September
2006 Tip
LOVE TO RACE!!!
Somehow over the past 10 years or so the word competitiveness has become
a dirty word. However, like it or not, it is the single most important
factor in driving success. Everyone is born with a different level of
competitiveness; however it can and should be developed and sharpened.
Take every opportunity when you are at practice to race your lane
mates. Race the person in the lane next to you; try to catch one of the
younger kids in a different lane. When I was swimming for a little team
in NJ I used to race my coach up and down the pool!!! My father who
swims a mile every morning “just for heath” tries to swim a 100 for
every 50 the “old guy” in the lane next to him does.
The bottom line is that Competitiveness is fun and it drives you to get better. And nine times out of ten it is not the most talented swimmer who will win, rather it is the swimmer with the strongest competitive drive, the swimmer that will do what ever it takes to win!!!
July
2006 Tip
Know what you
are
practicing!!
Every day at
practice you are
presented with
opportunities to
sharpen your
skills. The
best swimmers
are the ones
that take the
time to draw
their attention
to the details
that will make
them a faster
swimmer while
they are working
hard. If you
have difficulty
knowing what to
practice, make
sure you ask
your coach what
skill you should
be focused on.
Then devote your
attention to
mastering that
skill. As you
practice your
skills see
yourself using
them in a race.
American
Distance
swimming great
Brian Goodell
said, ““Winners
see what they
want to happen
and losers see
what they are
afraid might
happen.”
Don’t leave
improvement up
to chance; make
it real by
knowing what you
are working on
and making it
matter!!!
April 2006 Tip1
You can learn a
lot from the
family pet.
Think about it,
when your cat or
dog wakes up in
the morning,
what is the
first thing they
do? Scratch
their ear, go to
their food bowl,
run for the back
door?
With out fail
when animals
wake up they
stretch out
their body.
Leaning back,
leaning forward
they stretch out
their whole body
from the tip of
their tail to
the backs of
their ears; they
REACH as far as
they can and
then shake it
all out (slobber
flinging
included in some
cases.) What
they know is
that their
body’s will feel
better if they
do a little
Range of Motion
“test” before
they take their
first steps of
the day.
Likewise it’s a
good idea for
Humans to
stretch out
before they
begin moving
around. We are
not talking
about full on
yoga
stretching. Try
reaching for the
ceiling, rolling
your neck
around, touch
your toes. It
takes less than
a minute but it
will make you
feel much better
as your start
your day!!!
Fuel before you swim, Fuel while you swim, Fuel after you swim. It is advisable that swimmers consume the caloric equivalent of a bagel 30 min before swimming, drink 16oz / hour of a carbohydrate drink during swimming, and the caloric equivalent of a bagel with in 30 min after swimming.
Quite simply if your body does not have the building blocks that it needs to get stronger and faster... it wont...
SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP.... all of our swimmers are growing, and growing fast. Even some of the older kids who may have reached their full height are still growing. Their lungs, hearts, and other organs are developing at a very fast rate.
On top of the demands of school, growing and general life our swimmers are putting their body's through rigorous training. It is of the utmost importance that we help them get enough sleep to perform through out their day.
Kids need between 8-10 hours of sleep per day.. and believe it or not, Teen agers need more sleep than most all age groups!!! Only toddlers and new borns require more!! The reason is that their body's are growing more rapidly than at any other stage of development. Compound that with greater demands on their time and you spell a recipe for fatigue and an inability to recover... and ultimately sickness!!!December 2005 Tip1
Body position is one of the
most important aspects of
swimming. If you swim low
in the water you must over
come greater resistance,
where as if you swim up on
top of the water your can
glide across with less
effort.
One way to think about body position is to imagine you are a sea saw. If you lift up on one side the other will sink.... So in order to keep your hips and feet up at the surface make sure you are not lifting up on your head!!!