Equipment Usage...How much is too much?

When it comes to using equipment in practice, I have to believe that I probably use equipment more then most...and I often feel as if I toe the line between keeping my swimmers ages 10-16 interested and engaged while at the same time keeping the workouts on schedule and flowing.  I found that by using equipment at key points of the re-construction of a stroke/turn helps to re-enforce the muscle memory of what you are trying to emphasize.

First, the equipment the kids in our group have.  We use the following:
Kickboard
Long fins
TYR Catalyst paddles (size appropriate for each kid)
Snorkel

Here is some equipment I have that we use:
5" PVC pipe
Tempo trainers
Mini-buoys
"Swim bones"

I have a short list of my favorite drills where I incorporate equipment in order to get the concept introduced, understood, and the correct parts of the concept emphasized with the type of care and attention to detail I typically like.

Backstroke
Drill:  Triple Scoop
Equipment Used:  One TYR Catalyst Paddle
Description:  The swimmer lays on his/her back grabbing the bottom of the paddle and allowing the rest of the paddle to press against the forearm.  With the swimmer on their side, the only movements in this drill aside from a steady kick is that the hand grabbing the paddle will complete a 3-part stroke cycle while the other "free hand" stays glued to the side.  They then pull three times.
1.  Small movement anchoring the hand down, then with an underwater recovery and the palm of their hand facing upward, sliding the hand back behind the swimmer's head.
2.  Downward movement, focusing on a high elbow catch throughout the pull stopping well before the hands get to the hips , then with an underwater recovery, sliding the hand back behind the swimmer's head.
3.  A full backstroke "pull" that finishes with the hands snapping past the hips.
***Special Note:  Because there is no above water recovery, this drill does a great job isolating the pull.  Depending on how good your swimmers are at catching water, you may use buoys and ankle bands for those a bit more advanced.***

Flip Turns
Drill:  PVC Kick Flips
Equipment Used:  5" PVC Pipe
Description:  I know I am going to make this sound way more complicated then it really is but here goes.  I typically will make the kids do something like a 400-500 single arm freestyle (R/L by 25) with the off arm holding the PVC pipe at their sides.  When they get to the flags, both hands lock onto the PVC pipe with their hands at the waist.  They kick in towards the wall with their eyes looking straight down.  They have to "FEEL" the wall approaching and activate their turn while still keeping their eyes looking down and their hands still locked on the PVC pipe, which makes the turn a little bit harder because it is done using primarily the core.  The PVC pipe re-enforces the streamline as well as helps with the posture needed to complete the turn as if they were sitting in a chair.  This has been a HUGE help in tightening up what we are doing in and out of our walls.

Butterfly
Drill:  Varying Kick Drills
Equipment Used:  Snorkel
Description:  I typically like to vary the placement of the hands throughout the kick.  An example set would be something like:

24x25 :40
8x
1-dolphin kick, hands crossed on chest
2-dolphin kick, hands out in front of shoulders
3-dolphin kick, hands at sides

I personally love the head and body position that using a snorkel emphasizes within butterfly, promoting proper body alignment while simultaneously keeping the stroke a bit flatter, allowing undulation without allowing (without choking because they buried their snorkels underwater) over-undulation.  Is that a word?  No sure, but I'm rolling with it.

So, I have given you a few different things I like to do.  What are your equipment-aided drills that you do?  Inquiring minds like to know.

Kick Work....with Tempo Trainers?!?

A few years back, I read somewhere that David Marsh, former Auburn University Coach and current Big Cheese at SwimMAC, once said (paraphrasing) that if you as a coach value a particular concept, you must make it a priority by working that concept into your training plan at least twice per week.  One of the things that I felt extremely strongly about and something I really have made a consistent focus within my two groups' training was the development and implementation of "shooters", or underwater dolphin kicking.  I always told the kids that we would always vary the distances but never the intensity of the kick.  What I found was that most of my swimmers would not do their shooters with the intensity that I deemed appropriate, the cause stemming from their lack of focus on driving their heels back to wind up the snap kick with their hips and ankles.  Because most of my kids tended to snap their kick downward (or upward on backstroke) while floating their up kick (vice versa), I started to look into ways to force that hamstring exercise out of my kids.

We do our share of stroke rate tempo work, both with and without a Tempo Trainer.  However, I was looking to increase their kick rate and so into the pool I went.  What I stumbled on was a great way to force a fast, snappy kick out of kids who may not understand just how fast and snappy their kick needs to be.  So I started to play with different kick rate speeds for my underwater dolphin kicks and came up with a few that translated well with my group.  I started my group on a set of 8x25 with fins on the :40, where I had each swimmer set their Tempo Trainer at :30.  The set was to go halfway underwater, when they came up, it would be streamline dolphin kick on their backs still holding the same kick rate.  What I saw was an almost full group transformation in the speed and explosiveness in their kick.  The next set I had them go 8x25 @ :45 with a kick rate at :27, which put their kicks WELL beyond their respective comfort zones.  With the slight increase in rest, they were expected to hold that pace and they all tried valiantly.  The last set was 8x25 @ :50, but I increased the kick rate to back to :30 in an attempt to refocus them on a slightly slower yet more powerful movements and it worked like a charm.  Time will tell as to whether or not my swimmers will translate this rate of kick into their normal everyday swim application, but the initial response has been crazy promising!

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!