Congratulations to all on a successful
start to the season.
Once again this fall our training
lanes are full but the
swimmers have settled into the training routines nicely.September and October training focused on the
conditioning base for the season as well as technical skills and drills
of
strokes.These aspects of training will
continue into November, with the added focus on race strategies in
preparation
for the November/December meets. Swimmers in the Regional and
Provincial groups
have already noted great improvement in test sets completed this fall.
All of
their hard work so far has been paying off.
Beth has been working hard with the Jr
Age Group swimmers to
teach all of the “rules” of swimming.They
are now working on mastering the timing and
technique of Breast
& Fly.Fear not swimmers and
families, they all will learn each of these strokes.For some swimmers they will work on mastering
Fly or whip kick for a couple of seasons, depending on their growth and
physical co-ordination development.
Recently Shanna Yorke visited the club
to present a couple
of Breaststroke clinics.Shanna is a
former Otters Coach and competitive swimmer whose love of
Breast is
contagious.Thanks to Shanna for another
successful clinic.
Illness:
Please do not send your swimmer to the pool if they are ill.Sending ill swimmers to the pool makes it
unhealthy for others as well as difficult for the coaches to modify the
program
for a swimmer who can’t breath, is coughing non stop or is experiencing
pain.Please make sure your swimmer is
up to training before they return to the pool.Taking
time
to heal or recover is a life lesson for
us all.
Training Reminders:
Dryland Exercises: All Advanced Age
Group, Regional,
Provincial & National swimmers should be on the deck by 4:15 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday and
5:50 p.m. on
Thursday.Therapy bands as well as
Activation Exercises
are done at this time.These exercises
are designed to promote specific muscle strength and avoid shoulder
injuries.
Water bottles: Sr. swimmers should bring a refillable water
bottle
with
their
name on it to each workout.Swimmers
do get dehydrated and should drink water to
help replenish
themselves especially during 2 hour workouts.Not
enough
of our swimmers are drinking water during
strenuous
workouts.Muscular development and
avoiding heat exhaustion requires water.Please
make
sure your swimmer is bringing water to
workouts.
Snacks:Swimmers
should
bring a healthy snack to eat
immediately following
workout or even during break in a 2 hour workout.The
body
needs
to refuel immediately
following workout to make sure that energy stores in the body are
replaced.Fruit, Instant Breakfast
drinks, cheese sticks, healthy muffin or cereal snacks or other complex
carbs
are best.Protein bars are not
necessary.Sugar or chocolate should be
avoided.
A word about Meets …
During the season, competitive
swimmers will experience
different types of swim meets.
Not all swim meets are participated in
for the same
goals.And depending on the level/group
you are in will also determine different goals for meets.
Training Meets – this is the
name I give to meets we
attending in which the primary goal is to give the swimmers as much
race
experience as possible. Swimmers will be entered in a variety of events
of
different lengths and strokes to gain experience racing, experimenting
with
different race strategies and applying technical skills that we
consistently
work on in practice during races.
Swimmers are not rested for Training
Meets and are
expected to be swimming fast even during what may be a heavy training
period
immediately before the meet.The
selection of individual events for a swimmer is done by the coach and
swimmer
in collaboration.
Championship Meets – these
are
the
meets
which ideally will be the best racing performances for swimmers.These are the meets which the whole swimming
season leads up to or is based on.Championship
meets
occur usually in February, and
June/July and include
such meets as HRSA Regional Champs, Provincials, Eastern Champs etc.
Some swimmers will experience 2 or
even three Championship
meets in February and June/July.Racing
at top performance for several meets, heats & finals is also a
higher-level
skill that needs to be mastered by swimmers. The selection of
individual events
at Championship meets is done based on the goal of the meet.If team points are the priority, then the
coach will primarily select individual events based on the point
scoring
potential for each swimmer.If the goal
of the meet is primarily for the swimmers individual success, then the
coach
and swimmers will select events in collaboration.
Swim Meet Event Goals:Swimmers in the Regional, Provincial &
National Groups have quite a list of events to complete each season.I set for them a goal to swim each stroke
event, at every standard distance at least once a season.This goal presents a great challenge to many
swimmers because of the variety of distances and strokes.Swimmers are asked to swim outside of their
comfort zone at each meet.Swimmers and
parents must remember that developing a top swimmer demands that they
are
proficient in all strokes and distances.Swims
that
are new and challenging are always
practiced in workouts,
especially leading up to training meets.Even
if
swimmers are nervous about certain events at
meets, parents can
support them by reminding them that merely competing in the event
successfully
at the meet satisfies a short-term goal.
Many swimmers are delighted to
discover success at such
challenges each season.
Novice Swimmers and Meets:
Not all meets are suitable for all
levels of swimmers.Many of our novice
swimmers in the Jr. Age
Group mayonly participate in two or
three meets this season.It is not
always easy for coaches to find meets with novice events.The goal for novice swimmers at novice meets
is to swim as many events as they are capable of doing “legally”.
(Swimming a
stroke technically correct to meet the standards of that stroke.The pull and kick technique are not an
infraction of the standard).The
distance of races will also start to increase as novice swimmers gain
experience and can maintain stroke competence.
Regional, Provincial & National Groups Training
Equipment
The Otters have a set of kick boards,
pull buoys and a
partial set of fins which are to be used by all of our groups.However, swimmers in the Regional, Provincial
& National groups should consider purchasing their own equipment in
order
to improve the quality of their training.Jr.
Age
Group
must use the equipment provided by OOSC.
Hint: Personal equipment makes
excellent gifts for
Regional, Provincial & National level swimmers.
Here are some suggestions, for
regularly used equipment:
Training Paddles: introduced to
swimmers gradually
during the 13–15 age group (depending on gender and growth) and are
needed to
increase the resistance in pull during training.Swimmers
at
this
level and age can start with
small - medium paddles.There are many
styles of paddles available.I usually
recommend that swimmers start with the small, basic paddles (cost &
shape)
although some tailored shapes are nice to swim with but will cost more
money.
Buy – Speedo Training Paddles or Speedo Contoured Swim Paddles or
Fusion Paddle
(contoured) or something similar from other manufacturers.Bigger is not better for a first set
of paddles in order to avoid injury (sm or med is best depending on
hand
size).To start training with paddles,
the paddle should be just a bit bigger than the hand.
Fins: are currently used on
Thurs, Fri and Sat (a.m.)
Alder pool and during morning workouts.The
Otters do not have a complete set
available of all sizes and
therefore it would be better if senior swimmers had their own to use
when
suitable.Fins make kicking more dynamic
for swimmers and if used for swim sets, increase the intensity of
swimming.Fins also promote the proper
kick action required for flutter, back and dolphin kick.Buy - Speedo Training Fins (blue & orange
in colour with notched fin).
Pull Buoys:Smaller and less buoyant pull buoys are the best for
swimmers to
purchase.They promote a better position
in the water and less buoyant also increases the difficulty of swimming
arms
only. Smaller shaped pull buoys do cost a little more than the
traditional
large size but warrant the extra expense.Make
sure
that the surface of the pull buoy is
smooth and will not cause
friction (scratch) against the skin.The
smaller the better for pull buoys.
Buy – Speedo or TYR or NikeJr. Pull Float (one piece).
Kick Boards:Smaller more personalized shapes of boards provide
more comfort and a
better body position in the water.Being
less buoyant, these boards will also increase the difficulty of
kicking. Buy -
Speedo Competition Kickboard 1 or something similar.
Equipment Bag:Swimmers
should
carry
all of their personal
swimming equipment in a mesh bag, which is most suitable for allowing
equipment
to dry between swims.All bags and
individual pieces should be labeled with first & last name as will
as OOSC.
