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Posts Tagged ‘Swimming Competition Tips’

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

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

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

Mental Skills Training in Swimming – a new approach.

What is your experience with sports psychology and mental skills training?

Is it meeting a psychologist or mental skills professional at an office and talking quietly about attitudes, anxieties and ambitions?

Or is it having a mental skills professional come to the training centre and do a “motivation” lecture or a mental skills training session on relaxation, focusing, visualisation / imagery and attitude?

Time to take mental skills training out of the office, away from the training room and into the pool.

How?  Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Physiology based Training Set Design in Swimming: There must be Another Way.

Walk on deck at any pool in the world on a typical Monday afternoon.

There it is – the old whiteboard over there at the end of the pool.

And what’s written up on the whiteboard?

Today’s training program!

• “10 x 100 on 1:45 at 75%” or
• “20 x 50 on 1:00 holding PB plus 5 seconds” or
• “12 x 200 IM on 3:30 holding 2:50 or something similar.

You would think that swimming training, preparation and performance was all about the body wouldn’t you? Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Complementary Carnivals: Why Swim Meets Fail.

Ever wondered why the Grandstands and bleachers at your Club Swimming Carnivals and Swim Meets are empty?

Ever wanted to know how to get lots of people to come along to your Swim Meets?

Ever wanted to know how to get the support of Coaches so that they actively support your Swim Meet and send large numbers of their swimmers along to race?

Then design and deliver Complementary Carnivals!

Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Last Race

For every swimmer there will be one last race.

One time when you hit the wall, look up at the score board, see “Jones, P   1:03.07” for the last time. Or “Lane 6 56.83”. Or “Lane  3 – 2:45.71”

And in that one moment, how do you want to remember your swimming career?

And in that one moment, how do you want to be remembered as a swimmer?

And in that one moment and throughout the next 50, 60, 70 years…..what will you remember about swimming? 

What will all those early mornings, long sessions, tough gym workouts and competitions mean? Read more

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Message to Swimming – you still don’t get it!

Six years ago I wrote an article called “Changing Times” about the Sport of Swimming and the challenges it faced all over the world.

You can find the full article at numerous sites (or just email me for a copy).

In short, I challenged the swimming community to work together, to strive to create new, exciting, interesting training and competition environments, to put away petty political and personality conflicts and work together in the best interest of kids, athletes, families, coaches, Clubs and the sport.

Now, Six years later…..Most of You still don’t get it do you! 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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