MOTIVATION, COACHING & TRAINING

COACHING WITH PERSPECTIVE

July 16, 2021

If you haven’t watched the #SwimSwam interview with Coleman Hodges and Ron Aitken, head coach of the Sandpipers of Nevada swim team, you need to check it out. For me, it was insightful and eye opening.

https://swimswam.com/ron-aitken-describes-1500-for-time-after-70k-training-week-at-olympic-camp/

Coach Aitken is notorious for high volume/yardage training and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, he just placed three women on the 2021 #Olympic swim team. The shift in coaching has gone more towards quality and here’s the three reasons for it. For one, we have more athletes playing multiple sports than ever before. Lacrosse, field hockey and women’s wrestling have increased in participation by 100% or more in our marketplace over the last ten years. #Swimming can be tough, boring and expensive. To spice it up, we’ve pulled away from the 10,000 yard workouts to accommodate the unfit and unmotivated.

Second, we’re losing a copious amount of boys to the glory sports. The #ISL has amped up the desire to swim professionally. However, how do you convince 13 year-old Johnny to stick it out over the long course season when his baseball team practices twice a week, has games that only last two hours and not to mention, the ability to be social with friends during practice or competition? Competitive swimming has challenges.

Third, the competition around us (other club teams) is more attractive to families that want flexibility. If we lose those athletes, we lose credibility. 70,000 meters a week is what may be what it takes to produce an Olympian but I just want to have my kid get some exercise. We’re not all going to be Olympians! Right?

Admittedly, I am a coach stuck in my mindset. If I was to sum up my “style,” it would look like this.

• Quality training and race pace for the 200

• Sets that are fun to watch and even more fun to do

• IM based in the initial #microcycle, more specific later in the mesocycle

• Gender specific training when appropriate

After listening to the podcast, you wouldn’t think Coach Aitken and I would see eye to eye. However, we’re more alike than I thought. In the end, we’re judged on the results. We coach a sport as objective as they come. The times don’t lie. Neither do the qualifiers of this year’s Olympic team. I have two hot takes. The first is on the podcast and the second is on the Olympic team.

The podcast was tremendous. The mindset and “style” I have needs to change. Or, at the very least, it should be open to change. I don’t have all the answers. I haven’t put someone on the biggest stage in swimming. So, I may increase our yardage. I may do broken miles and 500 freestyles. I may do a high yardage week and finish it up with a timed mile. Coaches need to be coached and this is where the evolution starts. Befriend as many coaches as you can and have brainstorming/mindmeld/best practice sharing sessions regularly. Thank you Coach Aitken.

My hot take on this year’s Olympic team is one of hope and interest. I counted at least ten “unique” club level swimmers who will be in Tokyo this August. They are unique because they (1) represented a team that didn’t place an athlete on the team in the previous two quads and (2) haven’t trained with  a collegiate program leading into Trials. We’re getting better at the club level and there’s no question about it.

I’ll leave you with one last thought. You’re allowed to change your “style.” Growth as a coach is not fixed. Make mistakes. Fail forward. Document the good and the bad. And, don’t be afraid to fill your headspace with quality information from the best in the business.

SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR COACHES

May 13, 2021

One of the hardest skills to develop as a #coach is the art of #self-assessment. Long ago, I took everything personal. When talented #swimmers left my team because I couldn’t provide the resources necessary for them to become elite, I became angry. However, my anger never led to an exit interview on what I could do differently to keep them. When my athletes performed brilliantly at a two day meet but fell apart at a four day competition, I became infuriated. However, my emotional distress rarely led to a brainstorming session with my coaches to figure out why. When my supervisor didn’t hand us more pool time upon request, I became resentful. I never dug deeper to figure out why. A valid reason could have made me fully understand why I was denied.

In each case, getting emotional and defensive was my guttural response. Self-assessing each situation with a fine-toothed comb would have been the best way to respond in each situation. Separating the objective gunk from personal feelings is important and here’s why.

1 – You’re good but not great. When you realize you have the potential to #improve, you question your #greatness. Did I fail? #Failure is never fatal. Contrary to popular belief, failure and success are on the same team. In fact, failure is essential to success and feeds it. Learn that feedback is a gift. Be open to receiving it (much like a birthday gift). You’re not great (and that’s okay) but you’re not a failure either.

2 – Your way won’t work forever. Do you know who found this out the hard way? Department stores! Amazon pushed everyone out of their way and made e-commerce a thing!  I want cheap, convenient and fast. Amazon did it! What is Zillow doing (or rather attempting to do) in real estate? They’ve engineered a way to bypass the real estate agent to save you time and money. What do agents have to do knowing Zillow is doing this? Come up with a way to service their clients better than Zillow will. I provide you with these examples for one reason. If an athlete leaves your team for another one, chances are your methodology is stale. The “We’ve always done it this way before” cliché gets old. However, it’s the truth! Step back, have an out of body experience, and assess what you’re doing versus what is needed. Self-assessment could help you #evolve.

3 – You could be #wrong! Telling someone they’re wrong is almost as bad as telling them they’re a bad person (see point #1 about failure). Finding out you’re wrong hurts to the core.  What is your self assessment tool? A tool that refines you improves process, efficacy and professionalism.

Coaches think they have all the answers so it’s essential you open yourself up to #critique. In fact, you should seek it out. When I looked at myself at the end of the 2012 season (one of our best seasons ever), the deep dive into my year yielded some big things. First, here are the tools I used.

• Primary level tool – Survey to the team (what can we improve on with swim meets, meet entries, fun activities, practice times, etc.).

• Secondary level tool – Coaches’ input session. We did this as part of our end of season coaches’ meeting.

• Tertiary level tool – One hour of time writing down my personal failures and concerns (an honesty check). Which goals did I fall short of? What complaints have I fielded regarding my shortcomings? Why have I not improved at the rate of others? Were our numbers lower than last year? Financially, how are we doing?

After compiling a master list from the self-assessment, I started to solve each problem (honestly and objectively). Here are the top five complaints and shortcomings followed by initial corrective reaction (also known as taking immediate action).

1. The older girls didn’t swim well on their second taper (fall/winter season) – After self-reflection and conversations with collegiate coaches, I realized that we needed to keep the yardage high between tapers, incorporate longer aerobic swims, continue to lift at 80% max load, go with dryland until the end and finish with a drop taper on the second taper.  I was not sold at first but it worked well the next season. My old school mentality was killing my second swims. I can’t believe I let them down.

2. Build a better, well-rounded lifting program to support strength and power gains – Our program was generic and at a minimum, supported the work in the pool. I tried to fudge the regimen in order to save time and money. We had Jonathan and Ehren at our service to provide a high-level lifting program at a discounted price for the team. I always worried about cost but it shouldn’t have deterred me from putting the best program together for my athletes. Our next season was fantastic and we made plenty of raving fans out of that bunch.

3. Practices aren’t fun. We continue to do longer sets without enjoyment – This one hit me the hardest because I prided myself on being a fun coach. Unfortunately, these long sets led to athletes quitting the sport or leaving the us for a competitor. I met with two colleagues who had low attrition at their clubs. Certainly, if they’re keeping swimmers, they must be doing something right. They both gave me their training plans and ideas on how I could work in games to improve speed, increase endurance without the yardage, and create activities outside of the pool to boost morale. The changes made a difference. After the following year, we had the lowest number of athletes leave our team EVER.

4. We need to prepare for long course and a short course pool wasn’t cutting it. The Sea Wolves got destroyed in LCM – Access to anything other than a 25 yard pool is tough. Heck, we didn’t even train in a 25 yard pool. Being creative was no longer cutting it. I reached out to several long course facilities but only one had availability. We were so lucky to get into the University of Cincinnati twice a week. Not only did it boost our athletes’ confidence but it also brought all three of our sites together. Teammates and coaches from across town were able to see one another and bond. That summer, we ended up getting our highest finish ever at a summer Junior Olympic meet. We qualified 37 athletes and had three gold medal swims.

5. Our Fairfield site continues to struggle financially and there are threats to shut it down – The conversation of shutting down our Fairfield site came up every year because we were financially breaking even for a for-profit health club that needed to pay the bills. The price of the facility’s membership kept rising, the value of membership declined, and the staff’s pay rate wasn’t competitive with the other teams in our area. We were losing swimmers and coaches at a high volume. The easiest thing to do would’ve been to shut down the operation. However, the coaches and I developed a short-term, boom or bust business plan. We lobbied the Healthplex to lower the programming fees. If a Sea Wolves team member wanted to join, they could opt into a junior membership over a family membership. And, swimmers would receive a discount on personal training, massage, or swim lessons. Not only did these concessions end up saving the team and site but it also increased the facility revenue by 3% (which doesn’t seem like much but our site was 28 swimmers out of 2400 unique memberships). We made an impact! Two years after the HealthPlex agreed to make these changes, we finally hit 50 swimmers at the site! It was the only time our numbers exceeded 40 athletes in a season!

Self-assessment only works if you’re open to critique. Get onboard with a system that keeps you in check and evolving all at the same time!

COMPOUNDING MINDSET

March 26, 2021

The Power of a Compounding Mindset

If the growth mindset isn’t enough to get coaches, swimmers, and athletes spark improvement, the compounding mindset will. The compound mindset melds the tortoise and hare story with an unyielding focus on the target (or objective). Losing weight is a gradual process of learning how to grocery shop, preparing meals with fresh ingredients and making healthy decisions when dining out. Training for a marathon is a gradual process of getting fit, scaling up your runs, and adjusting your regimen with a coach.  Nothing sustainable or worthwhile happens in an instant. The “overnight success stories” are never real. Success comes from the hours of time spent in learning, training and working when no one is watching. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy is a must read for anyone to achieve long-term, sustainable success.

The compounding mindset is important for coaches, parents, and swimmers because setbacks and failures come with effort. We learn from bad swims. We learn from poorly written practices. We learn from the negative comments aimed at our children and athletes. Getting better doesn’t happen in an instant but rather, it compounds over time. Do something, even if it is small, every day. Here are three things I do every day to get better.

1. Read ten pages of a personal development book.

2. Take ten minutes to thank three people in my life that have been a mentor, resource, or friend.

3. Write down a BHAG (this is a big, hairy, audacious goal).

I think this picture says it all!

TAPER TIME TIPS FOR COACHES

March 12, 2021

I’m a firm believer that taper should build confidence in your athletes. Have fun, smile more and relieve pressure during taper time. Here are some quick hitting ideas I’ve implemented to meet this objective.

• Approximately 3-5 days out of competition, advise athletes to put an “old” suit to do block/stand-up/timed swims with. Believe it or not, a dress rehearsal helps relieve tension, stress, and athletes will pop out a good swim (which builds confidence). I had several swimmers go lifetime best swims in practice doing this.

• Some coaches use the stretch cords the traditional way (resistance down, swim fast in). With two days out of champs, we’ll do a swimmer assist pull in on the way back. Athletes have to adjust to the speed, feel (the shave) and adrenaline of a fast, tapered swim. Everyone struggles with the uncertainty of a short finish with an extra stroke or a finish with the wrong hand (for freestyle and backstroke) so this is a must have at practice.

• Work with a tempo trainer to establish goal race pace. Set it either with stroke rate or with time.

Stroke rate – 100 free goal cycling at 1.2 stroke cycle/second to go :50. Do 25s, 50s and 75s with lots of rest trying to meet the beep every 1.2 seconds.

Time – 100 breast goal time is 1:00. Adjust the beep to do 12 x 25s on :35 but they have to beat the beep at :15.

• Coach talk is very important. DON’T change stroke technique, DON’T over-coach, DON’T change strategies (unless the swimmer brings it up and is confident they can execute) and definitely, make everything positive. Also, it’s important not to bring up new goals days before the meet. If you’ve set the target, stay the course.

• Finally, you can’t taper an unfit swimmer. And, you don’t miss a taper by a day. Understand who needs more rest and who needs to stay in the water. Taper is a window of time. Bring swimmers down more if the meet lasts a day or two versus a five or six day meet. If you end each practice with a positive quote, an inspirational anecdote or a motivational video from a former athlete that competed with the team, even better.

Good luck to all teams competing in champs and those gearing up for next season!

CHANGE THE WORLD (AROUND YOU)

January 19, 2021

I remember an Apple computer television ad years ago which stated, “The people who are crazy enough to change the world are the ones who do.” Whether you’re a coach, teacher, supervisor or entrepreneur, you have an idea of what you want the world to look like and the impact you want to have on it. The ripple you start today, either with a kind word, a gesture of gratitude or a smile, can be the beginning of something amazing for you or better yet, for someone else. As a swim coach, I used the time before practice to care and connect with my athletes. I found that by having these genuine and authentic relationships, our swimmers began to buy in to our program and themselves more. The conversation may have started like this.
“If you could start a new brand, what would it be?”
“I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you for your kindness towards our new athletes.”
“What is your favorite subject in school and why?”
Care and connect with someone today and be crazy enough to change the world.

CHOOSE YOUR HARD

November 29th, 2020

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Some of you have seen the "Choose Your Hard" posts over social media. If you haven't, here are some I’ve seen.

Maintaining motivation is hard. Becoming successful is hard. Choose your hard.

Leaving a challenging relationship is hard. Working it out is hard. Choose your hard.

Staying in one spot because it is comfortable is hard. Changing your habits to evolve and grow is hard. Choose your hard.

Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard.

There are plenty more about fitness, nutrition, careers, and so on. I saw one that ended with this thought.

Life will never be easy. It will always be hard. But, we can choose our hard.

I thought about this when I spoke to one of our age group swimmers years ago about her inconsistent work ethic in practice. She didn’t feel her lack of talent could overcome the daily grind of training. Obviously, what the great Henry Ford said was and is true. 

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."

I asked her what the biggest challenge is at practice. She told me seeing her best friend do well due to her physical ability and talent was hard to process. Her friend would outswim her in a set and she would shut down. She never counted personal successes or victories. Her compass for success was tied to performance versus her peers. So, the easiest thing for her to do is to quit. Ring the bell.

What she realizes now that she didn’t back then (she's now a top tier swimmer ready to graduate high school and swim in college) is these mental challenges helped her improve and evolve when she fought her fears with action. It was difficult to overcome the mindset that she’s not good enough. She had to outwork her teammates and competitors if she wasn’t as talented as them. It was hard.

Training is just plain hard! The physical grind is only one side of it. The mental and emotion toll can be draining. And, if you quit and give up, looking up at a bad time on the scoreboard at a championship meet is also hard.

Choose your hard.

YOUR DASH

November 22nd, 2020

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If you’ve heard me speak, you know I reference the dash often. The dash, found on tombstones or in eulogies, symbolizes life between two dates.

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April 20, 1945 – May 23, 2017

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The dash is meaningful. Some have a long dash, some have a short dash and some have an unfulfilled dash. I have a few stories I’ll share in the future about my dash but here’s the one, lone thought I have at this moment.

We don’t know how long or short our dash is so be impactful. When we’ve come to the end of our dash, the abruptness of it will generate a ripple effect with our family, friends and community. The impact of our loss creates sadness but over time, existence proves that our life was meaningful to so many around us. Be dynamic as a spouse, sibling, friend or associate. Every time you see a dash or hyphen, I hope it is a reminder to take action and become a better version of yourself today.

QUALITY TRAINING FOR MID-DISTANCE SWIMMERS

November 17th, 2020

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Here’s a simple set which provides quality swimming and front loaded recovery. Please utilize this with care at the senior level. Remember that high intensity training is great but too much of it will result in cellular death (do your own research on mTOR, AMPK and rapamycin).

1 x 200 swim, negative split to 80% 4:00

4 x 50s @ 200 even pace (1st one off the blocks to a turn, next two from a push to feet and last one to a touch) 1:00

1 x 100 swim, negative split to 80% 2:00

4 x 25s @ 100 even pace (1st one off blocks to a turn, next two from a push to feet and the last one to a touch) :40

1 x 100 Active Recovery (kick – swim – drill – swim by the 25) 2:00

1 x 200 pull, negative split to 90% 4:00

4 x 50s @ 200 even pace (1st one off the blocks to a turn, next two from a push to feet and last one to a touch) :55

1 x 100 pull, negative split to 90% 2:00

4 x 25s @ 100 even pace (1st one off blocks to a turn, next two from a push to feet and the last one to a touch) :35

1 x 200 Active Recovery (kick – swim – drill – swim by the 50) 4:00

1 x 200 swim with zoomers, negative split to 100% 4:00

4 x 50s @ 200 even pace (1st one off the blocks to a turn, next two from a push to feet and last one to a touch) :50

1 x 100 swim with zoomers, negative split to 100% 2:00

4 x 25s @ 100 even pace (1st one off blocks to a turn, next two from a push to feet and the last one to a touch) :30

1 x 300 Active Recovery (kick – swim – drill – swim by the 75) 6:00

A SET THAT MATTERS

October 31st, 2020

A Set That Matters

I grew up in the era of “garbage yardage.” We did plenty of LSD (not the drug) but LONG SLOW DISTANCE. One of our local competitors had a shirt made with the statement “Distance Matters” on the back. The idea of becoming more fit through high volume is unnecessary, though some coaches still believe it is the only way to make a swimmer better.

Each set developed should be born from your process. Process is created from your experience, science, and common sense. However, we are creatures of habit. If a technique has yielded successful outcomes, why change? Because, believe it or not, you can improve.

The science behind Ultra Short Race Pace Training (USRPT) didn’t provide the “wow” factor when it was brought to my attention. Why, you ask? For one, it was unproven at the club level. No one was doing it. Two, it was initially tested on small groups. I direct a team with over 200 athletes. Three, my colleagues didn’t believe in it. Not only did no one use it, no one faithfully believed in it. Eventually, I read the articles from Dr. Brent Rushall like this one and processed the information.

https://coachsci.sdsu.edu/swim/bullets/ultra28.htm

I’ve integrated several of the USRPT properties into my practice sets. I won’t have an entire workout dedicated to it (check out mTOR, AMPK, rapamycin and the long-term change of cortisol under constant/consistent training stress). I believe I’ve become a better coach because of I’ve used these principles. I’m always looking for ways to improve!