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Aug 31, 2021
The Circus Part I
If distance swimmers approach training in the same manner as sprint swimmers, results are probably not going to be optimal. The opposite...
Aug 24, 2021
Hard Work
The sport of swimming has a very rich tradition of hard work. Teams and individuals pride themselves on the ability to outwork the...
Aug 17, 2021
Bulletproof Skills Part II
In Part I, we introduced the idea of bulletproof skills. Winning races comes down to executing skills when physical and psychological...
Aug 10, 2021
Bulletproof Skills Part I
Skills win races. Faster swimmers are better swimmers. It makes sense to work to improve these skills in training. Coaches often take...
Aug 3, 2021
Ask
Almost uniformly, coaches tend to drive the learning process. They have the answers and they provide swimmers with those answers. This...
Jul 27, 2021
Coaching Controversies- High Elbow Catch Part II
In part I, we explored the vaunted high elbow catch. Heralded as technical perfection, we took a look at some of the nuance actually...
Jul 20, 2021
Coaching Controversies- The High Elbow Catch Part I
You got to have a high elbow catch. Swim like you’re wrapping your arm around a barrel. Create an early vertical forearm. These are all...
Jul 13, 2021
What Else Matters?
‘If I am not managing my athletes’ physiological responses, then what am I doing?’* The above is a quote from a track and field coach of...
Jul 6, 2021
Pre-Emptive Technical Change
Most attempts at facilitating technical change are inherently reactive in nature. Coaches see a problem, make a comment to the swimmer,...
Jun 29, 2021
Quality vs. Quantity
While I can imagine how the title alone will lead people to make assumptions about the nature of this discussion, as well as the...
Jun 22, 2021
WWW
Coaching is challenging because one is operating in a complex environment with many variables, delayed feedback, and uncertain outcomes. ...
Jun 15, 2021
From Russia with Love
Anatoli Bonarchuk is a Russian Hammer Throw coach, widely regarded as one of the best coaches ever, in any sport. I’ve written about him...
Jun 8, 2021
Thinking and Feeling
‘Think in practice so you don’t have to think in competition.’ This is a sentiment that’s used fairly often to encourage swimmers to...
Jun 1, 2021
Coaching as Sculpture
Sculpture is an art form where the artist works in three dimensions. Classically, one could perform sculpture by carving (removing...
May 25, 2021
Can't Coach It III- The Feel for the Water Part II
In part I, we explored the idea of the feel for the water, and how difficult it is for coaches to teach it to swimmers. Rather than...
May 18, 2021
Can't Coach It III- The Feel for the Water Part I
The feel for the water. Often spoken about with great reverence by coaches around the world, the idea of feel for the water is as central...
May 11, 2021
Learning From Gamblers
As coaches, we love information and we love data. More is better, and the more we have the more confident we are in our decision-making...
May 4, 2021
Coaching Belief
‘Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.’ -Henry Ford Clearly, this is no less true in swimming. Swimmers don’t...
Apr 27, 2021
Building Capacities and Developing Skills
Successful coaching requires navigating and solving complex problems. There are so many variables that go into each performance, and...
Apr 20, 2021
A Finishing Touch
Gary Hall Junior and Anthony Ervin both won two Olympic Gold Medals by a combined 2/100th of a second. They tied each other for their...
Apr 13, 2021
Tuning In
As time is the ultimate arbiter of performance, practice environments necessarily focus almost exclusively on time. From the time it...
Apr 6, 2021
Better Competition Warm-Ups
Swimmers and coaches put a lot of time, energy, and work into achieving better performances through training. Literally years of effort...
Mar 30, 2021
Plan D Training Part III
In part I, the concept of Plan D training was introduced. In short, swimmers are going to get injured and we need to have options for...
Mar 23, 2021
Plan D Training Part II
Swimmers get injured. Whether these injuries occur because of bad luck or bad training, they happen. It's at this point, good coaches...
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