How bad do you want it?

I got ahold of this video via Facebook from Paul Yetter, a very decorated swim coach on the East Coast, and this video speaks volumes about the state of today's athletes, and frankly people in today's society.  But instead of droning on and on about societial issues, I will keep it strictly to swimming. 

Eric Thomas, AKA "The Hip Hop Preacher", is the motivational speaker who is narrating this video and the meat and potatoes of what he is saying towards the second half of the video is VERY true.  The premise of the video is that in order to be TRULY successful, you have to want success as badly as you want your next breath.  But on the second half of the video, he discusses how its not good enough to "kinda want it".  You are either willing to sacrifice for success or you are not, but there is no real middle ground with this. 

In swimming, it is such a marathon of a sport, that is not uncommon...and frankly, rather normal to question what you are doing or why you are doing it from time to time.  The trick is to always have both your short term as well as long term goals at the forefront of your thoughts, to stay focused on the PROCESS rather then immediate results.  It takes TRUST in everyone involved in the process, from the swimmer to the coach, as well as the parents.  And lastly, it takes SACRIFICE....lots and lots of sacrifice.  That HS football game you wanted to go to?  Gonna have to show up after halftime in order to finish practice.  That party Friday night?  You have a real hard morning practice the next morning so staying out late is not advised.  Your boyfriend/girlfriend is pissed that you have 3 swim meets out of town in the next 4 weeks?  There are always cell phones to use. 

Bottom line, in order to be truly successful in the sport of swimming, are you willing to sacrifice?  I mean REALLY willing to sacrifice?  If you want it, it is there for you to take.  But that means that you have to be there to answer the bell.  Every time.  No excuses.  No second guessing.  100% commitment.  And what do you get in return besides the idea of no regrets?  SUCCESS.  As complex as carrying it out seems, it all goes back to the simple premise of "HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT IT?".

One of my FAVORITE sets, exposed!!!!

Today at practice, I let our Senior Group know that I was going to be running practice tomorrow afternoon (our Senior coaches are both out of town at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix) and to remember to bring their fins for our main set.  Immediately, I had three excited (I think) Senior swimmers who simultaneously asked "ARE WE DOING 20x50's?!?!?!" which I answered YES to.  They were stoked and so was I, as it is truly my favorite set.

Before I drone on about the beauty of this set, let me explain what it is.  The set is 20x50's on 1:30 with fins, 4x50 SPRINT and 1x50 easy, 4x thru.  I let the kids immediately start their easy 50 after their 4th 50 sprint has been completed so they have more time after warming down to re-group and get ready for the next round.  The goal of the set is to have each swimmer swim 1-2 seconds FASTER then their fastest swim meet 50 free time.  I typically only do this set short course every two weeks or so, but this continues throughout the Long Course season.

Here is the why I love this set.  The swim portion is short enough and the rest is long enough that you can get a real honest effort on every repeat from any swimmer, whether they are 9 or 19 years old.  This set has also been a real predictor of what swimmers are capable of by the end of the season.  Because they are racing their OWN times, each swimmer is held accountable for their times.  So if little Johnny is a 27.50 in the 50 free, I am expecting him to hold 26 or 25 EVERY SINGLE SPRINT REPEAT.  I use this set to teach detailed race strategy as well as a racing mindset and set the heats up to race.  There is a real focus on breath control, holding our breaths for 2 strokes out of turns and flags to wall on our finishes. 

I heart this set more then most any other "test" set I do with my kids.  Because I coach primarily 12 and unders, this set is a great teaching tool, both technically as well as developing intestinal fortitude in younger swimmers who may be uncomfortable getting out of their respective comfort zones.  I can work with some swimmers on learning how to keep their stroke rates up or how to keep their stroke together as fatigue sets in while with others, it is simply coaxing greatness out of them, helping them realize their potential by holding their hand through the bravery it takes to be willing to hurt through a set.  Each swimmer will get something out of this set, which when working with larger groups, is something I as a coach cherish.

Any coaches out there, I would love to hear what you have to say about the set, whether you would be willing to try it, and if so, what the results were with your swimmers.

Backstroke Basics

As a swimmer, I loved all things backstroke.  I even took to the underwater craze as Jeff Rouse introduced it to the world in 1992....almost liked it too much and had the DQ slips to prove it.  But backstroke came so naturally for me as a swimmer, I struggled as a coach to teach and coach it up.  I couldn't identify with bad body position, inability to sink my hand down, or the problem of overreaching.  I was searching for ways to simplify the stroke and maximize the efficiency.  I have focused on three different keys to teaching backstroke to younger swimmers:

1.)  HEAD POSITION:  I always tell my swimmers that the most important thing they could do for backstroke is have good head position, because the body follows the head.  Good head position=better body position.  So I always tell them to keep their heads back and their heads still.  We have a few things we do to exaggerate this concept, but the most useful thing we do is to drill while having their goggles resting (unstrapped on the head) on their foreheads.  This forces them to keep their heads back and still.  Some kids find a way to angle their goggles on their head to where it won't fall off if their heads are too far out of the water, but I typically can see that and let them know to get their heads back more.  We have drilled up to an hour doing exactly this. 

2.)  PROPER KICK:  My coach used to say that backstroke was 70% legs and I wholeheartedly agree.  But I see too many swimmers that hinge their kicks from their knees, limiting the power they have with their kick.  I stress the importance of kicking from their hips as opposed to their knees.  We do alot of posture/streamline kicking with fins, both to teach and work underwater work (that's another blog post entirely) as well as to ease into strengthening the hip flexor muscles that take time to develop. 

3.)  DRIVING SHOULDERS:  I tell my kids that backstroke was misnamed and should have been named sidestroke because if swimmers swam with their bodies flat, they wouldn't be nearly as fast.  So a lot of our backstroke drills emphasize shoulders, then thumb exiting the water first, then driving our shoulders and pinkies towards the bottom of the pool as it enters.  We have a drill sequence that I call "Build-A-Backstroke" that accentuates this exact thought process.

I'm curious to see what focus points other coaches use and how they apply the concept to their swimmers strokes.  These are the big three for me.  Have a great day!