University of Georgia head coach Jack Baurle is one of the world's elite swim coaches.
Baurle's top assistant, Harvey Humphries, retired last year.
When Harvey talks about giving several athletes more rest for the conference meet (SEC's) because "we're not positive they're all in the meet yet," he means they've made the "B" standard for the national championships (NCAA's), but may need a faster time to actually be invited to the meet.
Note that their heart rate work is done in a range similar to ours.
Our swimmers take a pulse for six (6) seconds, then multiply by ten (10).
Other programs check for ten (10) seconds, then multiply by six (6).
Our target of fifteen (15) matches up well with their goal of twenty-five (25).
Why do I like our way better?
First, it's easier to multiply by ten!
Second, the more time you spend taking your pulse, the further you're dropping out of your target zone.
Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.
Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones appears in today's FloSwimming video. He is one of Team USA's fastest sprinters of all time.
Jones swam for NC State (2003-06) before teaming with Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Jason Lezak for their famous 400 free relay gold in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Assistant Bobby Guntoro is one of our country's top coaches and could be a very successful head coach anywhere!
Note the high tempo on their dry-land exercises. You should be working that way OYO!
I really, really like the hands behind the back practice starts! Gives added importance to leg drive, right? We will steal borrow that!
Note the straight-arm windmill freestyle sprinting. That didn't happen overnight. We'd like to see everyone progress throughout the season from "last 5 yards" to "last 10 yards" to "last 15 yards", at a minimum.
"You know that game we sometimes play, sitting in a square in the Nest,
tossing a ball around? Courage is like a ball, son. A person can hold
it only so long, and then he's got to toss it to someone else. When
it's tossed your way, you've got to catch it and hold it tight—and
hope there'll be someone else to toss it to when you get tired of being
brave."
Head coach Dave Salo recently retired as head coach of the USC Trojans, but plans to continue coaching his club program. Salo's body of work as a coach is tremendous and includes numerous world record setters/Olympic gold medalists, including Rebecca Soni and Jason Lezak.
Salo is one of the smartest coaches in our sport. His workouts are unconventional. I have stolen borrowed plenty of his sets in the past and hope he continues posting workouts on his Twitter feed!
Catherine (Vogt) Kase is the open water head coach for Team USA. She has coached open water swimmers in numerous international competitions including Pan Am Games, Pan Pac Games, World Champs, & the Olympics.
Head Coach Denny Pursley was a very high-profile coach before announcing his retirement last year.
He coached at powerhouse club programs in Louisville (Lakeside Swim Club) and Cincinnati (Pepsi Marlins) before working with Olympians in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States.
He became the National Team Director for Team USA in 1989. Pursley spent the last six (6) years of his coaching career at Alabama.
As a swimmer, Associate Coach Jonty Skinner (Alabama/Team South Africa) broke the world record in the 100 LCM free in 1976 (:49.44).
In addition to his work at Alabama, Skinner put in fifteen (15) years working with Team USA at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He wrapped up his career as an assistant at Indiana University, retiring earlier this year.
Former Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love tried to cut men's swimming back in 2008. Athletes, coaches, and alumni fought hard to keep the program alive.
Taking over as men's and women's head coach in 2015, Bob Bowman has helped bring ASU swimming back from the brink. You've heard of Bowman, right? Coach of superstars Michael Phelps & Allison Schmitt?
Assistant Misty Hyman (Stanford/Team USA) won a gold medal in the 200 butterfly in the 2000 Sydney Games, upsetting Australian Susie O'Neill on her home turf. Misty is no longer with the Arizona State program.
FloSwimming ran a series of "Workout Wednesday" features a few years ago.
Most feature a combination of dry-land and in-the-water training.
As you watch each video, I hope you'll be able to both take away something new that you/we should try.
Also, look for the similarities in what these programs do and what we do.
Lars Jorgensen (Tennessee/Team USA) was a distance swimming standout as an athlete. As a head coach in Lexington, he's been turning around the once-mediocre Kentucky program these past few years.
Today's suggestion:
As with IU (see Lily King post), facilities are much nicer than when the ISU Sycamores raced there!
Be sure to include with submissions -- 1. Names of all in photo 2. School name 3. Grade level 4. Teacher's name 5. A few sentences about what's going on in the photo.
Distance queen Katie Ledecky (Stanford/Team USA) has held the world record in the 1500 LCM free since 2013.
Some of you may have swum in the Conroe ISD Natatorium. Did you know she broke her own mile record in that pool during a senior meet (June of 2014) hosted by The Woodlands Swim Team?
The women's 1500 has been added to the Olympic program for the 2020 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The 800 has been the longest Olympic pool event for the gals up to now.
How is Katie adapting to the changes brought about by the virus?
Below are some dry-land exercises used by Team USA to improve both strength and range of motion.
There are some things that are unique to our sport, right?
No other athletes are yelled at by their coaches for breathing.
No other athletes spend hours looking at a black line.
No other athletes spend their practices and competitions in a medium that could be fatal to the less experienced.
On the other hand, we have plenty in common with other sports.
Like all athletes, we need to train ourselves physically and mentally.
Today, the focus is on the mental side of the equation.
Olympian Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo Nadadores) was one of Team USA's greatest distance swimmers. Coached by the legendary (and now retired) Bill Rose, she swam the mile (1500 free) in pool competition and the 10k in open water.
Here, Chloe demonstrated one of your favorites - Rotisserie Drill:
As part of our shave/taper guidelines, you were asked to visualize races. Maybe we should do this more often throughout the season.
If you are, this info may help you supplement what you're already doing.
If you aren't, it might be exactly what you need to get moving!
Nicole Harmon is the head age group coach at northern Virginia's "The FISH" swim program. She shared her Coronavirus Dryland Program via the American Swimming Coaches Association.
The program is a four-day cycle with rotating foci, including a recovery day. There's also a glossary of sorts at the end of the pdf, so you'll be up to speed with Nicole's terminology. Outstanding stuff!!!
Reminder: Our president, governor, county judge, and mayor have imposed tighter restrictions, further limiting our ability to get "out and about". Do as much as you can without getting in trouble with them!!
...it doesn't look like y'all will be able to complete your spring sports' seasons.
Let's keep hoping for those opportunities, but be prepared if they're not there.
The UIL mandates that we cannot have organized practices, so y'all are "On Your Own" (OYO) during the suspension of activities (at least through May 4th, a.k.a. Star Wars Day).
President Trump has issued new guidelines for April. View his "30 DAYS TO SLOW THE SPREAD"here.
Governor Abbott has issued an executive order that mirrors the president's guidelines through April and adds that schools will be closed at least through May 4th. Read that here.
Judge McDonald and Mayor Nelson spoke Monday on their expectations for our community:
Rather than look at April of 2020 as a washout, let's treat
it as an opportunity. This is an opportunity for you to
improve your overall fitness and be prepared to hit the
ground running when we are cleared to resume practices.
Nebraska is coached by Stanford & Team USA butterfly superstar Pablo Morales. Morales won a gold medal in the '84 Los Angeles Games, but failed to qualify for the '88 Seoul Games. He retired briefly, then returned to our sport to win two golds in the '92 Barcelona Games.
The UIL has extended the suspension of all athletics (contests, practices, etc.) through at least May 4th. Complete press release is here.
The 2020-21 5A Swimming/Diving Alignment has been posted. View it here. Note that there have been quite a few changes to our district and region!
This alignment will undoubtedly be revised in the coming months. Both Danbury and Needville have competed in recent years, but neither are listed in the alignment. Both would likely move into District 24, if they compete in 20-21.
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