Category: Uncategorized

How to swim the 200 free

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

This was an effort to help some of our swimmers “figure out” the 200 free.  We followed up with a set specifically designed to practice for this event.  That set will come in a later post.

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How to swim the 200 free

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Example Goal Sheet

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

Our team is currently on a break, so I haven’t been writing any workouts to post lately.  I hope you have enjoyed the different posts over the last few days.  Here is another one that isn’t a “workout” exactly, but I hope you will find it helpful nonetheless.

Here is a copy of the goal sheet I have given my swimmers for the upcoming season. Over the years, I have seen coaches use a variety of approaches to goal setting. My approach has changed a bit from year to year as well. If you are willing to share your process, I would love to hear how you and your team do it.

10 Creative Ideas for Your Practices This Season

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Here are some of our recent posts that will put a unique twist on your workouts:

1. The Deck of Cards Practice
2. The Best Idea I Ever Had (or Stole)
3. The Hot Lava Set
4. Asking for Feedback
5. The “Wet-land” Challenge Set
6. The M & M Set
7. Blind Goal Workout
8. Stopwatch Roulette
9. Let’s Get Funky
10. The ? Set

And just in case…

…19.5 Ways to Get Better Even When Practice Gets Cancelled

The Deck of Cards Practice

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

Try this one for a little variety. Instead of writing specific sets, have swimmers draw playing cards from a deck to determine what stroke, distance (with instructions), and number of repeats to do. One swimmers draws the three cards, then the group does the set.  Repeat as long as you wish.

The first picture below is the layout for the conditions of the card picking.  The second picture explains the sets that we ended up doing in about an 80 minute practice.

The likelihood of getting 3 aces is about .018%, or 1 in 5,555.  But there is still a chance.

Distance With Drills and the Freeway Set from Coach Edie Rogers

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Edie Rogers
Charlottetown Bluephins
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

1. Distance with drills

4 x 500 free on 7:30 SCM
#1 All open turns with no breathing for first 2 cycles
#2 Every 4th length long arm dog paddle
#3 Easy down, fast back
#4 Flip mid-length and no breathing for first 2 cycles after the flip

2. Freeway set:
Start 3 swimmers in a lane at 2 second intervals. Swim continuously for approx 400 metres or any length you like. The third swimmer must pass the 2 ahead before getting to the wall. The lead 2 swimmers must slow their pace to let this happen, the last swimmer is then the leader for the next length, and so on……

Animal Kicks from Coach Jim Steen

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Recently, I have been enjoying Chris Ritter’s Sports Performance podcast.  He has been interviewing an impressive list of coaches, and a recent one he spoke with new Pittsburgh (former U Penn) assistant Coach Marc Christian, and in it Christian spoke about a kick set his mentor Jim Steen used to do at Kenyon.

Coach Christian used this set once every 8-10 days with his sprinters at Penn.

Animal Kicks
10 x 100 kick @ :10 rest, aiming for the fastest possible overall time.  Record total times and seek gradual improvement every time the set is performed.

Snake Fly plus Back-Breast-Free with Coach Chris Brookover

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Chris Brookover
YBCC Phoenix – Head Coach
Director of Competitive Swimming

Snake Fly – Use all 6 lanes
3 x 3 x 150
Each set of 3 is comprised:
#1 – Fly/Free by 25’s @ 2:00
#2 – 50 Fly 25 Free @ 2:15
#3 – All Fly @ 2:30

 ———————-
Bk/Br/Fr Set
2x through the set below…
1st   75 = 50 Bk / 25 Br
125 = 25 Fr/50 Bk/ 25 Br / 25 Fr
2nd  75 = 50 Br/ 25 Fr
125 = 25 Fr / 25 Bk / 50 Br/ 25 Fr
6 × 75 @ 1:00 / 1:05
1 × 125 @ 1:45 / 1:50
4 × 75 @ 1:00 / 1:05
2 × 125 @ 1:45 / 1:50
2 × 75 @ 1:00 / 1:05
4 × 125 @ 1:45 / 1:50
R: 1:40

Above  2 X
1st   75 = 50 Bk / 25 Br
125 = 25 Fr/50 Bk/ 25 Br / 25 Fr
2nd  75 = 50 Br/ 25 Fr
125 = 25 Fr / 25 Bk / 50 Br/ 25 Fr

The Burpee Avoidance Set

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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

We did this set this week when most of our swimmers were done competing for the season. A handful of swimmers still have Y Nationals ahead, and I wanted to keep everyone focused on hitting their race paces.

8 x 50 at P200 (with incentive)
#1-4 @ 1:00
#5-6 @ :50
#7-8 @ :40

For every 50 made successfully at P200, we took one rep off a planned set of 100 burpees in the dryland session that would follow.  With 13 swimmers in the pool (thus 104 total 50s), it was possible that we would have zero burpees to do.  The :50 and :40 intervals proved to be quite tough and we ended up doing 42 burpees.

 

12 Books Every Swim Coach Should Read

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Ryan Woodruff

Reading books and articles from outside my areas of expertise have helped make me a better coach. Here are some of my favorite non-swimming books that I recommend you check out, in no particular order.

Note: All links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that clicking on the link for the book titles and purchasing the book will kick some loose change to the Swimming Wizard without costing you a penny extra.  Thank you for your support!

  1. Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore. Bill Bowerman is to American distance running what Doc Counsilman is to American swimming; an innovator, a standard-setter, and a legend.  This book is written by a former runner of his and will inspire you to be a better coach.
  2. Make It Stick; The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel. Ultimately, as coaches we are teachers. This book will improve your understanding of how to make the material you are teaching “stick” so that your athletes can effectively put it into practice.
  3. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. This book examines how to become a master coach by maximizing the development of the innate abilities of those under your instruction.  It really made me think about how I coach
  4. Inside-Out Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives by Joe Ehrmann. If you have ever doubted your purpose as a coach or questioned why do this in the first place, Ehrmann will transform your coaching by explaining how you can transform the lives of your athletes.  I have read this book at least 4 times and plan to read it again.  Should be required reading for anyone going into youth coaching.
  5. When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss. There is perhaps no bigger legend in American coaching than Vince Lombardi.  This tome peels back the layers to examine the complex man behind that legend.
  6. Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover. An inspiring read from the personal trainer to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. I am currently reading this book to my team, chapter by chapter. It will make you uncomfortable by challenging your notion of your capabilities . Read it to find out if you are a Cooler, a Closer or a Cleaner.
  7. Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. For all who coach young women, this book will open your eyes to what it is like to be young and female.  Especially recommended if you have a daughter of your own.
  8. The Hard Hat; 21 Ways to Be a Great Teammate by Jon Gordon. Great teammates don’t just impact you today; they impact you for the rest of your life. Also recommended by Jon Gordon:
  9. You Win in the Locker Room First – 7 C’s to Building a Winning Team and
  10. The Energy Bus – 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy
  11. Wooden by John Wooden.  Who better for the Swimming Wizard to recommend than the Wizard of Westwood?
  12. Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson.  I admired Jackson’s calmness on the sidelines through all of his success in the NBA. Great read for any coach who wants to be a better teacher, mentor, and person.

 

Broken Swims with Individual Technical Focus

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Lukas Mundelsee
SG Schwimmen Muenster
Germany

Psychology tells us that people are more motivated if they have the chance to be involved in decision making processes. I think it is a good idea to apply this principle to a certain degree to our swim practices. In this set the swimmers could choose on which they focus in particular for a block of 3 broken 400s. They liked it and I felt they are more motivated to really concentrate on what they have chosen on their own compared to if I had chosen a focus for them. ([P400]+4” means they should swim 4 seconds slower per 100m than their 400m race pace).
 

 

Set to Perfect Your Finishes

Posted on by rdwoodruff
Chris Brookover
Director – Competitive Swimming

YBCC Phoenix Swimming – Head Swim Coach

This is really short, and I am sure somebody has done it, I was just very surprised at the huge effort my kids gave yesterday at the end of practice. Best way I have found to work finishes yet.
10 x 50 @ 1:00

Broken: 37 ½ Build on :30 , 12 ½ Fastest finish possible at :30

 

How often do we ask for feedback?

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Ryan Woodruff

Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

How often do we ask our athletes for feedback? As the ones actually performing the workout, an intelligent athlete is the best judge as to whether a workout was effective.  Recently I had my team perform the following set:

The group did an excellent job on the set.  When we concluded, I asked them to consider ways in which the set could have been improved.  Here are the suggestions that I got:

The first suggestion was most popular — they would have preferred to have been able to choose the drill they got to do rather than the ones I prescribed (at the bottom of the first picture).  Overall, I was pleased with the level of thought they put into this and the fact that the suggestions didn’t all make the workout “easier.”

Overall, it was a good moment of trust and communication between athletes and coach.  I highly recommend you give it a try sometime.

7 Motivational Tips for Swim Coaches

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Ryan Woodruff

Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

1. Write down your “why,” the reason that you coach.  Not just a phrase, but in actual paragraph form, written by hand. “I coach because…” Keep it somewhere where you can go back and look at it every once in a while.

2. Have an email folder or a place where you can store what I call “rainy day reads.” Put positive e-mails, notes of thanks and other feel-good words of encouragement in there.  When you are having a day where you are feeling less than motivated, open this folder and read its contents.

3. Exercise. Stay fit.  It can be tough to keep an exercise habit through long weekend meets, crappy hospitality food, and hours upon hours of standing on deck.  I am willing to bet your hotel has a treadmill and I can tell you from experience that it is not being used at 10pm.  Read this article.

4. Seek out other ideas.  Reading our blog, ProSwimWorkouts, or these resources helps keep your practices interesting for you AND your swimmers.

5. Have a plan. Not having to go through the “what are we doing today” process makes it easier to stay the course over the length of the season.

6. If you had your swimmers fill out goal sheets at the beginning of the season, go back and read through them again. Seeing the dreams and goals of the swimmers in your care will help re-charge your batteries.

7. Thank your mentor.  All of us have someone who helped us get started in the sport. Visit them or call them up and express your thanks.  Gratitude is the best attitude.

Stay Motivated, Stay Positive, Stay Successful.

Happy Coaching!

Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

 

Freestyle Pull Challenge Set with Coach Ryan Sprang

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Ryan Sprang
Head Coach
Nittany Lion Aquatic Club

SCY
Pull -500’s just make the interval
200’s under 2:00

500 @ 5:30
200 @ 2:15
500 @ 5:30
2 x 200 @ 2:10
500 @ 5:30
3 x 200 @2:05
500 @ 5:30
4 x 200 @2:00

See Coach Sprang’s very popular IM Set as well

Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY for all of 2016! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

Age Group Challenge Set from Coach Shawn Santo of Mid Michigan Aquatics

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Shawn Santo
Assistant Coach
Mid Michigan Aquatics

This is a set I created for our advanced age group kids.  Putting the rest between each section really allowed the kids to focus on one part at a time. We had a great effort.  For some it was touch and go for the 100s and 50s, but everyone made the intervals.

Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

 

Age Group Taper Speed Set with Coach Nicholas Wooters

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Nicholas Wooters
Head Coach, Director of Competitive Swimming at The Bay Club

PSRP Panthers
Bay Club Redwood Shores
Redwood City, CA

We have a championship meet for our age groupers this weekend. We are going to go through a small (VERY SMALL because they are age groupers) quick taper (3 days) leading into this weekend. Here is what we did today to focus on race specifics/race details in short speed burst situations.

Our main set was 3,450yards with intervals that kept things moving along but were not very challenging.
3x
200 smooth
8×50
#1-#2 = blast the breakout (to 12 1/2)
#3-#4 = blast the finish (final 12 1/2)
#5-#6 = blast both  (1st and last 12 1/2)
#7-#8 = whole 50 fast

1×50 smooth
1×100 FAST from the blocks

3x
    100 smooth
    8×25
        #1-#2 = blast the breakout (to 10)
        #3-#4 = blast the finish (final 10)
        #5-#6 = blast both  (1st and last 10)
        #7-#8 = whole 25 fast
    1×50 smooth
    1×50 FAST from the blocks