What are you looking at?

I can see at least three things here that should stand out to you based on what we've been working on in practice.

What can you identify?

10 First-Time Questions to Ask a College Coach

From yourswimlog.com

I put an asterisk by my faves…

The following is a list of questions to ask your prospective college swim coach. Getting as thorough a picture as possible of what the team atmosphere and the coach’s philosophy is before you commit to a school for four years is understandably critical. Many swimmers will focus solely on selling themselves to a coach and program, but you should remember that they are recruiting you.

SEE ALSO: How to Get Recruited for College Swimming

Each conversation with prospective coaches will be different. As the speed with which the recruitment process varies from school to school, the questions you ask will rely on what stage of the process you are at. At the end of the day, however, each of the following questions are designed to help you build a clearer picture of whether or not the university program is a good fit for you.

Here goes:

1. Does the team have a year-round program? If you’re looking at taking your swimming beyond NCAA’s and beyond, will the program support these goals?

2. What’s the team culture like? Is the team more about having fun, or is it a competitive environment?

* 3. What is the team’s goal for the season? How high is the program aiming? Is it going to be a rebuilding year for the school or are they charging ahead with a specific goal in mind?

Why we work your CORE

Why Core Strength Will Make You a Faster Swimmer

Core strength has been one of the buzz terms that has flourished on pool decks in the past 15 years. More than just a fad, core strength is something that swimmers from Ryan Lochte to Roland Schoeman have all said are essential cogs in their training wheel.

Strength and conditioning specialist – and former Olympic swimmer – Nick Folker of Bridge Athletic talks about the necessity of having a strong core often in working with athletes such as Nathan Adrian, Anthony Ervin and Natalie Coughlin.

Whether we are talking about improving your dolphin kick, your start, or the amount of propulsion generated through your pull, it all originates from one place – the power plant of your body, the core. Movement begins at the core, at the centre, and moves outwards from there. When you rotate side to side while doing freestyle, when you are pulling your heels to your butt during a breaststroke kick; each of these movements uses your core to initiate and execute.

Dry-land Expertise

Here’s a clip of NC State dry-land.  Many of these exercises are things that we do (and some are things I wish we were doing).  It’s kind of long, at 12 minutes, but please take the time to watch the video and pay close attention to the exercises that you recognize.  These two do a great job with each exercise (although it’s clear the guy is right handed since he can’t throw a ball with his left hand to save himself).

Can we do a better job with our dry-land?  Sometimes it isn’t what you do, but how you do it!

Click here for the video

College Recruiting

Here’s a great Q&A with a college coach regarding college recruiting.  Even if you’re not planning to swim in college, it’s got some great advice to help with your college visits.

Read the Q&A HERE!

5 Ways Swimmers Hold Themselves Back in the Pool

 

All too often we catch ourselves being our own worst enemy. Here are 5 ways that we hold ourselves back in our swimming. 

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer based out of Victoria, BC. In feeding his passion for swimming, he has developed YourSwimBook, a powerful log book and goal setting guide made specifically for swimmers. Sign up for the YourSwimBook newsletter (free) and get weekly motivational tips by clicking here.

It’s often be said that we can be our own worst enemies.

I know that I have been my own worst enemy on more occasions than I can count, not only in the pool but in life outside of it as well. From missed opportunities to incomplete efforts, the effect of self-inflicted defeat is endlessly infuriating.

While we all have our idiosyncratic list of ways that we choose to sabotage ourselves, here are 5 of the common methods in which we hold ourselves back in the pool:

GOT GOALS?

By Dr. Alan Goldberg-Sports Psychology for Athletes, Coaches & Parents

Posted on 09/15/2008

In swim training there's a term called "garbage yardage" which refers to the swimmer physically putting in the time training but while doing so, being mentally out to lunch. You know, it's the old, "going through the motions" thing.

If you want to get more out of your training this year, then you need to train with a purpose. You need to train with a reason. If you have a reason for putting all this time in, sacrificing and physically suffering, then you will indeed get far more out of your training then if you just go through the motions.