Thank you, 2013.... Happy New Year!

Thank you, kind readers, for reading this blog, a place where ideas and conversation about swimming, coaching and learning can be shared.  I welcome all your comments.

To say farewell to 2013, here's a fun video, an underwater dream and tribute to the creativity of the work we do.  Some of you have seen this, but if you haven't, enjoy!







How this video was made:

Sun Yang....technique and training for efficiency leads to speed

Sun Yang won the 800m free in Barcelona this July.  Watch and learn.  His stroke is so easy, long, strong, and efficient.  He leads, barely kicking, just holding beautiful form, and then blows everyone away in the last 100m.  (He takes 27 strokes per 50 meters).




Terry Laughlin of Total Immersion talks about efficiency and training:

"Invite speed.  Don't chase speed, let it come.

Train in thoughtful, personalized ways.

Swimming faster has little to do with how many yards you swim or at what heart rate.

Speed comes as a natural outgrowth of the Kaizen pursuit of continual improvement.

The secret to speed isn't the yardage or intensity of the workouts but by making your strokes more effective, then maintaining efficiency while dialing up the stroke tempo in small, controlled increments.  

This kind of practice is mentally and physically energizing instead of exhausting."

What if we radically rethink our traditional methods and assumptions of swim practice and swimming?
Can we do more with less?
What kind of quality would the "less" have to have?
People have gone fast with lots of intense yardage for years... is it a traditional rite or passage or could we do the same with a focused swimmer in half the time and yardage?  In 1/3 of the time?  In 1/4 of the time?
If we increase quality and decrease quantity, what would the quality be made up of?

We say swimming "garbage" yards is a waste.  What does it take for a swimmer to swim every yard with a highly conscious, mindful focus?  Can we train swimmers to stay focused and not "zone out" during swims?  Swimming can be done in autopilot and you won't drown, unlike a rock climber who would most likely fall if they weren't paying close attention.  How do we keep the mind engaged, problem solving constantly, improving, learning and adapting at an increased rate?

The tools Total Immersion uses for training efficiency are stroke rate, distance per stroke and the tempo trainer, demanding totally focused conscious intentional swimming, solving puzzles with every set.

Read this by Joe Novak, an NCAA West Point swimmer who trained with Terry Laughlin:
http://archive.totalimmersion.net/2005articles/january/novak.html

H2O: Water, it tastes good

We produced this video a few years ago with 5 Lander swimmers who swam as young age groupers and through high school and several into college.    All strokes, turns and starts are included in this video.

Enjoy Aaron Steele, Mei and Willy Ratz, Erin Stotts and Nick Robinson swim and talk about swimming.

Thank you to Lander Swim Club for funding this project.

(One error in this youtube version is that Nick Robinson is mistyped as Robertson.  My apologies to Nick.)

Coaching video software

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Video feedback allows a coach to talk less and the swimmer to connect the feel of what they think they're doing to what they see.

I use my iPad every day during practice and lessons to show swimmers what they look like when they're working on a new technique, or for before-and-after views of a stroke change.  I use it with our beginner swimmers to encourage them and let them see themselves, maybe for the first time... "What do you see?" I ask them.  "I'm awesome!" they say.  They are so right!  Older swimmers will pick out things they need to correct all by themselves.  I focus on praising what looks good.  

Ubersense has an iPad app that I use.  Video is easy to take, play frame by frame or slow motion, draw circles, lines and angles, and compare side by side with another video.  I can email or post a video to a swimmer so they can watch it when they get home.  I can VoiceOver and record my comments,  Ubersense is free.  http://www.ubersense.com/

Coach's Eye is another very similar iPad app which costs $4.99.  This app has the same capabilities as Ubersense.... slow motion, drawing on the video in colorful pen strokes, voiceover comments.  http://www.coachseye.com/home/purchase

Are you using another software that you like?

Ruta Meilutyte: Watch and learn

Rebecca Soni and Jessica Hardy's breaststroke records have just been broken in October by Ruta Meilutyte (born in 1997, currently 16 years old), from Lithuania.  She won the gold medal at the age of 15 in the 2012 Olympics in the 100m breaststroke.  She currently holds the 50m and 100m breaststroke world records, just broken in Moscow World Championships this October.

Here's the 100m breaststroke world record swim in 1:04.35:




Here's her 50m breaststroke world record swim in 29.48:


We learn a lot by watching the best swimmers in the world.  What do you see in Ruta's stroke?  Her "shoot" forward?  Tempo and timing?  How she pulls her legs up and kicks backward?  What about her start?

What can you apply to your own stroke?

The Water is My Sky

This teaser of a new documentary being filmed by young swimmer and filmmaker, Brian Tremml, is about the world of elite competitive swimming. Specifically, the film is the story told in the book, Gold in the Water, by P.H. Mullen, one of the most suspenseful and exciting books I've ever read about swimming. If you haven't yet, read this book while we're waiting for the film to be finished.

 "One of the most important things to do in life at least once: chase a dream with every ounce of power and conviction we can muster." P.H. Mullen, Gold in the Water

 Rowdy Gaines starts this teaser by saying the sport is "cruel".   Pursuing any goal in life with "every ounce of power and conviction we can muster" may feel cruel, painful, taking us to the edge of our endurance and testing every fiber of our character and perseverance.  Athletics is an area where a person's character is revealed.  We learn the most about ourselves when we're at the edge and dare to be the best we can possibly be.

I love the work we do.  We teach swimming, and through this, we offer an opportunity for a person discover who they really want to be.  We present the opportunity.... the athlete decides.  Every day.  Every season.  Every practice.

"How much effort am I willing to put forth?  How badly do I want this?  What will I do when I am hurt or exhausted or discouraged or beaten?  Will I find a different way?  Will I find an inner strength that I didn't know I had?  Who are my friends?  How much inner ignition and desire do I really have?"  This is one way to discover the truth about who you really are.

Is practice over ALREADY?!

The young man is a swimmer, and enthusiastically plays many other sports, including basketball, which he is on this :40 clip is from Coach Trevor Ragan's blog, Championshipbasketballschool.com, playing at a basketball clinic.  Trevor uses him as an example of supreme engagement in an activity.  I love it!




Here are questions for us, especially coaching young developing 5-10 year olds at practice, daily, for years:
-- Are our swimmers excited to come to practice?
-- Do they smile, pay attention, and swim with intensity at practice?
-- Are they asking "When do we go to the hot tub?" or do they say "Wow, is practice over ALREADY?"
-- Are we coaches excited to be at practice and how do the kids know that?
-- Do we expect the swimmers to come with their full energy and attention and do we give them our full energy and attention?

If our swimmers are misbehaving, messing around, have chronic excuses for getting out of practice, what if we saw this as a nudge to think about how to make it more engaging for them?

What is our "fun" repertoire?  How many ways do we know to mix things up and do something unexpected and fresh?

Here are just a few ideas we use:
-- using different equipment and "toys" (fins, buoys, boards, balls, noodles, chutes, bricks, balls, clothes, water bottles, rings, mirrors)
-- mixing in water polo drills and synchro swimming
-- relays, sprint sets, starts and turns, challenge sets (timed swims), stroke count, heart rate, kick sets
-- partner swimming, calisthenics, vertical kicking, vertical floating, kookoo banana sets
-- swimopoly and other "random" workouts with playing cards or dice or stopwatches
-- personal, specific, positive feedback.... verbal, video, physical

What happens at your practice?  Is it our intention to make every hour at the pool something we all look forward to and enjoy?

Distance racing: 500yrds and 1500m

What do you see when you watch a fast swimmer swim?

Katie Ledecky is a 16 year old Olympian (born in 1997).  She holds world records in the 800m (8:13.86) and 1500m (15:36.53) freestyles, American record in the 400m (3.59.82).  Maybe the easiest one for our swimmers to relate to is her National High School Record in the 500yd (4:31.38).  This video below is her swimming this time in March 2013.  Her first 100 yard split is 51 seconds!

What do you notice about her kick? Head position and breathing?  Stroke count per length? Turns and walls? Stroke rhythm and tempo?  Intensity?


 

 Now watch her 1500m swim at the 2012 Olympics where she sets a new world record by 6 seconds. What does she do differently? What does she do the same? How does your own racing stroke compare?  How can you find more speed in your races?    

Mindset

Fixed or Growth... what is your Mindset?

Do you believe that we are born with our talents and abilities and IQs and we really can't do much about that?  Do you avoid taking risks and  challenges and hard tasks because they might expose your weaknesses?  Do you tend to feel defensive and make excuses when someone gives you feedback?  This is the Fixed mindset perspective.

Do you believe that you can achieve anything if you want to and work hard?  Do you see mistakes and failures as ways to learn and get better?  Is your attitude "bring it on!"  and "let me try that!" when faced with something you've never tried before?  This the Growth mindset.

We all respond to things on a spectrum, from the fixed mindset to the grown mindset.  Neither is "wrong" or "right" but research has shown that people with a Growth Mindset will likely be more successful in life.  Watch this video made by Trevor Ragan, coach and creator of Championship Basketball School, to understand more about this critical concept.

http://championshipbasketballschool.com/2013/09/23/carol-dweck-mindset-new-psychology-success/

Core strength in the dolphin kick

Sharks, fish, dolphins have no arms or legs, they just swim with their core body.  We have arms and legs and so we think we can swim fast if we use them.... ah, yes, if we use them in coordination with our whole body.  We often talk about using the biggest muscles in our body nearest our core, our shoulders and back muscles instead of our biceps, our hips instead of our feet.

Here's Lenny Krayzelburg talking about the Underwater dolphin kick.... notice how still he keeps his upper body, generating power from his core and flowing through his legs.


And here's a video showing Hill Taylor, who is just kicking underwater, kicking 50 meters in 23.10 seconds, compared to backstroke swimmers on top of the water.



This video below is from the 2011 European Paralympian Championships.  It is the mens S4 50m butterfly event. S4 is the disability classification (the lower the numbers, the more severe the disabilities).  Athletes won't have the same disabilities but those of "equivalent" physical disabilities race against each other in classifications ranging from 1-10.  Blind and visually impaired swimmers compete in categories 11,12 and 13.  Swimmers with mental disabilities compete in 14.

Misty Hyman and Michael Phelps Butterfly

Misty Hyman will be at the Lander on November 30th!

I met Misty during our years of swimming in Arizona when she was graciously swimming in local meets as an Ambassador for USA swimming.  She is known for her beautiful butterfly, pioneering the underwater dolphin kick (I have video showing her kicking to the 15m mark on every length and taking just 4 strokes to every wall).  She has inspired swimmers for the last 13  years at least, since she won Olympic gold in the 200 butterfly at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  She makes it look easy, but we know, of course, there are many  many hours of practice behind her achievement.
For good measure, I've posted a short video of Michael Phelp's butterfuly.  Notice that he gets to the same chest press down, arms up over the head position, and that he has a beautiful monster underwater dolphin kick.
Watch, learn, take the opportunity to meet Misty and be inspired to fly!

Focus. The One Thing.

The One Thing

What is the one most important thing you want to accomplish today?

Find it too difficult to immediately pin it down to ONE single thing?

OK, make a short list.  Then look at the list and pick the top 3 most important.  Then of those 3, make yourself choose one.  

And do that one thing!  So that at the end of the day, you'll feel satisfied and happy that you achieved that.  

If you have time in your day, pick the next important one thing, and do that.  If the day's over, start again tomorrow with the same process.

You can bring this intention and focus to everything you do.

What's the most important one thing I want to make sure happens in this phone call?

In this meeting?  On this vacation?  During this swim practice?

What is the one thing I need to do now to make my dream happen?

and maybe.... What is the one thing I need to STOP doing now?

Gary Keller wrote The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, a book about radical prioritizing and simplifying to focus on the most important thing to do right now.  Then, after that one thing is done, what is the next important thing to do?  Sequentially, with clarity, like a line of dominos, accomplishing bigger and bigger things as you go on.  Instead of multitasking, FOCUS on one thing at a time instead.   

We all have so many things to do on our to-do lists.  We applaud the person who seems to do many things at the same time, the supreme multi-tasker, who seems so productive.  Actually, that person is a juggler, doing one thing for a little while, then switching to another thing for a little while, then another, and the switching is very inefficient and distracting.  Decide what is most important to do.  Concentrate, focus, do it, finish it.  Then decide what is most important to do next  Not only do you complete more tasks, but you've started with the most important tasks, and because you've approached your task with clear intention and focus, you will be happier and more satisfied, rather than just doing whatever thing randomly attracted your attention first.

"If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one."  (Russian proverb)

What does this idea have to do about swimming?  This is about pursuing excellence, living a life of purpose,  being productive, effective, efficient, happy.   Swimming is not just about swimming.  Pursuing excellence in swimming is like pursuing excellence in life.... conscious effort done with clear intention and focus brings satisfaction.  This blog is about pursuing excellence, just as the mission of the swim club says "to empower athletes of all ages to grow and achieve their personal best through excellence in swimming".

What about the 10,000 hours?

10,000?

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, made 10,000 hours famous as the number of hours of practice it takes for a person to attain a level of mastery that we would recognize as amazing.... Michael Phelps, Yo Yo Ma, The Beatles, Tiger Woods, etc.  In The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle also talks about 10,000 hours as part of the 3 factors that create excellence:  # of hours of deliberate practice, internal ignition or motivation, and great coaching/feedback.  (Fascinating reads, great stories, both highly recommended).

So what about it?  Do we keep track of the hours we train?  Should we expect mastery as we get closer to the 10,000?  (It's about 10 years of year round training).  Why don't some people who spend many hours not succeed as well as others who spend less?  What's so magic about the 10,000 number?  Are there any shortcuts to success?

The real principle is not so much the quantity of hours but the quality of them. It's about the power of focused, engaged, intentional effort.  It can even be about high quality "play", experimenting, fooling around, inventing games, competing, copying, like kids do when they're messing around on their own with a soccer ball or basketball, making up songs on their musical instruments, playing pick-up hockey for hours at the local ice rink, or playing in a pool all day just for fun.  Real learning doesn't always happen around lessons or coached sessions or carefully planned practice sessions.  Playtime actually increases motivation and inspiration and internal desire and enjoyment, which keeps you going for 10,000 hours.  When you add in great coaching with immediate insightful challenging feedback, then you really can learn and improve.

When we spend an hour in autopilot, just plunking away at a piano piece until our time is up, or reluctantly swimming back and forth because our parents made us come, that doesn't add to the magic of the 10,000 hours.  When we spend 10 minutes totally focused on learning a new skill, bring goals and intention to doing whatever we are currently doing (even when it is intense play!), THAT is the quality of practice that leads to mastery.

Beautiful swimming in the Lander Swim Club

We have many swimmers who are developing beautiful, efficient, balanced, technically gorgeous strokes.  This is what we strive for every practice.  This is what we coach for, train for, race for.   We see an incredible progression  in skill, comfort, ease and speed as swimmers go from Learn to Swim to the Age Group Lanes, through the levels of USA swimming competitions and middle/high school seasons.  We are so proud of the work our athletes are doing, every practice, every day.

Here is a 10 year old swimmer who has been working on freestyle, body balance, posture, line, and head position.  She is swimming 25m, the first half of the length the way she swam normally before (which wasn't exactly slow or bad, she swims a 50 free in :29) and the second half of the length is her "new" stroke.

Can you tell the difference?  Which stroke do you think looks more comfortable, like it could be super fast if she gradually put some power into it?  By the way, her normal stroke count per length was around 20.  Now it's around 15.  Her backstroke dropped to 13 strokes per length.  (Mostly due to controlling her exhale in the underwater dolphin kick off the wall).  Wow.

IM Transition Turn: Back to Breast Crossover

For those of you who want to learn this IM back to breast turn, this is the fastest and most efficient turn we have right now.  We've been working on this for several years but Lander has no swimmer who has practiced it enough to use it for racing.  I would love it if someone would get inspired and make this turn their turn!

Sun Yang: lest anyone thinks that distance swimming looks easier than sprinting...

Distance swimming at the highest levels is FAST.  Here's Sun Yang from China, swimming the 400m and 1500m at London 2012 Olympics.  So relaxed, unhurried, long, smooth stroke, high elbows, soft hands.... and his big 6 beat kick in the final 100m to bring it home in world record times.  His 14:30 swim in the 1500m translates to a pace of :58 per 100m average.  His 3:40 swim in the 400m translates to :55/100m average.

Does he rest in and out of his walls?  Does he compromise his stroke technique?  Does he take any shortcuts with his streamlines?  Ok, he is 6'6" tall and a 20 year old male, so he is very strong and can put a lot of power into his beautiful stroke, but the point is, if you think that distance swimmers don't have to go as fast, watch how Sun Yang's efficiently relaxed and balanced stroke is actually a distance Sprint!

Imagine yourself swimming like Sun Yang when you practice and race the 500 or 1650 yards.

Beauty and Efficiency first, then Speed and Power

Watch these 2 videos, one is Michael Phelps, swimming his beautiful fast freestyle, powered by a monster kick, the other is of a Total Immersion coach Shinji, who kicks only for balance and slight forward propulsion, but whose speed comes from line, posture and balance.  We all desire to swim like the wind like Michael, but first, be masters of form and efficiency, like Shinji, then Speed and Power will come.

How do they take a breath?  Is it quick or long?  When in the stroke do they take their breath?  How long does their leading arm stay in front before the other arm strokes forward?  How close are their hips to the surface of the water?  How do they swim in such a straight line? Michael also has a radical tight streamline and fast underwater dolphin kick.  Hold the vision of these strokes in your mind when you swim next time.

Welcome