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Coaches'
Corner
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.
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 breathe, 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 may only 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 Nike Jr. 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 well as OOSC.
See you at the pool, Anne
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