I can’t believe it has already been three months that I’ve been at Austin Swim Club. It’s been amazing getting to know all of you. For my first blog, I thought I would articulate on what our main objectives have been these last few months. My number one priority with the silver and gold group is technique. One can always add strength and yardage, but good technique is of fundamental importance in swimming.
Technique is a broad term, but it is crucial for many reasons. The most basic reason is that good technique in your swimmer’s strokes, starts, and turns makes them faster. If you take two identical swimmers in strength and training, the swimmer with good technique will be the better swimmer. Learning these fundamentals at a young age is an easier process than changing older swimmer’s bad habits practiced and repeated for years.
Swimming is a long process. Everyone grows and develops at their own individual pace, and it can be difficult not to compare your swimmer to another the same age. The great news is that swimmers can always improve and strengthen their technique. I’ve seen so many instances where a late bloomer works hard and has great fundamentals; they grow a little bit, and then finally experience the massive time drops. They’re not only caught up, they’re suddenly ahead. And because they’ve worked for years practicing good habits, it becomes second nature and helps their bodies endure the increased yardage as they get older. So, while improving technique might not always have the most immediate effect on times, I believe it has the longest lasting effect.
Perhaps one of the biggest differences I’ve seen in good swimmers versus great swimmers is the way they talk about swimming. When I was a grad assistant on the UT pool deck, it was fascinating and informative hearing the guys talk amongst themselves about technique and the frequency and creativity with which they talked about it.
This brings me to my final reason why I think technique is so important. It forces the swimmer to critically think about their sport and improve body awareness in the water. I never can relate when people say swimming is boring. For me, there is constantly something to be thinking about and improving. I want the swimmers asking me questions about why we do certain things and why it makes them get faster. I believe it makes the sport more interesting, empowers them, and improves their body awareness. These tools allow them to move with a sport that is constantly improving and chasing new ideas to get faster.
That is why in practice I place a high value on sometimes slowing the practice down and really focusing on how to swim the right way. It’s because I truly believe that it is the best thing for your swimmers.
That and kicking. Lots of kicking.
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