetterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02146541700352444181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-90800818232146928602013-01-23T12:26:00.000-05:002013-01-23T12:26:03.596-05:00Age Group Listening and Speed GameWe were playing a fun game last week - below is a video of it. We use some clocks that beep and we can set them to intervals. We use these daily at practice but we can also program them at random numbers, which is what I did here.<br />
<br />
The mission is to get to the first yellow lane line ring, which is about 8 yards from the wall, and get back. No other rules. Just get there, touch it, and get back. In the video you can see that we have two swimmers per lane (with others playing at the other end of the pool). I have also played this game with a stretch cord across the lanes where you could have 3 in a lane play - just touching the cord instead of the lane line ring. You can also use a whistle or "GO!" instead of the clock.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cdgmjkGT4D8" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
They have to listen and pay attention as well as swim fast. In this video they have already been doing this for about 10 minutes - so many of the swimmers are pretty tired! They love this game though. Sometimes they get 3-5 seconds rest. Sometimes 10-15. Sometimes 45 seconds rest! Sometimes we play for 5 minutes. Sometimes 10. Sometimes 15. They never know what is coming. With years of swimming up and down the pool endlessly we try to come up with fun ways for kids to enjoy coming to the pool. Sometimes we might make them streamline kick to the marker or something like that, but it is also fun to just fire up some swimming!<br />
<br />
You can come up with different ways of motivating them (Gold/Silver/Bronze) for the first 3 swimmers on each round. One time we played after the sun went down and the 1st boy or 1st girl got to pick the color of this changeable LED lighting thing that we have around the dry erase board. If lanes are crowded you could have one lane with 10-15 swimmers do a continuous 50 swim/50 kick and another group spread out at both ends playing the game. After 5 minutes you can switch groups. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-51293789922409165422012-11-21T12:50:00.001-05:002012-11-21T12:53:17.984-05:00The Amazing Snippet TechniqueI tried something at practice the other day that was pretty successful. "Snippets" <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/6047438/Untitled" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Wordle: Untitled"><img alt="Wordle: Untitled" height="150" src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/6047438/Untitled" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); padding: 4px;" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Isn't it funny how sometimes we can over explain things?<br />
<br />
On the pool deck I played some "Telephone Swimming" with one group. If you haven't read the post yet - here it is: <a href="http://gettingevenfaster.blogspot.com/2012/08/telephone-swimming.html" target="_blank">Telephone Swimming</a> It basically uses the "snippet" technique - a short phrase that gets the point across! Kids hear the snippet and pass it along to the next in line. Of course there are many other things going on with that exercise.... but it really helped me in another practice that evening.<br />
<br />
I was losing my voice a little and I had to explain things with as few words as possible. It was awesome. Everyone still understood, and probably understood even better than they would have if I had explained it in detail. I had to pick the best words to describe what I wanted and since the swimmers have all heard it before - it was easy to say things like:<br />
<br />
"3 awesome kicks"<br />
"Shoot forward on your breaststroke"<br />
"Surge forward on your breath"<br />
"Continuous kick"<br />
<br />
I found myself just barking out snippets all night and it was great. We did a bunch of 25's and when they were on the wall for 5 seconds I gave as many snippets as I could and went to the other end. The practice flowed really well and swimmers got better. Perfect.<br />
<br />
Follow me <a href="http://www.twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-56634179709908532092012-11-08T13:14:00.002-05:002012-11-08T13:14:33.923-05:00Practice Index CardsI have heard of other coaches doing similar things - especially generic business cards that say "Good Job" or some other similar message. I am a huge fan of implementing simple things into practices so that the group runs smoothly and efficiently. Somethings are just nearly impossible to do in group settings - like videotaping every swimmer in the group at the same practice, or swimming 500 Freestyles in groups. However, I think the generic "Good Job" card may be better than nothing but is missing the point of fully reinforcing good behavior. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iqDQn0Tz3yhnaogV3hJ8F15zlialSUOLylkHzJS8FG446dR4sZ0h24k4i5FwgnVDmSK4ovR0Eqs-2TXsW3ujPgwGPc-Miup9b_utf60YS8RE-OC-twOfc18W7YOZujNJlVHO6ImDA4M/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iqDQn0Tz3yhnaogV3hJ8F15zlialSUOLylkHzJS8FG446dR4sZ0h24k4i5FwgnVDmSK4ovR0Eqs-2TXsW3ujPgwGPc-Miup9b_utf60YS8RE-OC-twOfc18W7YOZujNJlVHO6ImDA4M/s320/photo+(1).JPG" width="239" /></a>Younger athletes need to be told why they did a good job. So I have come up with a little system that I will probably use for a bit, then put away, then bring back again later. I bought a small pack of spiral bound colorful index cards. When someone REALLY catches my eye and swims or acts like an ELITE athlete at practice - I write them a little message. Here is what goes on the card:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Their name</li>
<li>The date</li>
<li>The set that they were doing while I noticed their behavior</li>
<li>Most importantly, what the behavior was and why it was awesome</li>
<li>Sometimes I give a suggestion of something that they may want to do in practices (Kick a 50 Breaststroke in 45 seconds?)</li>
<li>Sometimes I draw picture or put a little sticker on there to spice it up</li>
</ul>
<br />
I write these during warm down or while I am waiting for my dinner to cook. I give them out at the end of that practice or at the next practice. They stay in my spiral index card notebook until I hand them to the swimmer so they do not get lost. Having the pack of cards reminds me to not only be on the lookout for index card candidates, but to help create those candidates at practice each day.<br />
<br />
For now I am using them with swimmers 9-14 years old. It doesn't really take a lot of time and the simple message that I write may be thrown out by some swimmers as they leave the pool - others will keep them and re-read them in the future. It is a great time to communicate about current or future goals. Saying something at practice is one thing, but getting a card to take home and show off if you would like is another. If it helps even a few kids be more focused it will all be worth it. <br />
<br />
Hopefully the swimmers that get them will look at them once when they are away from the pool and remember how they acted and felt when they performed well enough to receive a card. I also hope that those swimmers who have not yet received a card will do something that REALLY catches my eye so that they can get a card as well.<br />
<br />
Follow me <a href="http://www.twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-69713196170629780192012-10-23T15:32:00.001-04:002012-10-23T15:33:51.963-04:00Roll The DiceWant a quick and easy game to play at swim practice to spice things up a little bit? Play "The Dice Game"!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNriCYu_LjqXe85H9nxUbpbv9-4JhQvBS8Vxq13aaciAXEmlFfxDehBFLx4PRLqW1qua_d3SaapXovgNZkD_NjnQ0U-zTjGf5cef-hd3Wo7K1fRfKGV4tVre39zZXCZEAPujmUtWLIaQ/s1600/dice_hate_me.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNriCYu_LjqXe85H9nxUbpbv9-4JhQvBS8Vxq13aaciAXEmlFfxDehBFLx4PRLqW1qua_d3SaapXovgNZkD_NjnQ0U-zTjGf5cef-hd3Wo7K1fRfKGV4tVre39zZXCZEAPujmUtWLIaQ/s200/dice_hate_me.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
I have heard other coaches that have different variations of this and you can make it as complex as you wish. We played it last week with our 8&Under swimmers and we had one pair of dice for a very simple warm up game. One was green and one was white. (If you only have white dice you can use a sharpie to color one of them - it will last a few weeks at least.)<br />
<br />
The white one was for the distance. If you rolled a "1", then you swam one lap. If you rolled a "6", then you swam six laps. The green one was for the stroke. 1 for Fly, 2 for Back, 3 for Breast, 4 for Free, 5 for Choice, 6 for Kick. <br />
<br />
Everyone got to roll at least once. It was a great way to engage the swimmers for 20 minutes of practice. You can even make distances with one and drills with another? For older swimmers the distances can be 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200? Drills could be catchup, KKP breaststroke, one arm fly, dolphin kicking, 15 somersaults in the water, 5 strokes and flip.....whatever! You can write them on a white board so everyone can remember what they are.<br />
<br />
Every time we play the game I think about the swimmers getting in the car and their parents asking "How was practice?" and the kids have something cool to say that they did! As a coach I am always trying to find different ides to shake it up once in a while to keep the kids thinking and on their toes. It is a great way to keep them interested in learning!<br />
<br />
Follow me <a href="http://www.twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-80996698207039624862012-10-06T14:57:00.001-04:002012-10-08T10:32:45.090-04:005 Things I Forgot That I Knew<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>496</o:Words>
<o:Characters>2830</o:Characters>
<o:Company>home</o:Company>
<o:Lines>23</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>5</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>3475</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>12.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes I look at old workout books that I have and I
remember things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things that I
knew, but that I forgot that I knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some years I was better than others with notes, but I still remember
things that worked well and other things that didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After looking at some old workouts for a few minutes here
are 5 things that I forgot that I knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I still do these things, but looking at old workouts makes me think that
maybe I should do them more often because they work well!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtE4gfsS9glY1UywpoquNlGNUl4MPu75CceHNVZePtut_j7jWZvEIj0AeOHlMp7oB_-egoV0uar0xz829PwZUYamADfprn4M98tCv637Yocv4o1T1lfZ5IVBy3yANk6QMVFyuMUqeSXI/s1600/011111_rg_RecycleReuseNotebooks_01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtE4gfsS9glY1UywpoquNlGNUl4MPu75CceHNVZePtut_j7jWZvEIj0AeOHlMp7oB_-egoV0uar0xz829PwZUYamADfprn4M98tCv637Yocv4o1T1lfZ5IVBy3yANk6QMVFyuMUqeSXI/s320/011111_rg_RecycleReuseNotebooks_01.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1.) Simple Is Always Better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Unless you are playing a
focus game)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Young swimmers like simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can understand it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure they may complain that it is “boring”, but that is
where the coach has to jump in and make it interesting, engaging, and
exciting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it is simple it is
easier for the coach to manage the group and easier for the swimmers to
understand what is being asked of them. Everyone wins. The challenging part as a coach is making a simple set exciting - but that work is worth it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2.) Diving 25’s Are
Awesome For 9-10 Year Olds.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This isn’t just because of the diving work, but for everything
involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The climbing out of the
pool and climbing up on the block and jumping off of it is dryland in a
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Streamlining at high speed,
racing breakouts, racing finishes, talking and laughing with their friends
between repeats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is something
different and a full body workout.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3.) Grade Swimmers.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This can be a simple 1,2,3,4,5 scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 8&Unders you can talk about
what stroke you are performing (Breaststroke).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask what would give them a score of a 5?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ready position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Streamline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pullout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stretch on the stroke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nose
down on the stretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two hand
touch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The swimmers go across the
pool and you can grade them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do
multiple repeats and keep grading swimmers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be tough, but fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they only do some of the
skills needed then they should get a 2 or a 3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should be able to coax them into focusing on doing a
good job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For older kids you can
ask them to grade themselves on an entire set or practice, then you can also
grade them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compare scores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe just asking them to grade
themselves honestly without telling anyone what they think their score is will
be enough?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4.) Sometimes There Is No
Substitution For A Good Chat.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you have a group of developing swimmers sometimes you
need to chat about how to do a set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How to perform the set properly, what skills are you looking for, what
paces should they be trying to hold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Part of being a great 9-12 year old swimmer is learning not only what
descending, building, and negative splitting are, but sharpening their skills
while doing those things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pulling
kids out of the pool and having a 10 minute talk every other practice could be the best thing for them!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5.) Writing Times On A
White Board Can Be A Great Motivator.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you write swimmers repeat times on the board it makes
them more “real” in a way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
make the swimmers remember their own times so you can write them -even
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will help them not only
remember what their times are, but care about their times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t always have to be fast
swims.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe they pick a speed and
try to do that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe they are
aiming to go within 5 seconds of their best time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another thing you can do is write motivational times on the
board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or paces for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is a AAAA time? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AAA time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BB time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
is a Sectional time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the
Championship Meet time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of
these are reminders that time is important and it reminds them that they should
be setting and pursuing goals.<br />
<br />
Follow me <a href="http://www.twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-39682245988146698082012-10-05T11:25:00.003-04:002012-10-08T10:36:01.851-04:00Simple Ways To Challenge An Age GrouperEvery practice there should be a challenge. A set that is challenging? A certain swim that is challenging? You can call it a "challenge" if you want or just sneak it in there and act like its just a normal thing. Generally I just sneak these into practices and act like it is more of a way of life. Sometimes its good for the group to think that they did a tough "challenge" at practice. I would use your judgement on how to administer these challenges. They can change the outlook of your athletes in a single moment. Make sure they are prepared. Make sure they are motivated. Make sure it is appropriate for the athlete. Get ready, it's challenge time!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYbp7Chee21ZbeHnhHYKxUXzsc5Xg9xM5c-0g_AWGuMqDXFvRlmSNmIVBW6H4pKCwBbjJhk7lWHXJhPMev5j2eMY55wofEUoZrLPd6q9775wz_S0EdsP7Pfuz8MWPkuwHCTIETQNTIKw/s1600/Challenge-time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYbp7Chee21ZbeHnhHYKxUXzsc5Xg9xM5c-0g_AWGuMqDXFvRlmSNmIVBW6H4pKCwBbjJhk7lWHXJhPMev5j2eMY55wofEUoZrLPd6q9775wz_S0EdsP7Pfuz8MWPkuwHCTIETQNTIKw/s1600/Challenge-time.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>Shakedowns</b><br />
We occasionally will do a "shakedown" set. An example for 100's Free would be: 1 on 1:30, 1 on 1:29, 1 on 1:28, 1 on 1:27 (and so on...as far as you wish to go). I usually will figure out how far the top swimmers will go with the set then work backwards from there. I try to make the first third of the repeats do-able for all swimmers in the group. The next third should be pretty tough for most of the group, but still do-able. Then the remaining repeats should be so challenging that very few swimmers make it that far. When we do this type of thing the swimmers usually start getting excited and "into it" after the first third. When swimmers miss a repeat I will usually send them to another lane where they repeat 50 Kick, 50 Swim until the remaining swimmers have finished. Or - they get out and cheer. This type of set spices things up from the norm. Maybe once a month we do a set like this. Generally I like to have most of the group do the same interval and complete the set. <br />
<br />
<b>Broken Swims</b><br />
I almost never use broken swims with age groupers in this fashion: Dive 50, rest 20 seconds, push a 100, rest 10 seconds, push a 50 get your time and subtract 30 seconds (the rest) and try to beat your 200 time. I do use the broken swim idea in a set that contains something like 2x100s where we try to add them up to faster than their 200 time. Or 4x50's on short rest adding up to better than their 200 time. I think that planting a seed in an age groupers mind about what the possibilities are can be important. These reminders about "best times" help do that. <br />
<br />
<b>Distance Swim/Kick</b><br />
You can do a straight 500 swim/kick, 1000 swim/kick, 10, 20 or 30 minute swim. Once in a while just to prove that they CAN do it. This works great with younger or developing swimmers. If you do this once in a while no one will be terrified of the 500 at a swim meet. Even if you swim 4,000 yards a day a lot of younger swimmers are still scared of swimming the 500. Sometimes you have to let them actually do it to prove that they can do it. They need to be shown the way. I like to time 200 kicks for 8&Unders and 500 kicks for 9-10's and 1,000 kicks for 11&Olders. I track them and can keep team/group records.<br />
<br />
<b>Timed Swims</b><br />
Dive a 50 faster than half of their 100 time. Push a 50 faster than half their 100 time. Do a set of 100's that are 50 Breast, 50 Free and try to beat their last 100 of their 200 IMs. Hold their 500 pace for these certain 100's swim. Make up challenge sets that involve the swimmers own competition time - so each swimmer can challenge themselves against themselves. Set it up so that they can succeed. These types of swims you can and should sneak into nearly EVERY practice. <br />
<br />
<b>Relating Kicking To Swimming Speed</b><br />
Time a 75 Freestyle kick and try to beat your 100 Freestyle swim time. Time a 100 Breaststroke Kick and try to be within 10 seconds of your 100 Breaststroke swim time. Do a 50 Breaststroke Kick and try to be within 5 seconds of your 50 Breaststroke swim time. Do a 200 IM kick and try to be within 20 seconds of your 200 IM swim time. You can design sets like this and adjust them for the current level of the group. Tell them if you get within 10 seconds you get a AAAA, within 15 you get a AAA, within 20 you get a AA and so on. You can make them "do-able", but still make them challenging.<br />
<br />
<b>Get Out Swims</b><br />
You can really use your imagination on this one. Pick 8 swimmers who haven't gone under a certain time in a meet and let them know that if 3 swimmers do it, the group can get out early. Or do a skill set or relays (my all time favorite I am going to trick you into thinking that you are doing only fun but you will actually work really hard set!) instead of some other set at the end of practice. Have everyone dive a 100 of something and if half of the group can at least go within 2 seconds of their lifetime best then they win the bet. Make the entire team swim a relay by themselves. If there are 20 swimmers then each swimmer must swim a 50 Free. If the relay goes faster than 10 minutes then they win the bet. You can get the splits of each swimmer in the race and give the group updates as the relay goes on. They will start cheering for each other and throw in some really fast swims.<br />
<br />
Follow me <a href="http://www.twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-80731203994919396532012-09-28T10:58:00.000-04:002012-09-28T13:37:24.990-04:00We Love To Kick<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At T2 we LOVE kicking, especially on the age group end. We work on becoming better kickers each day. First on a kickboard, then underwater.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQMKtLvKoi30joeKmY0pRk7uKJXQp7DgW8krMcThfuTjGMNWKyaRsYHXT4bKj_8WHeFXZxuNKtEIt-Q5scq4NXKXuPqJEq7AYGjyYM7wCOWKAqS28KEKanTd0fZPrDrIS1jSibYlGejw/s1600/IMG_2989+(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQMKtLvKoi30joeKmY0pRk7uKJXQp7DgW8krMcThfuTjGMNWKyaRsYHXT4bKj_8WHeFXZxuNKtEIt-Q5scq4NXKXuPqJEq7AYGjyYM7wCOWKAqS28KEKanTd0fZPrDrIS1jSibYlGejw/s400/IMG_2989+(1).jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would say that our Introduction Group (8&Unders) does at least 400 yards of each practice kicking in one hour. Sometimes more. For underwater kicking sets we like to throw some orange hockey pucks on the bottom of the pool and streamline kick to those. We often use these hockey pucks as markers for different things and the kids love them. We have a lot of lines that we can use as markers (see in the picture) but there is something different about using a hockey puck! Some teams use cones, but the hockey pucks are smaller and easier to store. They only cost about a $2 each and will last forever. They work for us!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In our Age Group Development Groups (9-12) we do at least 600 yards of kicking each practice - but can do some sets that will be 1,500 yards of kicking. We have three Age Group Development Groups - so the ages and ability levels range here.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In our Age Group Performance Group (11-13) we generally do at least 1,000 yards but these swimmers often do kicking sets that bring them up over 2,000 yards on a given day. At least once a week we have a major kicking set that is 25-40 minutes long. Sometimes we mix in a little swimming with the kick, but we really try to give the legs at least one longer extended set each week.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kicking is important for speed, power, and fitness. We like short kick repeats as well as longer kicking sets. We like everything except lazy filler kicking. We really try not to let swimmers fall into "slow kick" mode, especially while talking! Keeping a good attitude and continuing to move the practice forward helps set the tone of the practice. I will let everyone know about a kicking test set that we do occasionally with the age group swimmers in another blog post. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We added in a 50 Freestyle kick at the end of an early season swim meet recently. Touchpads and all. Trying to find interesting ways to show that kicking is important and throwing something different and beneficial in at a swim meet. It also gave our best kickers a chance to show their stuff. Check it out:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/x8XJLFvEMYU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Follow me: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@T2Aquatics</a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-4845979369876188942012-09-21T13:48:00.002-04:002012-09-21T13:48:43.002-04:002013-2016 USA Swimming Motivational Time Standards<b>2013-2016 USA Swimming Motivational Time Standards</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhXDdwghm7nP0KyC1WHh_Pji3YqfRmPlQ8XnB1fPEHTYU5Vp-QT4ZsKtos6buOuAgvB6Ts6CnL5e4pR1tfWnHxBfqHuwhHj6V5mnAIxcraemRwShDlaW1VSz_tNVKptjsxlZZ0abGtg4/s1600/ladder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhXDdwghm7nP0KyC1WHh_Pji3YqfRmPlQ8XnB1fPEHTYU5Vp-QT4ZsKtos6buOuAgvB6Ts6CnL5e4pR1tfWnHxBfqHuwhHj6V5mnAIxcraemRwShDlaW1VSz_tNVKptjsxlZZ0abGtg4/s320/ladder.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I had a few hours to kill so I typed in all of the new USA Time Standards and made a Hy-Tek file to download into Team Manager and Meet Manager. Comment below if you would like me to send you the file - or email me at tom@t2aquatics.com - or direct message me on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a>.<br />
<br />
USA Swimming now has single age time standards as well as the usual 10&U, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18 version (just to confuse us even more!). I did not type in the single age standards - just the usual age group standards. I haven't given it too much thought as it was a surprise to see the single age standards at all but as of now I will not be using them. Maybe I will change my tune though? Sometimes I like swim meets that are single age competitions so maybe I will get into using the single age standards? T2 even hosts an 11&Under Single Age Meet in March!<br />
<br />
Personally I love the USA Time Standards. I love using them to help motivate swimmers to climb up to the next step. At T2 Aquatics we have even installed 8&Under Time Standards to help swimmers understand the system. Feel free to take a look: <a href="http://www.t2aquatics.com/SubTabGeneric.jsp?team=flt2&_stabid_=45122" target="_blank">T2 8&Under Time Standards</a><br />
<br />
An interesting comment thread over at SwimSwam.com about the standards if you want to check it out: <a href="http://swimswam.com/2012/09/usa-swimming-unveils-stepped-up-2013-2016-motivational-times/" target="_blank">SwimSwam: Stepped Up Motivational Time Standards</a>. <br />
<br />
I enjoy the standards more than the power points. Taking a look at powerpoints for age groupers is interesting but in my opinion it is much easier for a kid to understand "Get your 500 Free to a 5:37.29 and you get a AAA Time!". It just sounds cooler than "Get your 500 Free to a 5:37.29 and you score 608 points!" Age Group Coaches and Swimmers can also carry around little charts that easily tell them where they rank. <br />
<br />
Follow me <a href="http://twitter.com/t2aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-61625299042906449722012-09-14T11:58:00.001-04:002012-09-14T11:59:49.714-04:00Age Group 400 IM<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>804</o:Words>
<o:Characters>4586</o:Characters>
<o:Company>home</o:Company>
<o:Lines>38</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>9</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>5631</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>12.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The T2 Aquatics Age Group Team thinks most swimmers could have
the 400 IM as one of their top events.
It is one of those events where having a good fitness and skill level in
all strokes helps. If you think
about the 100 IM – power, quickness and underwater kicking is key. The 200 IM is a great blend of
speed/power that uses all of the strokes with underwater kicking again being
key. Many age group swimmers are
simply not anywhere near their physical peak as far as power and speed goes and
will have better success in the 400 IM than the shorter IM’s. Of course the beginning/developing
swimmer should be steered towards the 100/200 IM and these thoughts below are
not for those swimmers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUu5-SU7ApXsH2JIRkgKVeIG3vSPeEF4kmZMUO6R1dE2P_LZVh07dbE8HKquKikAhLQaDBOEZBAlGo11uLxIHtv_SdDkjizBHSeD-8ZsvSzdgyf-4XVyoKpRm58asycaqz4fSgICQ6FI/s1600/0301_WViraqWait.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUu5-SU7ApXsH2JIRkgKVeIG3vSPeEF4kmZMUO6R1dE2P_LZVh07dbE8HKquKikAhLQaDBOEZBAlGo11uLxIHtv_SdDkjizBHSeD-8ZsvSzdgyf-4XVyoKpRm58asycaqz4fSgICQ6FI/s320/0301_WViraqWait.jpeg" width="307" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Train For It Without
Racing It - That's OK.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are not many opportunities for the 400 IM in the
12&Under age group in Florida, which is disappointing. At our Championship Meet 12&Under
swimmers can not compete in the 200 Back, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 400 IM (but for some reason can
do the 1,000 Freestyle?) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At T2 Aquatics this does not stop us as we continue to train
for all kinds of different events as 11-12 swimmers – even if we can’t race
them at the Championship Level. 200
Back, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 400 IM (and of course we train for the 200/500 Free
as well). Using these events as a focus I
have worked with 11-13 year old athletes that have been ranked Top 10 in the
country in every event – 50 Free to the 1500 Free to the 400 IM. I have seen the same swimmer be ranked
in the Top 3 for the 50 Free and the 400 IM in the same season. It is possible to swim a range of
events well! If we train more for
the 200 Backstroke their 50 Backstroke will still be pretty darn good. Who cares if your LSC says that you can
not swim that event?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Train Individual Strokes.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We do very little IM in practice. In fact, we never do it. (More on that later.) We focus more on individual strokes
without mixing things up. When it
is Breaststroke, we focus on Breaststroke. When it is Backstroke, we focus on Backstroke. We rarely do sets like this:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
15x50’s</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
1 Fly/Back</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
1 Back/Breast</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
1 Breast/Free</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
5x</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is just so much mixing up. As a coach, my brain goes crazy. When I want to help a swimmer with a Fly/Back turn they are
doing a Ba/Br turn on the next repeat.
As a swimmer how can you get into a rhythm with it always
switching? Of course we often need
to “mix it up” at practice but as a general rule we train individual strokes
separately. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Repeat Distances.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Backstroke and Breaststroke our training repeat
distances are mostly 50, 75, 100 for 9-10 year old swimmers and 100, 150, 200
for 11-14 year old swimmers. With
Butterfly we train more repeats of 25’s. For more thoughts about 25’s of Fly
check out this old blog post: <b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="http://gettingevenfaster.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-train-with-25s-fly.html" target="_blank">Training 25’s of Fly</a></span></b>.
We may swim the same distances for Butterfly as the other strokes but we
would generally mix in Freestyle more often(Ex. 200’s going 25 Free/25 Fly). We will also mix Freestyle into other
strokes like the Fly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Skill Development for
Fly, Back, Breast.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When doing skill development or speed work we will swim repeats
of 25’s and maybe 50's. The opportunity for
instruction is greater since they are stopping more often. I would think of a skill set of 16x25’s
4 Drill, 4 Swim as 80% skill, 20% rhythm.
I use these sets to explain what I am looking for when we do the “real”
sets. They are expected to do the
same skills when the repeats get faster and longer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Training Development
for Fly, Back, Breast.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When “training” the stroke we do the distances I described
above but they are probably more like 30% skill, 70% rhythm. Accessing that racing stroke rhythm steadily over the set being the key. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Mixing Freestyle In:</b> I like to link some Freestyle up with
those repeats. Example: 8x200’s 50 Free, 150 Back. 10x200 50 Free, 25 KKP BR,
50 Free, 75 BR. I try to keep the
distances of the “stroke” longer than 50 yards unless it is at the end of a
repeat so that they can get into a proper repeat rhythm instead of just
blasting off a short burst of speed.
I think that if you put the stroke focus at the beginning they can blast
through it and basically throw up all over the pool, then swim crappy Freestyle
afterwards. Not what I generally
look for! If the stroke is at the
end of the repeat they can swim more of a 200 style stroke instead of a 50
style stroke. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Training IM’s In
Practice.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I said earlier, we just don’t swim IM’s. We leave the Fly training separate and
train “IM” but we replace the Fly with Freestyle. This allows our developing swimmers the chance to train repeats
of the Back, Breast, and Free segments a lot more realistically. I certainly wouldn’t enjoy watching
many of the swimmers in my training groups swim a set of 8x400 IM’s. The Fly would fall apart and the rest
of the strokes would suffer as well.
I would however absolutely love to watch them swim 8x400’s (100 Free,
100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Free).
In fact, it may be my favorite set to watch! After doing a set like that we may do a short warm down,
then a short skill Fly set followed by a set of 25’s Fly. I think that if we can get their skill
level up in the Fly, every decent 11-12 swimmer can get up on the blocks and do
a 100 Fly at the start of an IM without an issue. Swimmers also generally love to meet the challenge of
beating their best 200 or 400 IM time in a set like this. They can really work it because they
are not getting crushed with the Fly.
Swimmers who are still developing their skill and confidence level with
Butterfly can also give an awesome effort in these types of sets without
stressing out about the Butterfly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Training too much real IM or even our Freestyle IM also has the "switching it up" issue that I addressed earlier. Too much of it and I think training gets mixed up. Our best training happens with the individual strokes. As a coach I have a STRONG IM focus but we keep "IM Training" to once a week generally.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>What About Intervals?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When a swimmer/group is first starting training longer repeats of stroke I generally have swimmers get anywhere between :30 between 100 repeats and :60 between 200 repeats. This leaves time for instruction and motivation - two key things for developing swimmers. When a swimmer/group has practiced training sets like these properly for several months the intervals could come down. Eventually setting it up so that they get somewhere around :15 between 100 repeats and :20-:30 between 200 repeats? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-83227501095737195692012-09-12T08:09:00.000-04:002012-09-12T08:24:39.981-04:00FlipTurn Pacing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>290</o:Words>
<o:Characters>1656</o:Characters>
<o:Company>home</o:Company>
<o:Lines>13</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>3</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>2033</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>12.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did a little pace game with the T2 Aquatics Age Group
Performance group yesterday that worked out very well. Add this to the list from my last post <a href="http://gettingevenfaster.blogspot.com/2012/09/teaching-age-groupers-to-pace.html" target="_blank">Teaching Age Groupers To Pace</a>. I have some ideas on how to tweak this set for the future. It is a great
little type of set to add in during any practice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
8x50 NonFree/Free on :50</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
8x25 @200 Free pace with a flip on :30</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
2 Rounds</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEg3jPH6nlWMoKfzdCn3rQ5V7rUPSERuTppTRqyrnqm7jOOjuZWNmtI_zhn_9CKFtA5YS8f09yRU8VYkUMHhh5yxTTflcT2wxXwOx2x2r338ljcvx1cwJNk1Ec1d6JU-SfKsxdwKNJqs/s1600/dog_flipturn.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEg3jPH6nlWMoKfzdCn3rQ5V7rUPSERuTppTRqyrnqm7jOOjuZWNmtI_zhn_9CKFtA5YS8f09yRU8VYkUMHhh5yxTTflcT2wxXwOx2x2r338ljcvx1cwJNk1Ec1d6JU-SfKsxdwKNJqs/s320/dog_flipturn.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1,200 yards in 22 minutes. On the workout that sits in the gutter of every lane I
copied everyone’s 200 Freestyle time from Hy-Tek. Then I simply wrote:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
14 – 1:52</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
15 – 2:00</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
16 – 2:08</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
17 – 2:16</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
18 – 2:24</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I instructed everyone to figure out what time they should be
seeing on the clock after their flip.
If you are a 2:00 200 Freestyler (or wish to be) you should flip, then
look at the clock and see “15”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I generally do not have the swimmers flip at the end of
repeats, but going from the pushoff to the hand finish isn’t an accurate way to
pace. Maybe T2 Head Coach Paul
Yetter can write something in the future about effectively using flip times vs hand touch times
as pace indicators on his <a href="http://www.createperformance.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">CreatePerformance</a> blog? (hint hint!).
The flip is a little more accurate unless you adjust the pace times.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also don’t usually do broken type of swims with the age
group swimmers – and I didn’t tell them to add up their 25’s so they were not
thinking along those lines either.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two awesome things happened at practice. 1.) Kids were swimming fast to get
their “number”. 2.) The swimmers who go into flips
sideways, or turn their head to take a breath on their last stroke started to
go into the flips fast, straight, and with a still head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe the :30 interval was too slow for them? I don’t
care. It was easy for them to
calculate their time. Maybe they
need to beat their pace by a second?
I noticed that kids were flipping better when the clock was right in
front of them after they flipped.
At the opposite end they had to flip and worry about turning
around. Next time we do this I
will do it with 50’s and they will finish with a flip. Doing it this way they can do a great “real”
flipturn and a great “finish” flipturn. <br />
<br />
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-55932923629158805662012-09-10T12:59:00.001-04:002012-10-06T15:10:41.299-04:00Teaching Age Groupers to “Pace"<div style="background:url('http://tools.blognation.com/bn/tools/favorite/image/c0d4d535923e1cfe920e794a1a787caa.png') no-repeat -1px -1px;">I selected this post to be featured on my blog’s page at <a href="http://www.swimmingblogs.org" target="_blank">Swimming Blogs</a>.</div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>780</o:Words>
<o:Characters>4447</o:Characters>
<o:Company>home</o:Company>
<o:Lines>37</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>8</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>5461</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>12.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pace. This can
be so complicated to an 11 year old.
How many slow 500’s have you watched where the athlete says after: “I
was pacing it.”. Yeah….you were
pacing it alright….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What does it even mean to an age group swimmer? To most it means that they are pacing themselves to swim across the English Channel.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXcptu4Epk6Rwcib4kKmZ0ahyy55Z9jR9Bw8PnvepCF0YSq80NHWZv2u6iPj0eJz8eIm1THbATIajavbmgDjLGceNuJmRQM1u00W_yymPIf44L6D42RS-ZmfrYky_fgisAaecD-ete2A/s1600/clock.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXcptu4Epk6Rwcib4kKmZ0ahyy55Z9jR9Bw8PnvepCF0YSq80NHWZv2u6iPj0eJz8eIm1THbATIajavbmgDjLGceNuJmRQM1u00W_yymPIf44L6D42RS-ZmfrYky_fgisAaecD-ete2A/s320/clock.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the things that we try to do at T2 Aquatics is get
all swimmers to know their times.
When I
say that I am talking about three different things.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Best competition times.</li>
<li>Best practice times/set times.</li>
<li>All practice repeats. </li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best competition
times.</b> I think that
occasionally swimmers can go overboard thinking about times and put too
much pressure on themselves to achieve that certain number. In most cases I find that athletes do
not put enough of themselves into KNOWING their times and WANTING to go faster
on a CONSISTENT basis. The first step is knowing your best times – then you have to want to go
faster – then you have to consistently think about being better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Best practice
times/set times.</b> Going a 100
Breaststroke from a dive in practice is a lot different than doing a 100
Breaststroke in a set that is a 200 Free on 2:30, 4x50 Breaststroke Drill on
:50, 1x100 Breaststroke fast on 1:30 (4 rounds). A swimmer who can dive a 1:05 in the 100 Breaststroke cant
expect to go a 1:05 on the end of each round of that longer set. Some may be able to get really
close. Others may not…. Swimmers have to be in tune with what
is good for them and what isn’t for different sets. What is my best practice time? What is a good time to repeat? What have I done on similar sets in the past? What can I do differently to get to the
next level? Coaches can help with
this but the athletes should be holding themselves accountable to a degree.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>All practice repeats.</b> At T2, we get all of our times. Athletes are encouraged constantly to
get their repeat times. On easier,
moderate or faster swims and kicks – it doesn’t matter. Swimmers who do not look at the clock and try to figure out their time are missing the boat. I tell swimmers who come into the wall without looking at the clock “If you don’t look, you don’t care.” If they do get their times they need to know when things are going well and when things need to be adjusted in a big way. For example, if we do a set of 10x100’s Freestyle on
1:30 and a swimmer who goes 5:00 in the 500 Freestyle is holding
1:12’s, they should know that they are holding 6:00 pace and that it is too far away to do much good. I strongly believe
that the time component in practice is incredibly valuable. The clock is instant gratification to
the athlete. I don’t care if you
are doing kicking or drilling or swimming. It helps with motivation as well as a knowledge of what you
are doing in your training. It will
take more focus, but the confidence bump is huge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b><u>Ways to make it happen:</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Go this time:</b> For our youngest athletes
(8&Unders) this is the main way that we teaching pacing – but we use this
for all ages. The coach picks a
time to swim a 25, 50, 75, 100 (whatever distance you would like) and the
swimmer has to go that EXACT time.
Make the time 30.00, 36.50, 1:20.34 – whatever you would like. Most of the time I like to pick a number that everyone
in the practice can do.
Sometimes I will do a set of 10x50’s or something like that and have the
first few heats of swimmers try to get 33.00 and the last few heats try to get
36.00. We may go in groups and try
a few repeats at the same time, then switch times. This gets the swimmers excited to know what their own times were. It also seems to
make kids think “Wow. I can go
33.00 over and over and over without a problem.” This also teaches them to “know” what 33.00 feels like. Swimmers also seem to always go too fast which gives me the rare opportunity to “yell” at
someone for being too fast! Always a funny thing to yell at swim practice. Their
bodies start to understand what that pace really is. One of the best parts
about this game is that even the swimmers in the back of the pack can win this
one!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Ranges:</b> If we are doing a set of something
like….15x100’s backstroke – swimmers should be grouped into 1, 2, or 3
groups. Maybe the fastest group
would hold 5 between 1:30-1:35, the next 5 between 1:25-1:30, the last 5
between 1:20-1:25. The other
groups can do similar things, just a bit slower. Bigger ranges are easier to do, but as they get better at
the “game”, you can make the ranges 2-3 seconds for 100’s. This takes some planning on the coaches
part to figure out which athletes should do which paces. The most difficult part may be getting kids used to getting their times after every repeat. Once you do it right though
- it is awesome!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Race Paces: </b> This takes some planning as well but you
can figure out paces for each swimmer on a certain event and then design your
workout using that as your guide.
You can do a set of 100’s freestyle making sure each swimmer can do
certain repeats at pace. Maybe you
do 20x100’s on 1:20 and 2 are moderate, then 3 are right on their 500
pace? Maybe you just do all of
them at your 1,000 pace? Maybe you
do them at the pace of your last 100 in your 400 IM? The funny thing is with age group swimmers is a lot of the
time if you can motivate them to do a set like this well and they beat their
pace, it motivates them to really go for it when racing. This training helps them know their best competition times as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tell a friend: </b> Sometimes I stop everyone on the wall and say "What are you trying to hold on this set?" or "What are you going to go on the next one?" I give them a few seconds to think and then I have them tell a friend. Sometimes they have to tell the entire lane. Then I can go around and check to make sure it actually happened. Sometimes during sets I have them get their own times then they have to tell the person behind them what they went. The last person in each lane tells me. This all reinforces that they need to get their times and also holds them accountable. Most kids what their times to get better and better. Especially if they are telling their friends!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With all of these little games it is easier to start with
kicking because the swimmers heads are out of the water and they can see the
clock while they are kicking. They
can listen to instruction/motivation easier as well. These games are great confidence builders for age group
swimmers. If you have a pace game
that you play feel free to share-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-64069427236941750342012-08-23T13:24:00.000-04:002012-08-23T21:26:29.474-04:00Bag Tags and 8&Under Time Standards<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I first came to T2 Aquatics in December of 2010 not
many swimmers knew what an A time was.
Or B. Much less AAAA…. Many areas of the country use the USA
Motivational Time Standards as meet qualifying times (A&Faster Meet,
BB&Under Meet), but in South Florida, that just doesn’t happen. Many of the T2 swimmers were rookies and trying to find their way through the sport. Motivating a team of rookies to keep reaching for higher performance was a big challenge! The only meet to qualify for was our LSC Championship Meet. Most kids either had qualifying times for that and were not looking past it or they didn't have the times and didn't ever see themselves getting to that level.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The USA Time Standards are great for ranking
and rating swims. It has been around for
a long time and it is an easy system for swimmers to understand. There is always another step for them to
reach. (Unless you get to the AAAA level,
but once you are there you can think about being ranked in the Top 10
Nationally.) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to generate some
excitement for performance and improvement we started awarding swimmers with
Bag Tags when they reach a new level.
This season we will award 10&U swimmers when they reach the BB, A,
AA, AAA, and AAAA levels for that stroke.
We will award 11-14 year olds in our age group program when they reach
the A, AA, AAA, and AAAA levels for that stroke. It has really helped the swimmers feel some
pride in their accomplishments and they can wear their tags on their bags to
show them off! They look like this:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T1uLcOeOjfPyWMLX3eJKUxHXV7u5DEnG4q3-BlxwiS96lZN7Lq4oX2WBt7NJukvaN17SQmKuKQJzkenHKCOCa3_V5S04EJpnSxKk2F5CDnDmiL-U3lz3jUXUuBHyO0wLDuBT-C0kSrE/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T1uLcOeOjfPyWMLX3eJKUxHXV7u5DEnG4q3-BlxwiS96lZN7Lq4oX2WBt7NJukvaN17SQmKuKQJzkenHKCOCa3_V5S04EJpnSxKk2F5CDnDmiL-U3lz3jUXUuBHyO0wLDuBT-C0kSrE/s200/photo+1.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBZ5rXZIkWHGlAMYjbwjoRCjMVh6hzyvdp93M9DoaSk4fXQPedHlu_k6MTUvJCNjSdEf6L5GFKC9gfNmaXRrCjkCAcjgBiNB1Dc98v2ADOjUwaUiDnn-5ShyqxPWxKfDuSro9cgk54no/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBZ5rXZIkWHGlAMYjbwjoRCjMVh6hzyvdp93M9DoaSk4fXQPedHlu_k6MTUvJCNjSdEf6L5GFKC9gfNmaXRrCjkCAcjgBiNB1Dc98v2ADOjUwaUiDnn-5ShyqxPWxKfDuSro9cgk54no/s200/photo+2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shortly after the Bag Tag idea took off we started a similar program
with our 8&Unders because they wanted some tags as well! We “made up” some standards for 8&Under
swimmers. We have B, BB, and A
levels. This gives even our youngest
athletes something to shoot for.
They were designed so that the A level would be right about a
10&Under B time. We award Bag Tags
to 8&U swimmers who have achieved the BB and A levels for that stroke. When we race in practice we can try to motivate the younger ones by saying "who thinks they can get an A time in this 25 Freestyle?". The hands shoot up and they really go for it!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are interested in looking, they are posted here: <a href="https://www.teamunify.com/flt2/UserFiles/File/T2%20Aquatics%208&Under%20Time%20Standards%202_0.pdf" target="_blank">T2 Aquatics 8&Under Time Standards</a><br />
<br />
Follow me <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-54153495686649454952012-08-21T12:21:00.000-04:002012-08-23T21:27:50.430-04:00Telephone Swimming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goggleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mobile-phone-underwater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.goggleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mobile-phone-underwater.jpg" /></a></div>
Yesterday some T2 age groupers played some "Telephone Swimming". Two groups had very similar sets (20x25's on :35 and 20x25's on :40). Before each lap I told the lane leaders what to do on the next 25 and they had to tell the second swimmer in the lane. The second swimmer in the lane then told the third swimmer and so on. The instructions had to be quick - and the swimmers had to focus. It was a great listening game and I was able to sneak in a few challenges in there (which a few 25's of "FAST FLY" in a row will do!). Besides, it was a fun way to do a little 500 yard warm up set!<br />
<br />
Here are some examples of what we did: Freestyle with 12 strokes. Fast free with soft entry. Kick, Kick, Pull Breaststroke. Backstroke with a race finish. Lane leaders choice. Favorite stroke. Second favorite stroke. 3rd favorite stroke. 4th favorite stroke. Fast Fly. Soft entry backstroke. 5 free strokes then flip.<br />
<br />
If we play this game a little further into the season the instructions will still be short but the swimmers will be expected to do more detailed things once they pick up all of the "cue words" that I use at practice. "Shooter breaststroke", "3-2-1 breaststroke", or "NDL10Y"<br />
<br />
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-37756155815699987102012-08-19T11:34:00.000-04:002012-08-23T21:28:15.557-04:00Underwater Kicking Work/Fun This morning we worked on a few skills in a fun way. I have a few "toys" that we use at practices from time to time - these two I can used in many different ways. First we have a length of stretch cord that goes across a few lanes with a large carabiner on the end of it. You can also use a small one - or just tie a knot! The carabiner is easier for the kids to hook and unhook themselves. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqeGPnKQuzRXFmm7ld6vg4Y1Cc-7a2VhzwD0IPUirGL9ToMKdI82cEo9EDzvC5yjPUkOQdw4S-oaAtkyWUes-JRAVEva0zYO57IIqlDQ37ZqfixooSVMPJRx9WooktIB_SZBN3kXVG6w/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqeGPnKQuzRXFmm7ld6vg4Y1Cc-7a2VhzwD0IPUirGL9ToMKdI82cEo9EDzvC5yjPUkOQdw4S-oaAtkyWUes-JRAVEva0zYO57IIqlDQ37ZqfixooSVMPJRx9WooktIB_SZBN3kXVG6w/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The other "toy" that we used were these orange hockey pucks. I think I got them for a dollar or two online somewhere. I have 12 of them and I have certainly gotten lots of use out of them. You could use heavy cones as well - but those are big and bulky and difficult to store. These pucks you can be seen easily and they fit nicely in a drawer in the pool office. -Plus even the youngest swimmer is strong enough to bring them to the surface for me!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1afS-6r3LGKoI-zE5lOWm5S76NOKfpFqnBHVA-l9e9RvfNH_krRFesszrAs3uOp2FNTKtBOerCZLr1CUPJRvP7qKXjwqbTHg_mXb4pK-_31fbkGgSuvp9raPg8RCDKGF2LTnSmiBC72A/s1600/photo+2+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1afS-6r3LGKoI-zE5lOWm5S76NOKfpFqnBHVA-l9e9RvfNH_krRFesszrAs3uOp2FNTKtBOerCZLr1CUPJRvP7qKXjwqbTHg_mXb4pK-_31fbkGgSuvp9raPg8RCDKGF2LTnSmiBC72A/s320/photo+2+(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I coached two groups today and we did a few things with these together. First, we put the rope under the flags (5 yards from the wall). Then I threw the hockey pucks in the water about 6-7 yards from the wall. You can see the rope and a hockey puck a little to the right in the picture below.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBx3X0Gzbv0PDK00uohrv87qGP6BUO5-61Y174I_QhkJvgx_odMKwebG8YOyukQm7EbiTA3S5HxQ0rHorvsttq2y5-Qe-fmr-Cnmd457ecFqO9pYLyiB5sTlcnia5zzJ0V_zL9Fwwzjg/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBx3X0Gzbv0PDK00uohrv87qGP6BUO5-61Y174I_QhkJvgx_odMKwebG8YOyukQm7EbiTA3S5HxQ0rHorvsttq2y5-Qe-fmr-Cnmd457ecFqO9pYLyiB5sTlcnia5zzJ0V_zL9Fwwzjg/s320/photo+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We can do many different things with the rope and hockey pucks. In one group we did some 25's where the odd ones were Freestyle with a awesome streamline and breakout. You have to go under the rope! Once you make it to the hockey pucks, you know that you have gone far enough. On the even ones we had the really fun ones. Today we did a 25 choice where you had to dive under the rope and swim underwater the last 5 yards. I encouraged our more experienced swimmers to do a streamline kick the last 5 yards. Generally everyone would have to do that - but since we are in the first week of the season I am a little more relaxed with some of our activities. Here is a picture of the set up and a swimmer going under the rope:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyn-rKYVfyk_8zah1Cesk9b6MMXHc43hLEt0hWVxC3uGC8pDMEHc6nuEx2X-PPOsIjhWVbPnW-kgZPKE5yp1meTI26_puqjZ1ze65Qwx1uiXZUv9UjlhDgfqt-RGyQF5iRaOEYOFPb0wY/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyn-rKYVfyk_8zah1Cesk9b6MMXHc43hLEt0hWVxC3uGC8pDMEHc6nuEx2X-PPOsIjhWVbPnW-kgZPKE5yp1meTI26_puqjZ1ze65Qwx1uiXZUv9UjlhDgfqt-RGyQF5iRaOEYOFPb0wY/s320/photo+5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In another group that I had we did some 50's where we did a 25 Freestyle and then a 25 Butterfly. We generally do them this way (or going 25 Free/25 Breaststroke with Fly Kick). The distance from the wall the flags is the FAST STREAMLINE KICKING ZONE. When you are in that zone, you are kicking fast! Below is a video of that. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_7Ps40fGruI/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_7Ps40fGruI?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_7Ps40fGruI?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The possibilities of drills like these are endless. You can make a game out of it if you want. It takes a minute to set things up, but hey, it is something different and it is either fun or challenging for swimmers (or both!). </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-65442874791021890262012-08-18T18:49:00.001-04:002012-08-23T21:27:25.762-04:00Now Go Warm DownWhen I am coaching at swim meets there are always a million things going on. Kids are racing, others are wanting to talk before their races, and others are wanting to talk after their races are over. Often times there is a line! How many times have I instructed "now go warm down" or "now go do a 400 easy"? With all the other swimmers in the pool hanging on the wall it can be difficult for younger swimmers to stay focused on the task at hand.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AtSRW9BeFPjvJJnYaJCgoq41uZ6h8rx3mIWpoe25ejH9v6H_yPCbXWElPhkCbUIXGikLPIbOUH-Nqk699_1BqEvKDnsYSEWSEH8SEtoHyJoHRjFPiDnGIEUgotaXMesuAnzyqUKn_bM/s1600/warm-Up_79796288.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AtSRW9BeFPjvJJnYaJCgoq41uZ6h8rx3mIWpoe25ejH9v6H_yPCbXWElPhkCbUIXGikLPIbOUH-Nqk699_1BqEvKDnsYSEWSEH8SEtoHyJoHRjFPiDnGIEUgotaXMesuAnzyqUKn_bM/s320/warm-Up_79796288.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This year the groups that I am working with will have an "Official Meet Warm Down". For one of my groups this is the warm down:<br />
3x100 IM Drill continuous<br />
3x50 "get ready" with :10-:15 rest<br />
100 Choice<br />
<br />
They jump right in and have a plan to execute. The 300 should be a great start to the warm down - mixing the strokes and allowing all of the muscles to be involved. Then they can move to something that will help them prepare for their next event. They can work on some turns, finishes, breakouts, pacing, timing of race stroke - anything that will help them get ready. They can finish it off with a 100 of their choice. There is some structure in there - but also some room for personalization.<br />
<br />
This is 550 yards and will be a great distance of warm down for swimmers ages 11-14. It should take less than 9 minutes. Swimmers should have time to do this warm down 95% of the time at meets. Only rarely are their events so close together that they can not. If so, they can shorten it how they need to.<br />
<br />
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-40539273720257450712012-08-09T16:12:00.003-04:002012-08-23T21:28:44.743-04:00How to teach age groupers to work hard in a positive atmosphere?<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In a recent discussion with a 9 year old
boy I asked about his extremely subpar performance on a fast 25 Freestyle in
the middle of practice. His response: “I didn’t want to waste all
my energy”. In my head I thought, “Waste? It isn’t wasting. What is the problem anyway? Do you have
to plow the fields after practice?”.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqsJMZncVC9EsBx-QVC1ZwAR9NwMRuPujMQulVwfvJd73nss_ChcnxTB_y9MI-Y4gOm7KfREelqu9fV9oNX6mZKfSlmuDkx1F3BiUSFE1nHE4YI-r07m0Kb95OAaZrJ4e-FZWkMm3StY/s1600/RicePlowing.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqsJMZncVC9EsBx-QVC1ZwAR9NwMRuPujMQulVwfvJd73nss_ChcnxTB_y9MI-Y4gOm7KfREelqu9fV9oNX6mZKfSlmuDkx1F3BiUSFE1nHE4YI-r07m0Kb95OAaZrJ4e-FZWkMm3StY/s320/RicePlowing.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the saying goes, there is no fun like
swimming fast. Some think of that feeling, when you know that you have
pushed it to your limit, given it all that you have, as the best feeling in the
sport. How can we teach our younger athletes to not only enjoy that
feeling but to access it and enjoy accessing it more often? Hopefully on
a daily basis!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first way is to <b>praise
positive actions and habits instead of talent and high performance</b>.
Actions that are hard work. Talent and times are important, but praising
the athlete’s inner drive will result in it coming out more often. If you
have a swimmer who is talented and everyone says “you are so amazing” they will
say to themselves “I am amazing and I was born this way. I am just so
amazing….” and go about their day. If you have a swimmer who is obviously
working hard or improving on their work ethic you can say “you are working so
hard. That will really pay off – you will see!” Or “you are working
harder than you were last practice – that’s awesome to see. If you can
keep this up until the next meet you will see it pay off!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
If you have an inexperienced younger group of athletes start small with a
single <b>challenge set</b>. A set
where it will be easier to measure their success, determination and fortitude
(which I realize can be very subjective). I love kicking sets for this
because you can encourage them verbally the entire way. If they are
swimming you can still encourage them prior to the send off or by waving your
arms as you walk around the side of the pool, but with kicking they can always
see and hear you. There is not much technique happening with a 200 or 500
or 1000 Freestyle kick. It is pretty much you, your kickboard and your “guts”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By isolating a set you can <b>recognize improved performance</b>. A
kicking example: For 8&Unders I like the 200 Freestyle kick.
For 9-10’s I like the 500 Freestyle kick. For 11-12’s I like the 1000
Freestyle kick. I keep results from year to year and I also have fake
“time standards” made up. The 8&Under time standards are colors
(blue/red/yellow/green…) and are set at 15 or 30 second intervals. Both
9-10 and 11-12’s have fake standards that are B, BB, A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and Top
10. These are set at 30 second intervals. The last time we did this
I told the group that they needed these things to have a successful 1,000 kick
(not a fast one, a successful one): Toughness, Endurance, Power,
Determination, and Guts. Not one of the things is a good Freestyle kick. These are things that a kicking test can
measure in my opinion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For real motivation use intervals less
and repeat average more.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Swimmers like to succeed in things. Of
course there is something awesome about making a set like 10x100’s on 1:10 for
an age group swimmer. I think there is a big place for things like that
in age group swimming, but not everyone in the group can make that. Sure
they need to strive to get themselves into position to do that – but in the
mean time, if you do that each session they will fail and fail and fail and
fail at it. A better strategy would be to do something that everyone in
the group can do. This is a slippery slope however. If you do
10x100’s on 1:30 you do not want your top swimmers holding 1:20 (when they
could be doing the 1:10 set I was talking about). We need to teach and
motivate each swimmer to hold what THEY need to hold. Each swimmer can be
successful this way. Some swimmers need to hold 1:05. Others need
to hold 1:20. Everyone can do this and succeed together. Everyone
can push themselves to another level. This type of set and training will
be much easier if you teach them this as a 9&Under. Once swimmers
settle into their ways…it can be difficult to get them to switch directions!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Make
your training measurable</span></b><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Keeping good
records on what swimmers can do will help you motivate them. One great
thing to do is to write on a dry erase board everyone’s set goal. This
could be something that the coach makes up. It could be your 500
pace. It could be the second 100 of your 200 Freestyle. It could be results from the exact set done
previously. You held :45’s last time. See if you can hold 44’s today by making your
pullouts sharper.. Whatever it is put it
in writing so that the athlete can see it. This takes time and effort on
the coaches part but the athletes will respond. When they accomplish the
set, they will have worked hard and they will feel good about their
accomplishment. If a swimmer is having a difficult time getting to their
goal times it should be easy for the coach to recognize and then you can jump
in there and try to help them out. “Streamline tighter off your first
wall.” “Concentrate on exploding off the walls on this one.” “Bring
back the last 50 with a little better rhythm.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Tell
them that they can do it. You have to
raise the bar, get their imaginations going.
You do not have to be manipulative to do it, just tell them to flip a
little faster, push off a little harder, be a little tighter.” -T2 Aquatics Head Coach Paul Yetter<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></i>
<span style="color: #222222;">Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-30315059366644396752012-04-27T22:13:00.002-04:002012-04-27T22:15:07.654-04:00T2 Hardcore HopscotchJust a little dryland at todays practice. HARCORE HOPSCOTCH!<br />
<br />
Single foot hops, double foot hops, big jumps, twisting jumps, fast jumps, jumping jacks, squat jumps! Everyone seemed to get sweaty after this one!<br />
<br />
This is easy with sidewalk chalk at an outdoor pool. You could also do this inside on a gym floor with some painters tape? <br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r9Ib0r5iGkY" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-68598881057043977892012-04-20T13:42:00.000-04:002012-08-23T21:29:18.462-04:00Swimming In A Tech World.<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
There is so much information out there and so many cool things these days…. Things are seemingly at your fingertips! (as long as you have a computer or a fancy mobile device!) I am going to take a look at some websites and Apps that you may or may not have heard of before.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOv1aIoZeSBo8DHLnkHGr5NqPkeHnQcfCX-mDY-hXJ1XUTQJa2Y1c6DIcGCu3TWegKLZGvELBr6WrC2BG3AhgcwehTQ9uNcWiK3DVfsBMqoGDjCt8vkh6wEZ8N1Tgn6h_TIdJ1EOBJpEE/s1600/ipadcartoons1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOv1aIoZeSBo8DHLnkHGr5NqPkeHnQcfCX-mDY-hXJ1XUTQJa2Y1c6DIcGCu3TWegKLZGvELBr6WrC2BG3AhgcwehTQ9uNcWiK3DVfsBMqoGDjCt8vkh6wEZ8N1Tgn6h_TIdJ1EOBJpEE/s320/ipadcartoons1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Swimming Websites:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We all know the usual ones - our teams or LSC's website where we get most of our information about the meets that most of our swimmers go to – but what about other websites?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>UsaSwimming.org</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
There are tons of things that you can do on this website. I will let you know some of my favorite things to do here:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b>Check out Best Times and Rankings:</b> Click on Times/Times Search. From here you have three options. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>Individual Times Search:</b> You can find all of your Individual Times in one spot. You can search just this season, just last season, or all time! From here you can see your “powerpoint” score (0-1,000) for each event.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>Individual Event Rank:</b> Choose your name and age then you can find out where you rank in USA Swimming for each event. You can do that for this season, and last, and the one before that. This is a great way to find out if you are “moving up” the ladder!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><b>Event Rank:</b> You can choose a particular event and age range to see who the top swimmers are in the USA!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b>Find Time Standards:</b> For some reason I always find myself looking these up via usaswimming.org! Click Times/Time Standards</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b>IMX Rankings:</b> What is IMX? Find out. Click Times/IMX & Powerpoint. Awesome Program and Ranking System.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b>Events:</b> I check out the bigger USA Swimming events that are happening. There is always a Grand Prix or National meet coming up. Many of these meets have live video streaming of the event. If you click “Events” from the main menu you can see what is coming up!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b>Tips:</b> There are always tips being published on the website. For swimmers, parents, and coaches. Click on “Tips & Training” for them!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b>Member Resources:</b> From this menu you can find lots of information for whoever you are (Swimmer, Parent, Coach, Official) One thing that I like to do is check out our Virtual Club Ranking by clicking Member Resources then Recognition Programs under “Swim Clubs”. This is a ranking of clubs for swimmers ages 11-18. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><b>Deck Pass:</b> You don’t have one? I am sorry to hear that. Get one. It is free. Click “Sign In” at the top of usaswimming.org. I normally do this on my phone though! More about Deck Pass in the App Section.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>SwimmingWorldMagazine.com<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This is one of the best swimming news websites out there for fans. There are always new things posted on this site. Interviews, news items, meet results, and swimming tips. They have many videos on the website as well. They have a great segment called “Morning Swim Show” (also a podcast) which T2’s Erika Erndl and Paul Yetter have both been featured on! Just search their names in the search bar to find them! There is just a ton of information on this website to keep you busy for weeks. (also an app for $3.99 which I have not tried)</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>SwimUtopia.com</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This is a great up and coming swim website that targets ALL types of swimming (age group/college/national/international). There are tons of cool videos on this website. Several T2 swimmers and coaches have been featured here as well!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><br />
</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>FloridaSwimNetwork.com</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A great place to watch some swimming videos! Some meets have live streaming! You can also check out replays of the meets after they are finished. They also follow Triathlons, High School Swimming, College, and Masters swimming.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>FloSwimming.org</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This website sadly has gone without an update for years but the fact remains that the videos on here are COOL. When it was up and running it was one of the most popular, if not the most popular swimming website out there. Workouts, Interviews, Races – you name it – it was on here. Still tons of awesome things on here! </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Swimming Apps<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
If you have a smartphone or an ipod touch or an ipad, you can enjoy all kinds of swimming apps! Here are my favorites:</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>USA Swimming Deck Pass: </b>This is a new app from USA Swimming. From here you can do so many cool things on the go. Here are some of the cool things that swimmers can do! (This can also be done on your computer as well)</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>Scoreboard: Earn Virtual Patches for everything and anything. USA Swimming can award you patches and so can your coaches. You must have an account though! You can also check out your IMX ranking, your best times, </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>Goals: Set Goals for any event that you wish (or all of them!) and have them visible for you whenever you log in.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>Friends: You can be friends with some of your swimming buddies and check out what type of patches they are earning!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>Log Book: If you like typing in your results, this is the place for you!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>News: You can read all of the latest news from usaswimming.org</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>Times Search: Search your official times from the USA Swimming database! You can see your time standards and powerpoint rankings in this section.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>What if I am a parent?: You can create your own account and have it stand alone or link it to your child’s account to see what type of patches they are earning!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Meet Mobile (free) / Live Results (99 cents): </b>These are apps that make it possible to see results of a meet on your phone. More and more meets these days make Live Timing available. You can see the results on your computer or use these apps to make viewing easier! Live Results does cost 99 cents but it will work with ANY meet that is doing live timing. Just copy/paste the live timing URL into the app!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Splash Magazine:</b> The same magazine that you get delivered to your house as a member of USA Swimming. Now you can get it delivered to you as an App!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Swim Star:</b> Ever play Track and Field on an Atari? If you are over 30 years old you probably have! Now you can swim virtually in this game app! This is a cool app because you can swim different strokes and distances and the “techniques” are different. (Tips: “zoom” in on the race to get a better feel for your rhythm and sometimes using one arm is better than using both!)</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Stick Swim Lite:</b> Similar to SwimStar but you can breathe! You can customize your swimmer and do different distances in the Pro version of this app which is 99 cents.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Summer Games 3D Lite:</b> You can’t swim on the lite version but upgrade for 99 cents and you can (you can run and pole vault in the lite version). This is just like old school Atari. I suggest all swim parents get this thing and swim all you want in the stands during meets! Don’t let the kids have all the fun!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Pace Clock:</b> Ever wish you could have a pace clock to stare at just like you do at swim practice? Download the Pace Clock app and you will never be without a pace clock!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Go Swim:</b> This is an App that has tons of videos and pictures of all kinds of swimming stuff!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br />
<b>Days Until:</b> How many days until the next meet? Use this app to find out! </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Map My Run:</b> Doing some running for dryland? You can use MapMyRun to easily find out how far you are running, what your speed is, and you can even track and save your results if you wish!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Any Course Lite:</b> This is a stopwatch app that lets you time with splits!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>Time Standard Central</b>: This is a free app that is great for viewing the USA Motivational Time Standards on your mobile device. You can purchase tons of other standards to add to the app for 99 cents. If you are interested in doing that I suggest you check out the app “Time Standards” for 99 cents. That App is awesome for USA Swimming standards as well as Grand Prix, Nationals, US Open…. And more.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
That is it for now? Have any great ones that I am missing?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-27591192606130116152012-03-21T14:04:00.000-04:002012-08-23T21:31:12.397-04:00Face It, There Are No Shortcuts In Swimming.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Face it, there are no shortcuts in swimming. Unless you are this guy. Stay focused and keep moving forward out there!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/78kAkfTEmg0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-89751566122989720922012-03-06T14:09:00.000-05:002012-08-23T21:31:40.877-04:00How To Train With 25's Fly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.348001!/img/httpImage/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.348001!/img/httpImage/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
One of the things that we have been doing in some of the groups that I am working with at T2 is a whole lot of 25's Fly. Rethinking how we can do lot's of Fly in shorter distances.<br />
<br />
When doing this, technique and stroke count is key. Sure we can muscle through 25's Fly, or 50's Fly, or 200's Fly - but with our age groupers we want to set up the training sets to allow for the best technique level that we are at. As our technique improved, we increased the number of laps Fly that we did in sets like these. Getting our stroke counts helps us stay in check with our speed and technique. It has been great to see so many of our younger swimmers "click" with this stroke over the last 6 months.<br />
<br />
<br />
There are three different things that we do with our 25's of Butterfly:<br />
<br />
1.) <b>Continuous Fly Relays.</b> These are awesome. Everyone loves relays right? These work best when there are 4-5 swimmers in a lane. They swim a great 25 Fly from a dive, climb out, and get ready for their next swim. Getting out with a "double foot hop out" makes this even more of a workout! They just go and go and go for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes.... however long you wish. I am usually armed with two watches and I can time two swimmers at a time rotating around timing this person or that person and giving out tips. It is an awesome time to work on Dives, Underwater Kicking, Breakouts, Fly stroke, and Finishes. Swimmers who are still beginning to work on Butterfly and swimmers who have a more developed stroke like this equally. There are so many things going on - feedback, climbing out, diving in, talking with and encouraging friends, relay starts........ Everyone does a race 25 fly every 1 minute or so. It is a great set.<br />
<br />
2.) <b>25's Fly mixing in Freestyle. </b> We have been using these as progression sets. These are great because everyone in the practice can do the same interval. One group can do more Fly and less Free and the other can do more Free and less Fly. There can be many different things going on as we move together as a group.<br />
<br />
Here are three examples from our progressions that we have done to get to our highest level, 100x25's. Generally we keep the number to 40x25's or lower, but we were doing so well - we decided to give 100 a try.<br />
<br />
Set 1:<br />
40x25's on :30<br />
A Group: 1 Free, 3 Fly.<br />
B Group: 1 Free, 2 Fly.<br />
C Group: 1 Free, 1 Fly.<br />
<br />
Set 2:<br />
40x25's on :30<br />
A Group: 1 Free, 7 Fly.<br />
B Group: 1 Free, 2 Fly, 1 Free, 3 Fly.<br />
C Group: 1 Free, 2 Fly.<br />
<br />
Set 3:<br />
100x25's on :25<br />
A Group: 2 Free, 2 Fly, 4 Free, 4 Fly, 6 Free, 6 Fly, 8 Free, 8 Fly, 10 Free, 10 Fly, 12 Free, 12 Fly then 8 rounds of: 1 Free, 1 Fast Fly<br />
B Group: 1 Free, 1 Fly, 2 Free, 2 Fly, 3 Free, 3 Fly then 8 rounds of: 1 Free, 1 Fast Fly.<br />
<br />
This set was great with everyone on the same interval and then joining in on the last 8 25's of Fly at the same time.<br />
<br />
3.) <b>Longer distances mixing Freestyle and Butterfly.</b> The easiest version is 50's of Fly/Free. The next step is 50's of Free/Fly. The next step is a set of 75's with Free/Fly/Free. Then 100's of Free/Fly and so on... Age Groupers can practice keeping their heart rate steady and alternating laps of Free and Fly - which helps them keep their race technique repeat after repeat. Eventually we may throw in something like this: 200 of 25 Free, 25 Fly, 25 Free, 25 Fly, 50 Free, 50 Fly to help build confidence in the 200 Fly.<br />
<br />
<br />
These sets have really been working for us in so many ways. They really offer us a chance to challenge each individual swimmer as the entire group moves forward.<br />
<br />
Follow me: <a href="https://twitter.com/T2Aquatics" target="_blank">@t2aquatics</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-30999163984746448212012-03-01T11:16:00.001-05:002012-03-01T11:27:30.627-05:00The Mysterious Mind of a 7 Year Old....<div class="MsoNoSpacing">Most coaches grow……”tired” of coaching 8&Under’s (I guess that’s a nice way to put it!). You must have patience beyond belief. You are working with little ones submerged in water. You can not hear under there! They have goggles on, but half the time they are filled with water so they are blind as well! They are bumping into each other constantly, which for a 6 year old is a big deal. “Stop touching me!” “Billy grabbed my leg!” …… it never ends…. </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Patience, Patience, Patience. I cannot tell you the number of times that a swim parent has told me “I have no idea how you do it.”</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>What are 8&Unders REALLY after?</b> When I think about how to deal with a swimmer who is 6-7-8 years old I think “What do they like to do?” </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Have fun? Maybe.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Swim fast? Maybe.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Drink a gallon of Gatorade in an hour? Maybe.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAftJNCBo2B6IuX9yaS5ttRc0IiLB-sERgRXxjpfehef38UhJ3W0eFQV-uw4jrGJug3rwHcSI29ZU7dXqs1WHOrlMX2EB6v2yKvHXK4RMSH0gj0TCWRQs5FsV3rrXMTwTWcklRYtCRIY/s1600/getting_better.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAftJNCBo2B6IuX9yaS5ttRc0IiLB-sERgRXxjpfehef38UhJ3W0eFQV-uw4jrGJug3rwHcSI29ZU7dXqs1WHOrlMX2EB6v2yKvHXK4RMSH0gj0TCWRQs5FsV3rrXMTwTWcklRYtCRIY/s320/getting_better.jpg" width="320" /></a>ALL kids, not just swimmers, like one thing over anything else. They like getting better at THINGS. At what? WHO CARES? They come home from school and they say “I can count to 10!”, “I know the alphabet!”, “I got a 100% on my state capitals test!”, “I can do 40x200’s IM on 3 minutes!”…..</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I try to help put them into situations where they CAN get better, they CAN get recognized for it, and they WANT to take it to the next level. At practice we try to do awesome stuff and then I always include a “Great job! Maybe next time you can do those while breathing every 3<sup>rd</sup>?, that would be awesome!” or a “1:50 is a great time for you! How long before you are under 1:40?” Get them excited about their accomplishments and get them excited about the next step as well!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>How do communicate with 8&Under’s?</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>I joke. Constantly. Sure, they almost never get my jokes, but it keeps me laughing! As I said in my last blog post – I constantly refer back to something my brother once told me: “If you are not having fun, they are not having fun.”</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>We keep things neat and concise. We focus on a few things a day AND we switch it up. Some people will tell you that children learn better when you take one skill, work on it all practice and really focus in on it. Some will tell you that you should mix things up. I find that doing a little of both of those seems to work best. We will work on a skill for a while, then move to something else. We may only spend 10 minutes on Backstroke finishes, but we will do that every day until they have mastered the skill. I like to target 4 skills a month and then switch to different skills the next month (while still touching on the previous skills). Instead of spending four 10 minute blocks of time on streamlines in a month (where a swimmer will miss 1-2 of those sessions), we are spending twelve 10 minute blocks. We really get SOMETHING done this way. </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>I ask questions. What is your favorite stroke? What is your favorite thing about swim practice? What is your favorite animal? Who do you think would win in a swimming race – a walrus or an alligator? This is a chance to talk to the swimmers about something other than swimming if I want. It not only keeps me entertained, but it also lets the kids tell stories. They learn that the pool is a place where you can laugh, have fun, and do some swimming at the same time! Once they are hooked then in a few years you can crank out 50x400’s Butterfly or something…….</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tburg.k12.ny.us/mcdonald/Noaa-walrus22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="http://www.tburg.k12.ny.us/mcdonald/Noaa-walrus22.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><a href="http://www.florida-beach-lifestyle.com/images/alligator-stealth-1-500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://www.florida-beach-lifestyle.com/images/alligator-stealth-1-500.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"> </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><b>WHO WOULD WIN?</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>I have a saying about 8&Unders: “Keeping it simple keeps the coach sane.”</b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">One year I worked with a group of almost 40 8&Unders at the same time. Sure there was another coach there…but come on! 40 kids ages 6-7-8 in 6 lanes? There were a lot of swimmers, questions from the swimmers, goggle problems from the swimmers….a lot of everything. One of the things that seemed to help settle everyone down at the start of practice was working on one of the most complicated movements for 8&Unders - the backstroke flipturn. We started each practice with backstroke flipturns and it was great. Everyone had plenty of backstroke flipturn work. It was our warm up that had a purpose. If a swimmer was running late, they could just hop in and start doing some turns. They knew the drill. I didn’t have to explain the warm up to each of the 5 kids that came late that day while taking my eyes off of the swimmers who did come on time. This really taught me that showing the swimmers what you expect was key. The swimmers could do something that they understood and we could congratulate them for doing a good job instead of getting frustrated and end up yelling at them. </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I gave up on teaching these kids complicated things years ago. I have a list in my head of maybe 2-4 things for each stroke that 8&Unders need to know. I do not usually worry about much outside of that list. If they master those and they are ready for the next level of the team. I let those coaches deal with more complicated stuff!</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>What about teaching them stuff that doesn’t have to do with “swimming”?<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/1807616_f260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/1807616_f260.jpg" width="220" /></a>Teaching younger swimmers the “in’s and outs” of how to be on a swim team is a very rewarding experience that other age group coaches down the line appreciate! We have many conversations about where to go at swim meets. How to count our strokes. How to use the pace clock to find out when to leave the wall. How to get our times from the pace clock. Doing these things teaches the swimmers to take some responsibility for themselves, their sport, and their performances. It builds confidence. It encourages them to master new skills on their own. I think this is something our program really benefits from and will continue to benefit from as swimmers come through our program. It is something that takes time and may not show results in the 25 Freestyle, but will show up later. Major confidence builder. Confidence is KEY.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-63249882770209109272012-02-29T14:48:00.002-05:002012-03-02T08:18:48.570-05:00Speaking To Young Athletes<div class="MsoNoSpacing">When coaching/teaching/encouraging/supporting/laughing with young athletes there are a few different ways to make it all happen.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>What is the best style?</b> That is certainly debatable. I try to make a great situation for as many athletes as I can – reaching each athlete in different ways. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">When you look at yourself, aren’t you better in certain situations? Some people are better under pressure. Some are better in a more relaxed state. Some need just a little of this or just a little of that. For some having great practices is important. For others, they need to feel a little pressure. For others they need to be able to stay relaxed. Sure being able to adapt to different situations is key, especially later in life, but with our younger athletes we need to help them along in a way that is both supportive and instructional. Making sure each athlete gets what they need is key.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjcJ477eru4e93lGsSxrjC86K7nPm5CVm8S8SU0Tem29P2ErIuVnnv_QXf5Bx6lpRJd9BWByJcJDpxGrv1HjsBDBClPEkZcYcc9Vql5tdyMOk1wlePTnrWm1BUgyeoOJIy2UVPUv47BrW/s1600/potential.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEjcJ477eru4e93lGsSxrjC86K7nPm5CVm8S8SU0Tem29P2ErIuVnnv_QXf5Bx6lpRJd9BWByJcJDpxGrv1HjsBDBClPEkZcYcc9Vql5tdyMOk1wlePTnrWm1BUgyeoOJIy2UVPUv47BrW/s200/potential.jpg" width="200" /></a>How in the world can we help our athletes reach THEIR potential while using ONE method?</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>How to figure out what each athlete needs?</b> Everyone is different. Some need a personal conversation each day to keep going. Sometimes this is just a short chat – as you stop them for a 50 at some point during practice to reach out to them. Some need a weekly talk, a “how is it going?” type of chat. Others need a chat less frequently. Others don’t need chats at all - they just keep rolling along…. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Those athletes that seemingly need less or nothing at all still need SOMETHING. Maybe they just need something that doesn’t have to do with swimming: <i>“Learn anything cool at school this week?”</i>. Maybe they just need a quick reminder of something: <i>“Later today we are going to do some 50’s Breaststroke. One thing you can work on is even counting those 25’s and trying to hit your 200 pace that we talked about at the last meet.” </i><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>When do you connect with athletes?</b> Before and after practices would be great but often swimmers are getting there just before practice and have to leave just after. One time that is great to work with athletes is during the warm up. Stopping them for a minute or two goes a long way. This is often MUCH more beneficial than doing a few extra laps. 5,400 yards or 5,100 yards with a great conversation? I would say the conversation is much more beneficial to the athlete. You can do this in a few ways:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>You can have a quick chat about practice yesterday. This lets them know that you were noticing what they were doing even if you didn’t get a chance to tell them before they left. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>You can have a longer chat – maybe even getting out of the pool to look at time standards and writing splits on a dry erase board. Don’t worry about giving someone too much attention – as long as you find time to reach out to every athlete each day, week, month.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span>You can talk to someone about an upcoming set at practice and what you think they should focus on doing during that set. This is great because you have already connected with them so they are already prepared for the upcoming set. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nicolemlavoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/U-of-M-coach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://www.nicolemlavoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/U-of-M-coach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I also like to use kicking time to chat with swimmers. I despise “social” kick, but sometimes we will do a set where they have kicking built into the set and it is a great time where their ears are out of the water and you can talk to them the entire time. 4 rounds of: 100 easy, 4x50’s kick, 4x50’s drill, 4x50’s swim can be an example of where you can spend the 4x50’s kick as a “keep it moving” type of thing and also a time where for 3.5 minutes you can talk to anyone that you want because their ears are out of the water. Talk about what just happened on the swim or what is just about to happen on the drill. Tell a joke or a riddle. Connect with them somehow.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://www.adhdportal.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/hyperactive-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.adhdportal.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/hyperactive-child.jpg" width="133" /></a><b>What about the kid who doesn’t listen when I speak to the group?</b> Well, you haven’t figured out how to speak to them. Seriously. Everyone is different and learns in different ways. Try something different. When you have to speak to the group for 5 minutes send that kid on 10x25’s on :30, one backstroke kick, one backstroke swim. Then when you are finished with the long group talk, spend 60 seconds on that one kid and fill them in. I bet you can get your point that took 5 minutes to get across to the group to that one kid in 60 seconds. Sure, that’s a little more effort, but it pays off in the long run and is much less frustrating than having to stop and yell at the kid who doesn’t listen during your speech. PLUS, you can recognize the kid who doesn’t listen for listening during your little chat. Slowly they will come around and improve their group behavior. You do not have to fix it in one day.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">As you talk to young athletes you can start to figure out what makes them tick. What makes them tick faster. And faster. And FASTER. As you key into those triggers, you can start to access them at the appropriate times, like prior to meets. Better coaches are generally better at finding what those “triggers” are in individual athletes. They are better at connecting with them and thus better at putting those athletes in great situations for success. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Now, how exactly do you connect with a 7 year old? More on that later….<o:p></o:p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-8913027073816730012012-02-21T14:01:00.000-05:002012-02-21T14:01:09.015-05:00Jumping and Diving GamesJust a few things that we do to improve our jumping. Building well rounded athletes is something that we want to do at T2 Aquatics and in these drills we use water as a landing pad! <br />
<br />
Being more explosive off of the start as well as on every push-off is something that we would love to improve upon. Plus, this stuff is FUN!<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UCCQ93cpLxA" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494500136064174115.post-26310149973574697162012-02-17T14:30:00.002-05:002012-08-19T12:53:32.538-04:00Bribery Works.<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbDaIQvXm9TfiCsw-uS2jgyslqqlUJ8IieVLEiZqe1Z2FCVW9HJRDoPmea_uwvyrwGjWX3RC1yeCqVGVq8bWfgtlgR9FrIaRTr07q5dbxl4ORxeJ0hpDrT5Ibi3ZNvRsoX_dfDo6Oj8M/s1600/A-Year-After-UK-Bribery-Act-2010-How-does-Translation-Play-a-Role.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbDaIQvXm9TfiCsw-uS2jgyslqqlUJ8IieVLEiZqe1Z2FCVW9HJRDoPmea_uwvyrwGjWX3RC1yeCqVGVq8bWfgtlgR9FrIaRTr07q5dbxl4ORxeJ0hpDrT5Ibi3ZNvRsoX_dfDo6Oj8M/s320/A-Year-After-UK-Bribery-Act-2010-How-does-Translation-Play-a-Role.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bribery works. No doubt about it. Kids will do anything they can for an ice cream cone. Or a new ipod. Or a new X-Box. Or a Lexus. Or a yacht. Or a house on the Gulf...... This however is short term. This type of thinking is fun to play around with, even I do it from time to time! But THAT is totally different! I am the coach! I get to! (more on this later) When parents play this game it clouds the issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
Here is how I play the game: I offer things like.... High Fives. Pennies. Random things at the bottom of my bag like paperclips or broken pencils. Pieces of fuzz from my pockets. I am not kidding. Kids go INSANE for these items. 7 year olds. 12 year olds. 18 year olds. Boys. Girls.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
Here is why I play the game: <b>The key is teaching them how to focus, getting them to focus, and then feeling good about it all.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b> Teaching them to focus....thats the difficult part! Getting them to focus.....thats the easy part! Having them feel good about all of it.....thats the AWESOME part!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
Small little "bets" for high fives and pennies need to be traded off into "personal" rewards as the athlete ages. I try to do my best to help the swimmers substitute these rewards that are essentially nothing to rewards that are more personal. Going from "YES! I won some pocket lint!" goes to "YES! I was able to do something that I didn't think was possible for me 3 months ago! What's next???" When a swimmer makes this switch from outside bribery to achieving a "personal" reward - that is when huge things can happen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
I believe it is easier for athletes to see that they are working for that feeling of accomplishment when the bribes are silly than if the bribes are for big-ticket items. The bigger the item, the more they work for that "item". The smaller the item, the easier it is for them to realize that the feeling of accomplishment is the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>best reward</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>out there.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2