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Posts Tagged ‘Swimming Coaching’

Getting Mentally Tough (or How to be Tougher, Rougher, Meaner and Nastier than your Opposition while still smiling and being a generally nice person)!

On the day I was born, the nurses all gathered ’round And they gazed in wide wonder, at the joy they had found The head nurse spoke up, and she said leave this one alone She could tell right away, that I was bad to the bone Bad to the bone Bad to the bone

(George Thorogood)

 

In this old classic rock and roll song, George Thorogood is telling the world he is “bad to the bone” – that he is tough, rough, mean and nasty and you had better not get in his way.

A lot of people think that mental toughness in swimming is a bit like this: being mentally tough means being rough, tough, mean, angry, rude, crude, nasty and that you enjoy bashing, bullying and belittling your opposition.

Guess what….real mental toughness is the exact opposite! Read more

Creating a Winning Swimming Club Culture – excellence, environment, everything, everyday, everybody.

Every swimming team has a unique culture.

Some teams have a culture of fun, enjoyment, family and friends.

Some teams have a culture of hard work, discipline, dedication and training.

Some teams are based at schools, colleges and universities and their culture is a reflection of the culture of the institution.

The culture of some teams comes from their location, the ethnic background of the people in the team, the climate or the city they live and train in.

Every team is unique and every culture is special.

But for many teams, there comes a time when the coaches, swimmers, families and supporters decide they want to become a winning team. They decide to set some serious competitive goals and work together as a team to achieve them.

And to become a winning team requires the development of a winning culture. Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Top Ten Technique Tips for Every Swimmer

1. Effective propulsive movements in swimming go from SLOW to FAST.

In swimming, effective propulsive movements are SLOW to FAST.

In Fly, you reach long, feel the water, catch then accelerate through the stroke to recovery. Same in back. Same in breast (arms and legs). Same in free.

It starts with an effective feel on entry and a strong catch then…..throughout the stroke it is acceleration that makes all the difference.

2. The relationship between HIPS and HEAD is critical.

There is a critical relationship between the HIPS and the HEAD in swimming. Simply, when the head is up, the hips go down and if the hips are down three important things happen:

• Hips down means you kick down – instead of back;
• Hips down means your body is in an inefficient position;
• Hips down means that your body is not streamlined.

Be aware of this relationship and keep your head and hips in the right positions. Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Super Starts: How to get faster sooner and leave your competitors languishing in the slow lane.

Speed. Speed. Speed. And more speed.

It’s what swimming is all about.

There are no gold medals for the person who can swim the most number of 100s or the slowest 400 or even for the swimmer who has the highest heart rate.

Winning in swimming is about one thing and one thing alone….speed. You swim faster than your competitors…you win. Simple as that.

So if swimming is all about speed, what is speed all about? Read more

How to Put Together a Great Championship Program – 50 ideas for a Positively, Powerfully, Perfect Program – Part One.

Club championships programs are not easy to put together – after all, you are usually racing the same people you see day after day after day after day after day……. (you get the idea).

Many clubs lament that their Club Championships are not well supported and are generally disappointing in terms of attendance and commitment from swimmers and families. Well guess what??? It’s your – (as in the organisers of the event) – fault!

If people don’t want to buy the “product” you are selling, sell something else! If people do not attend your Club Champs – don’t blame the people – don’t blame other sports – don’t blame the economic crisis – change what you are selling!

If you want a really great Club Championship program, the trick is to combine the four Ps:

• Performance – Club championships are- after all-about racing.
• Parents – Get them involved and get them wet! This is the one chance all year to have some family fun.
• Practice – Club Championships are not the end of the story….for many swimmers Club Championships are the beginning of the competitive season and it’s a great opportunity for practicing skills, strokes, technique, dives, starts, turns, finishes, warm ups, cool downs, stretches, race day diet, mental skills and other racing skills.
• Party – have a really fun day with the families, friends and other fantastic people who make swimming the wonderful sport it is! Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Flying into Fly: Five Tips for Swimming Brilliant Butterfly.

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Twenty Tips for a Tip Top Taper!

Tapering is fun, it’s fantastic and above all its about feeling fast fast fast.

It is the time when you feel light, loose and long in the water as your body regenerates and recharges after weeks of hard work.

And above all tapering is one thing – one simple thing that everyone already has in their possession but it is one thing most people use very often….common sense.

Think about it this way.

Imagine you were telling someone – someone who knew nothing about swimming, “I have been training for months and months for a big Meet coming up in two weeks”.

And then you told them, “And for the next two weeks I am going to change lots of things, get little or no rest, stress out a lot and worry about things that may not even happen, eat strange foods that I have never eaten before, buy some different swimsuits to wear on the day without trialling them and I will not spend anytime practicing exactly what I want to do at the Meet”.

They would probably tell you, “Well good luck with all that and here’s the number of a good psychiatrist!”

So how do you have a tip top taper? Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Five Breaststroke Essentials for all Swimmers and Coaches

1. If you want to swim breaststroke – you have to swim breaststroke

We have all been there – sitting behind a breaststroker, trying to overtake them, trying to get around their wide kicks and slow speed. Frustrating!!!

However, to get good at breaststroke – you have to swim breaststroke! That is to say, if you want to swim fast breaststroke in competition you have to train to swim fast breaststroke.

Many swimmers wonder why their breaststroke does not improve. Often the reason is simple…they don’t swim it enough in training. Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Swimming Coach Score Card – a must for all coaches (and swimmers and parents).

Coaches – ever wanted to know how you rate as a coach?

Swimmers – ever wanted to know how your coach rates as a coach?

Swimming Parents – ever wanted to know how your kid’s coach rates as a coach?

Then look no further than….the Swimming Coach Score Card. Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Motivation: 50 Tricks, Tips and Techniques or How to find the fire when the fire isn’t firing!!!

1. Set your self a daily goal to improve by one tenth of one inch. Anyone can improve one tenth of an inch each day. Over a week that’s almost an inch. That’s about 4 inches a month. That’s about 3 feet a year…..and 12 feet every Olympic cycle.
2. If you are in a pace line (i.e. a line of swimmers) chase the feet of the person in front of you.
3. If you are leading the pace line, imagine the person behind you is a shark or crocodile and you need to make sure you stay ahead of them!
4. Promise yourself a small gift or reward for improving your skills and drills – reward excellence in technique – technique is the key to swimming success.
5. Encourage other swimmers – the better your team mates perform – the more it will lift you and your performance – “a rising tide lifts all the boats”.
6. Keep a training diary and write in it three things you improved each day.
7. Keep a PB record sheet on your wall. Watch how you improve over time.
8. Remember you are special. How many people are prepared to get out of bed at 5 am, train hard and balance school, swimming and life the way you do?
9. Link your seasonsby making your short course PBs this season your long course PBs next season. Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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• About this Blog

  Expert advice, ideas, innovation and inspiration for all sports coaches and team managers - from 'grass roots' through to elite and high performance levels. All posts are written by Wayne Goldsmith, AKA the "Sports Coaching Brain". If you have a question or comment about any post, please add it to the comments section.

• Recent Posts

  • Getting Mentally Tough (or How to be Tougher, Rougher, Meaner and Nastier than your Opposition while still smiling and being a generally nice person)!
  • Creating a Winning Swimming Club Culture – excellence, environment, everything, everyday, everybody.
  • Mental Toughness for Swimming: Building a Bulletproof Brain.
  • The Top Ten Technique Tips for Every Swimmer
  • Super Starts: How to get faster sooner and leave your competitors languishing in the slow lane.

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