Not a Practice Swimmer

I apologize for taking so long to make a post. I just worked with an athlete that inspired me to share something with everyone. Have you ever coached an athlete that could do just about any movement or drill the first time you asked? I just coached one of those athletes this week, and they can be tough. While you are evaluating their stroke, they can do everything just right. In fact, I typically struggle to find something to improve in their stroke.

When I meet one of these athletes, I throw a tough aerobic set their way. I always want to see what the swimmer does while they are under stress. It can be amazing what you see when they are working hard. As a coach, the goal should always be to improve the swimmer's practice stroke, not just their drilling stroke. It is easy to get a swimmer to swim smoothly while they are fresh and thinking about their stroke. The true challenge is to teach your swimmers to swim smoothly while they are tired and working hard.

So, what do you do when you find one of these swimmers? I suggest that you have them swim short intense sets with consistent rest. They will need the consistent rest to maintain a quality stroke, and they will need to swim intensely to gain the strength necessary to swim smoothly for longer sets.