Thursday, February 9, 2023

THE NEXT CHAPTER

As we begin that final stretch into our championship season it's time to really buckle down and really focus in on the things that will give you that little edge heading into your races.  Any little thing that you can improve both in and out of the pool will give you that advantage as these meets roll around.

It starts with your attitude and having that positive mindset and working on it every day.  Avoid the noise and drama that swirls around each of us in our daily lives.  If it does not involve you and most of all if it doesn't help you and where you are going stay away.

It's time to put those finishing touches on your swimming and I challenge each of you to double down and focus in on every start, every breakout, every streamline, every stroke, every breathe and every turn that you execute during practice.  This is your movie, your not only the star, your the director, the editor. 

I imagine that each of you are searching for that one thing which is to shave time off of your personal best.  You might be searching for that next "gimmick" that some salesman will try and sell you.  There are no "gimmicks" or magic powder that we can sprinkle on your heads that will help you swim faster.  The magic that your looking for is called "HARD WORK"  and "ATTENTION TO DETAILS."   Thats it, pretty simple stuff, right.

It all starts with the first 15 meters and how you respond to them.  Those 15 meters are reliant on the start and your underwater technique and it's not something that will happen magically on race day with out hard work.


Let's look at the start and there is a common mistake swimmers make here and that is they "flop lazily into the pool instead of taking a strong powerful, "coil spring" position and being ready to explode of the blocks when the beep goes off."  Another area of concern is the placement of your feet on the block.  When you step onto the block place the front foot with the toes over the edge, the back foot should be high on the wedge in a straight line towards the pool, this is where your power comes from.   Let's work on starting like a champion.
 


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