Month: December 2015

Backstroke Mania

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

We were in need of a backstroke technique set with some moderately intense backstroke swimming on tight-ish intervals.  This set seemed to do the trick.

S-S-S means scull-scull-stroke, which is a backstroke drill that we do where the swimmer takes two backstroke sculls with a single arm (down to the armpit) and then takes a full stroke with that same arm.  Swimmer then performs the same on the opposite side.

Partner pushes: One swimmer streamlines on his back with feet on partner’s head.  2nd swimmer swims backstroke, pushing his partner down the pool.  First saw this drill here.  This serves 3 purposes:

1. Adds resistance to backstroke swimming
2. Forces swimmer to keep head still
3. Does not allow swimmers to cross their arms over their head on the entry of the hands into the water.

Top 10 Swimming Wizard Posts of 2015

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff

It has been a great year here at the Swimming Wizard blog.  We have had record readership (close to 400,000 visitors this year) and have enjoyed reading and posting ideas and workouts from coaches all around the world.  Below is a selection of our top posts of the year.

Send us your set at swimmingwizard@gmail.com and maybe it will make next year’s top 10!

Have a Happy New Year!

  1. The Everything Set. This challenging set includes free, descend, some “wet-land,” and packs a punch at the finish.
  2. How to Train Consistently at Race Pace was our most popular post of the year.  Get our popular pace cards and a better philosophy of my race pace philosophy.
  3. Age Group IM Set from Coach Josh Sinclair, Queensland, Australia.  Coach Sinclair also gave us a good Kick Set.
  4. Lucky Sevens appears to be a favorite with coaches even if not with swimmers.
  5. Kick Set for Underwater Dominance.  These days, you are either dominating underwater or getting dominated.
  6. 400 IM Splitting with Greater Philadelphia Coach Matt Sprang.  Good thoughts from an excellent coach.
  7. FRIM=FUN. Keep the fun in IM by taking out the fly.
  8. Stopwatch Roulette. Fun idea to help your swimmers “have a say.”
  9. F.A.T. Tuesday with Glenbrook Aquatics is cooler than it sounds.
  10. Kicking Speed Set.  Does what it says.

Bonus: 11 Creative Ways to Spice Up Your Swim Practice and my top 10 Best Things I Read, Watched, and Listened to this Year.

The Blind Goal Workout

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

Do you want to get a group of kids motivated and swimming fast 100s at practice? Try this workout for a psychological test.

? x 3 x 100 for time

Before practice, the coach writes down a goal time for each swimmer for 100y of one of their prime strokes. The goal time should be extremely challenging (i.e. their lifetime best practice time or maybe even a true lifetime best in some cases). The coach does not reveal the goal times but instead folds it up and pins it to the bulletin board. The group performs fast 100s in groups of three on 4-5 minutes of rest, with ez 200y swims between rounds. For each goal time met, the group receives a point, and the set continues until a group point goal is met. Coach reads the swimmers’ times after each 100 and states whether or not they have reached the goal time, but does not reveal the goal.
You will find out how psychologically strong your team is if you set the goals high enough. If they experience some early success scoring points, they will be more motivated. Should they hit a drought, some group members may give less than their best and no longer strive to swim really fast. If this happens, you may reveal the goal times and then give the group a final opportunity to achieve them. Seeing the goal times will help some athletes and others may be discouraged.

Regardless of how it shakes out, you are bound to get some fast swimming and some great fodder for discussion about goals (and how hard it is to not have them), expectations, and motivation.

If you give the Blind Goal Workout a try, please let me know how it goes.

Age Group Kick Set from Results H20 and Coach Josh Sinclair, Queensland, Australia

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Josh Sinclair
Head Coach
Results H2O Swimming
Queensland, Australia

This is a kick set that we did on Saturday… It is a 2km kick set that works on hypoxic, balance and body position and quality.   When doing kick sets I like to always ensure it is challenging and engaging to the individual, so rather then just kick to a cycle or for distance I get them to hold under their pace 200, the “I don’t like kick” kids held pace 200 +5 or +10 and the “I hate kick” kids wore short Finz.

The 10 Best Things I Read, Watched, and Listened to This Year

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

As a coach who is interested in personal improvement and being the best coach that I can be for my athletes, I am constantly on the lookout for ideas, motivation, and knowledge that can help me.  Here are a few of the best things I came across this year.

You are missing out if you aren’t part of the (1) Swim Coaches Idea Exchange on Facebook. With nearly 5,000 members, there is nearly always a pithy discussion of technique and tons of fresh ideas.  Be sure to check out posts from Jonty Skinner to be the at the tip of the spear when it comes to freestyle technique especially.

On my drive to and from practice, I love to listen to podcasts on a variety of subjects.  By far the best podcast I listened to this year was (2) Michael Gervais’ interview with former swim coach Sean Hutchison. Interesting, inspiring, and thought-provoking.

I got my start coaching with Gregg Troy at Florida, and reading (3) SwimmingScience.net’s Notes on his talk “Garbage Yards and Other Things that Work” was a reminder of the power of commitment that he always emphasized to the Gator teams that I was around.

If you have been paying attention on the club scene, then you know about the recent success of the York YMCA and Coach Michael Brooks’ swimmers.  I found this (4) great summary of his philosophy from his time at Brophy Prep.  He took many somewhat-formed thoughts right out of my head and put them down on paper in a clear, succinct, and firm way.

Here is my (5) favorite new drill of the year from Eagle Swim Team’s Scott Ward.  Swimmers love it, and it helps them with a critical skill in freestyle.

I have no idea if (6) this is a superior way to break out, but I love it as an example of outside-the-box thinking by the coaches at Tennessee.

My favorite passage I came across in my reading this year is from “The Olympian” by Brian Glanville written in 1969 (7):

I always enjoy reading Paul Yetter’s thoughts on his Create Performance blog.  This post was particularly insightful: (8) The Road to Greatness has Dips and Turns.

It has been interesting following along with Glenn Mills and Rachel Stratton-Mills as they have been on their Quest.  This article really hit home with me – (9) “Unreal Expectations.”

Jake Shellenberger wrote (10) “My 5 Top Drills for Sprint Freestyle,” a very helpful and informative post with more detail than your typical “listicle.”

What great resources did I miss?

Here is my list from 2013 and my list from 2012