Preparing To Swim Fast

Preparation is key to fast performance... so how many of you are preparing to swim fast and how many of you are crossing your fingers and hoping you swim fast? 

I had the pleasure of working with an athlete that was not from my team recently who didn't quite understand this concept. This swimmer was very disappointed with their performance but could not answer a single question I asked about the performance. They could not tell me how many strokes, how many breaths, how many kicks off of any walls and had no idea of how many they were supposed to be doing in the race. Unfortunately, this was not a unique occasion, as I find many athletes unclear on race preparation.

Q. When does race preparation begin?

A. Usually the first day of practice. Preparation takes a very long time, it is not done 5min before your race; it is done daily by rehearsing your race plan. How many strokes are you supposed to take in your first 25, 2nd, etc. How many breaths are acceptable in 50FR and where do you take them. Do you practice doing the same amount of dolphin kicks off of walls in practice as you do in your race? Are they practiced at the same speed and intensity? Do you practice going the speed you want to be at regularly? Are you honest about the effort level it takes to go that speed? Do you wait for your coach to get on your case about not being at the right speed, or do you take accountability for it? All these things are important for preparation. As teenagers, it becomes much harder to swim fast and best times; it won't happen by wishing much anymore. Plan to be fast.

Q. Are you consistent?

A.  Do you know enough about being fast to be able to be fast all the time? Can you be within 2-3% of your best times all the time, or are you fluctuating 5-10 seconds away from your best sometimes? Do you practice being fast enough?

Q. At a meet, are you preparing to race, or waiting for your turn to swim?

A. I am often surprised at meets how many athletes are playing video games, reading or just generally passing time. Many of those athletes go from 2 hours of reading a book and then go directly to the blocks to swim. Is that planning to swim fast? Don't get me wrong, everyone mentally prepares differently, but it seems to me that sitting for hours deactivates the body and can undo your warm-up. How many athletes have a pre-race activation routine? What are you thinking behind the blocks (what types of thoughts do you need to have in order to swim fast)? What are you doing (What do you need to do in order to swim fast)? How are you feeling (how do you need to feel in order to swim fast)?  Are you paying attention to any of these factors? Do you know the answer to any of the questions above.

Imagine how ill-conceived it would be to enter a boxing ring, arrive for an exam, drive to a new location or to perform surgery without a plan. Racing is the swimmer's fight/test/drive/surgery; lets be honest. It's what all swimmers do on a regular basis. Fill your toolbox and use your tools... just don't try to use a new tool for the first time on the job.

I spoke to one of my athletes this past weekend at Swim International (in Brantford, ON) before a race and reminded him of his strength and how we had been training. "Not using [specific practiced skill] is like being a marksman fighting zombies with a gun... only you're choosing to swing it like a club rather than fire it. FIRE THE GUN! It's what you're best at!"

(Editors note: Please note that, in the example above, I wanted to get home in time to catch The Walking Dead).

Links of the Day with Jocelyn Jay

It only takes 5 minutes! - http://ow.ly/fgKaB 

What makes a great coach? Someone who isn't afraid to try something new...envelop change! - http://ow.ly/fgKcC 

What makes a great coach - Part 2. This includes 16 goals that can apply to any sport, and carry into life itself! - http://ow.ly/fgKBv 

A great article on "Belief" - http://ow.ly/fgK7I 

Great Article

I came across this today (Thanks to my Facebook friend and fellow coach, Kristy Lyon) and felt that it really hit home with me. I believe I covered the same theme back in June with an article called "Goals Vs. Tasks: Why We Mustn't Eliminate The Possibility of Failure" but this article is much more applicable to parenting. Please read!

Growing a Generation Who Doesn't know How to Fail

Links of the Day w/ Jocelyn Jay

This is an excellent lesson on using what you have, regardless of your misfortunes! You never know what can happen!! http://ow.ly/f2oj7

 

Hurricane Sandy & Swimming Life Lessons - "One of the primary principles for the existence of sports is to prepare for life. Legendary swimming coach Peter Daland likes to simply say, “Competitive swimming is preparation for life.”"  http://ow.ly/f2ql6

A blog by softball player - her perception of parents -  http://ow.ly/f4xQe

 

4 ways to manage your time better.  Suggestions on making the time you do have as productive as possible -http://ow.ly/f4xZg

Ben Titley's "Fast"

I made a very clear point of being one of the first coaches to contact Mr. Titley prior to his arrival in Canada. Like many coaches and athletes, I was curious about what he was going to bring into the Canadian System, especially since the Canadian Swim Centre - Ontario only had about 5 athletes, none of which were the calibre that he was used to (Ben used to coach 8 athletes, all within the top 10 in the world in their events). Could he bring change to the typical Centre perception, or would this just be more of the same?

I had dinner with Ben in October and (after giving him some advice from my insignificant viewpoint) I invited him out to see my program. I offered to pick him up from his home downtown and drive him up to Georgetown because I was really interested in what I could learn from him. I figured that the invitation was well intentioned and expected that Ben would get too busy to actually visit. But last week, Ben texted me to ask if I could come get him on Tuesday November 6th so he could see some of my athletes. I jumped at the opportunity and made sure that my assistants were aware that he was coming in because I didn't want them to miss the learning opportunity either. 

I picked up Ben from Yorkdale mall around 3 and made it back to my pool before the start of my workout. I designed the workout so that the first 15min belonged to Ben. I wanted him to talk to my athletes about his experiences in Britain and in Canadian Swimming this far. 2 things were immediately evident: 

i.) Ben was not giving any messages that I don't already harp on on a daily basis: technique, discipline and respect. Its always good to hear it from someone else, especially someone with his clout. 

ii.) Ben always infused me into the conversation, praised me and made reference to me and my program about every 90 seconds. Ben did not have any interest in changing anyone's mind about anything; he wanted them to buy into what he was doing by reinforcing what I was already doing. I believe that this will work out in his favour in the Canadian system, particularly in the Ontario system!

Knowing that Ben was amongst the best sprint coaches in the world, I wanted to work on speed last night. Although I had a basic idea of what I wanted to do, Ben and I discussed what I should do and hammered out a solid workout plan on the drive up my pool. While he was looking at the plan on the whiteboard, he asked me a pretty simple question: "What are you trying to do achieve here?" I explained that we were going for maximum speed. Ben suggested that my terminology of "Speed" was possibly confused. He gave me a new suggestion (which challenged everything that I was taught in the past 3 years of NCCP's Senior Coach training) and drafted a set that would better achieve the speed that we were after. I then handed the keys to him and let him run the workout while I was content to sit in the student's chair for the rest of the practice.

Ben worked with my athletes in a series of 25s, 50s and activation activities in order to achieve faster than race pace speed (a number of those athletes had best times in 50s last night... go figure). Ben spent a lot of time talking to both the group of athletes as well as individuals. It was interesting to see the athletes react to the same feedback that they usually get in a different voice from a "V.I.P.". Many of them were able to correct (if not only for the night) MAJOR issues that we had been working on for a long time. The experience was fantastic!

Ben left my group with great words about commitment to doing difficult things and the understanding that being fast is hard... something that needs to be practiced honestly. He also made them promise that they would ALWAYS shake their coaches hand and say "Thank you" after each practice to show that they are responsible for their own training and that they appreciate that work of the coach who "Sweated his bits off for the last 2 hours to help you achieve your goals". 

Ben and I discussed more of his observations and goals on the way back to his apartment. Ben has some lofty goals and hard work ahead of him in order to achieve what he plans on achieving. I believe that his toughest goal is going to be a culture change. Historically, the Toronto Training Centre has been viewed as a recruiting ground for U of T and TSC and many athletes have left their home teams to swim there. While I do not want to get into debating if this viewpoint has merit; the reality is that the Centre is viewed that way, rightly or wrongly. I think the thing that many coaches need to understand is that Ben had nothing to do with any of that and is a fresh start at the concept. I think that rather than viewing this as a Centre initiative, look at it as a new world class coach coming in to help. While the "Centre" currently exists, it just barely exists - it is 3 or 4 lanes at U of T and has 6 athletes in it. Until the new pool is available in Scarborough in 2014, it is no more tangible than the concept of having a world class coach trying to make Ontario and Canadian Swimming better. Ignoring world class help is quite silly. We coaches should put this into perspective and accept the help of an expert!

It would be highly hypocritical of me to NOT push this agenda, but one of the biggest things that Ben Titley wants is the sharing of info between clubs and coaches. For 2 years now, I have been trying to share all of the info I have been able to get through this blog, my podcast and the Off The Deck web-series. I think this is a great initiative and that it is very counter productive to hide info. "I've never seen a system get worse from sharing, only better," he said as he explained it to me. Ben has tried to work in some sharing initiatives into his Own The Podium applications which stands to benefit everyone. I, for one, am loving this idea simply because it adds legacy to his work in Toronto. Previous coaches legacies are long gone with them.

The last thing Ben suggested was that Canadian Swim Centres need to stop hoarding athletes and clambering after them. Breaststrokers should go to see Jozsef Nagy in BC. Distance Freestylers should go see Randy in BC. He is interested in the athletes that best suit his program as a sprint and speed coach; not necessarily YOUR athletes. He is, however, interested in helping you figure out how to best train your athletes.

I must say that I really like what Ben Titley has to add to Canadian Swimming. I think that he adds some much needed fresh ideas and is willing to do facilitate the necessary education that younger coaches (such as myself... although I am rapidly aging) need. Ben's message to me that is echoing in my head since last night is: "Are we doing things because its the way its always been done, or because its the best way to do it?" This, appropriately enough, is the same message and attitude that I brought to my club when I took over 5 seasons ago. 

Do I like what Ben is doing because its great stuff or because he reminds me of myself in some weird narcissistic way? Check him out and decide for yourself. Email Dean Boles if you are interested in getting in touch with Ben Titley.

Chill Out, Man!

With the meet season here, many athletes are feeling the stress of performance and axiety that comes with racing. Although the following files are to be used by my club swimmers, I will allow anyone who needs these exercises to go ahead and stream them from my Dropbox account.

Sit somewhere where you can be undisturbed for a while and sit with both feet on the floor. Click on the following links, listen and follow the relaxation exercises. Hopefully these will help.

Relaxation: This is a good one to listen to when you need to get your mind off of everything.
Mindful Breathing: Helping you calm down.
Acceptance of Anxiety: Dealing with your anxious feelings.

Remember: relaxation is a skill and needs to be practiced like other skills. Bookmark this post and visit regularly.

10 More Things Coaching Has Taught Me

I think I am going to keep a running list that I'll add to from time to time. I've always vowed that I will never stop wanting to learn until I've written 3 operas (at least 2 in Italian) and solved the energy crisis... and since I haven't written my 3rd opera yet, it doesn't make sense to leave my list of 10 Things Coaching Has Taught Me at 10, or else it implies that I've stopped learning. Here are my most recent additions:

11.) "You can't make everyone happy, but you sure can piss off the vast majority by trying to make everyone happy."

12.)  Just when you think you have it all figured out, human nature of the athletes and parents you deal with will always throw you a curve.

13.)  You can't take credit for an athlete's success because it's their success. If you credit yourself for their success, be prepared to be equally responsible for their failures.

14.) "Fairness does not mean equality; it means treating people the way they deserve to be treated" (More on this in my next post).

15.)  It's okay to not know the answer sometimes. "I don't know" is not an offensive phrase. Coaches are expected to be the know it all professionals, but the the physical, emotional, psychological, tactical and personality uniqueness with every individual, it's honestly impossible to always know.

16.) Ignorance is bliss. Few parents choose to be ignorant. Therefore: parents are often not blissful.

17.)  You know those training montages from Rocky, The Karate Kid and Cool Runnings? They don't exist in real life. Training takes Years/Months/Weeks and there isn't very much inspirational music tying it all together. The soundtrack is usually "I hate my coach, why is he/she doing this to me..?"

18.) Sleep cannot be made up with naps. Everyone needs a good, solid, uninterrupted sleep cycle. Too few hours makes me grumpy (my family can attest). 

19.) A coach cannot live on coffee alone.

20.) Don Burton (Coach, University of Guelph) always caries breath mints in his pocket. When I asked him why his answer was to make the swimmer's encounter with him less awful. "No one wants to listen to bad stuff from their coach; they want to listen even less if my breath smells bad." 

To check out my original 10 lessons, click HERE.