Coaches must adapt to a generation of skeptical athletes by explaining coaching philosophies, fostering self-learning, and emphasizing responsibility for belongings and actions.

Understanding Today's Athletes and Their Development

Swimming serves as a vehicle for teaching life skills, resilience, and the importance of failing safely, while coaches encourage athletes to take ownership of their goal-setting process.

Swimming as a Learning Tool and Building Resilience

Giving athletes autonomy fosters motivation and accountability, while educating them on mental health is crucial for their overall well-being and performance.

Autonomy, Accountability, and Mental Health Education

Coaches must focus on developing aerobic fitness and appropriately challenging young athletes in swimming to ensure future success.

Aerobic Development and Training Challenges

Explores the relevance of sprint events in age group swimming and debates the importance of speed versus endurance training.

Sprint Events and Training Approaches

Highlights the importance of distance events in developing well-rounded swimmers and shares insights on coaching philosophies that prioritize long-term athlete development.

Significance of Distance Events and Coaching Philosophy

Discusses the collaborative efforts among international coaches and addresses cooperation issues among Team USA coaches for athlete success.

International Coaching Dynamics and Team USA Challenges

Emphasizes the necessity of long-term planning in coaching strategies and suggests ways to improve the spectator experience at swim meets.

Long-Term Planning and Enhancing Swim Meets

Calls for a shift in focus from college scholarships to Olympic success, discussing the responsibility of coaches and athletes for improvement.

Passion for Competitive Success and Responsibility

Emphasizes the goal of winning gold medals at the Olympics and explores how sports science can enhance swimmer performance leading up to the Los Angeles Olympics.

Winning Gold Medals and Implementing Sports Science

Introduces a new science-based learn to swim program to correct early mistakes in swimming techniques and calls for better leadership among coaches in USA Swimming.

Future of Swimming Techniques and Leadership

# Coaching Insights Newsletter

## Understanding Today's Athletes

In our latest discussions, we've delved into the evolving landscape of coaching, particularly how we interact with a new generation of athletes. These young individuals are not only highly intelligent but also skeptical of traditional coaching methods. Here's how we can adapt our approach to connect with them effectively:

### The Importance of Education in Coaching

- **Educators as Coaches**: We must position ourselves as educators, explaining the "why" behind our coaching philosophies. This generation is less likely to accept instructions at face value, so providing scientific backing can enhance their buy-in.
- **Creating Learning Environments**: Instead of dictating every move, we should create situations where athletes can learn about themselves. This fosters independence and critical thinking, moving away from the traditional over-coaching model.

### Lessons Beyond the Pool

- **Life Skills Through Swimming**: Coaching is not just about swimming; it's about preparing athletes for life. Teaching them how to handle failure in a safe environment is crucial for their growth. The lessons learned in the pool often translate to resilience in life.
- **Quality Over Quantity**: The focus should shift from sheer mileage to quality training sessions. This allows for better performance and understanding of technique, which is supported by advancements in technology and biomechanics.

## Instilling Responsibility

### Encouraging Independence

- **Helicopter Parenting**: Many young athletes are overly reliant on their parents. Coaches should encourage kids to take responsibility for their belongings and actions. This can start as early as age six or seven.
- **Empowering Athletes**: By allowing athletes to carry their own bags and manage their own schedules, we teach them accountability. This independence is vital for their development both in and out of the pool.

### Building Autonomy in Decision-Making

- **Athlete Autonomy**: Giving athletes the power to make decisions about their training can enhance motivation and accountability. When they own their choices, they are more likely to engage deeply with their training.
- **Collaborative Problem Solving**: When things don’t go as planned, having a dialogue about what went wrong encourages athletes to think critically and learn from their experiences.

## Mental Wellness in Sports

### Prioritizing Mental Health

- **Access to Resources**: It's essential to provide athletes with access to mental health resources and education from a young age. This prepares them for the pressures of competition and helps them maintain a healthy identity beyond sports.
- **Addressing Post-Competition Challenges**: Athletes often face challenges after major competitions, such as post-Olympic depression. Early education on mental wellness can help mitigate these issues.

## Goal Setting and Performance Standards

### Ownership of Goals

- **Athlete-Centric Goals**: Athletes should be responsible for setting their own goals, which fosters a sense of ownership. Coaches can guide this process, but the goals should ultimately belong to the athletes.
- **Adjusting Standards**: Recent changes to motivational time standards have raised concerns. While it's essential to challenge athletes, we must ensure that standards remain high to foster genuine improvement.

## The Role of Challenges in Development

### Appropriate Challenges

- **Pushing Boundaries**: The best way to develop young athletes is to provide them with appropriately challenging tasks. When they understand that hard work is part of the process, they are more likely to embrace these challenges.
- **Quality Over Quantity in Training**: Instead of overwhelming athletes with excessive training hours, focus on maximizing the effectiveness of the time spent in practice. Even short sessions can yield significant results when designed thoughtfully.

### The Importance of Diverse Events

- **Event Variety**: Exposure to a range of events helps athletes develop a well-rounded skill set. While sprinting might not be the focus for every athlete, participating in various distances can enhance their overall performance.
- **Long-Term Development**: Athletes who engage in distance training often find that it benefits their speed in shorter events. This holistic approach to training is crucial for nurturing versatile swimmers.

## Striving for Excellence

### The Responsibility of Coaches and Athletes

- **A Call for Improvement**: We must recognize that settling for mediocrity is not an option. Winning just one gold medal in men's swimming is not just disappointing; it’s a reflection of our collective responsibility to aim higher.
- **The Role of Sports Science**: By leveraging sports science—including biomechanics, recovery, and training design—we can significantly enhance athlete performance. We need to embrace innovative methods to ensure our swimmers are not just competing but excelling on the world stage.

### Teaching the Fundamentals

- **Learn to Swim Programs**: A solid foundation is crucial. We are launching new, science-based learn-to-swim programs aimed at teaching young swimmers the correct techniques from the start. Avoiding common mistakes early on can lead to better performance later.
- **Emphasizing Technique**: Understanding the mechanics of swimming, such as body positioning and arm movements, is essential. We must focus on teaching swimmers how to move efficiently, drawing inspiration from nature, like how fish swim.

## Conclusion

As coaches, our role is to adapt to the needs of today's athletes, fostering independence, accountability, and mental wellness. By creating an environment that emphasizes education and personal growth, we can prepare our athletes not just for competition, but for life beyond the pool.

Stay tuned for more insights and strategies in our next newsletter!

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Feel free to share your thoughts or any topics you’d like us to cover in future editions!

"Empowering Today's Athletes: Coaching for Success"

- Coaches must adapt to a skeptical and intelligent generation of athletes by explaining the rationale behind coaching philosophies.
- Emphasis on creating learning opportunities rather than dictating actions to foster independence and self-discovery in athletes.
- Coaches should focus on teaching athletes how to handle failure and responsibility as part of their development.
- The approach to training has shifted from high mileage to quality-focused practices, utilizing technology for technique analysis.
- Encouragement of personal responsibility among young athletes is essential, countering trends of over-involvement from parents.
- Coaches should instill accountability in athletes from an early age, promoting independence and self-management.

- Emphasizes the importance of teaching children self-sufficiency and accountability.
- Critiques parents for not allowing kids to learn basic life skills.
- Advocates for giving athletes autonomy to enhance motivation and responsibility.
- Highlights the need for mental health education at the grassroots level for athletes.
- Stresses that goal-setting should be athlete-driven, not coach-driven.
- Expresses concern over recent slower motivational time standards in swimming.
- Reflects on past experiences with effective time standards that encouraged improvement.

- Emphasis on the importance of international trips for competitive swimming success, citing a Japan trip that improved athlete performance.
- Discussion on the need for better training strategies, including focusing on closing out races and improving endurance.
- Critique of current training philosophies that prioritize speed over aerobic development.
- Importance of developing aerobic fitness during sensitive growth periods (ages 11 for girls, 12 for boys) to build a strong foundation for future performance.
- Acknowledgment of the gap in training practices among coaches regarding aerobic conditioning.
- Advocacy for honest feedback to athletes to foster improvement and accountability.
- Recognition of successful long-term coaching strategies that emphasize endurance and base-building for young swimmers.

- Most 11-12 year-olds are appropriately challenged and ready for higher expectations in swimming.
- Coaches can effectively push athletes within limited training times without overexerting them.
- Sprinting events like the 50-yard swim are less prioritized; focus is on endurance and overall development.
- Distance swimmers can transition to shorter events, enhancing their value in competitions.
- Coaches should foster a supportive environment and collaborate for the athlete's success.
- International coaching cooperation is highlighted as a key factor in swimmer performance.
- The U.S. swimming community needs better collaboration among coaches to regain top status.

- USA has the potential to regain its top status in swimming through improved cooperation among coaches.
- Historical coaches fostered competitive yet collaborative environments for the benefit of athletes.
- Current challenges include a lack of respect and support for coaches, impacting athlete development.
- International experiences highlight better resource allocation and support from other countries like Canada.
- Emphasis on the importance of gathering top athletes for meaningful competition to enhance performance.
- Concerns about stagnation in the 200m freestyle event and the need for more competitive training opportunities.
- Suggestions for integrating short course and long course training to improve overall performance in swimming events.

- Emphasizes the importance of valuing the 200-yard butterfly for success in the 100-meter butterfly and the need for long-term planning in swimming.
- Advocates for a shift to long-course swimming in January after short-course events in December.
- Highlights the role of national team directors in supporting coaches and athletes through development.
- Critiques the current focus on short-term achievements over sustained progress toward the Olympics.
- Suggests the need for better event planning and production value to enhance the appeal of swim meets.
- Compares the U.S. approach to swimming with Australia's, noting differences in training focus and athlete development.
- Calls for a cultural shift in U.S. swimming to prioritize Olympic success over college scholarships.

- Leadership in USA Swimming should be more focused on coaches, who are essential for success.
- Coaches should be compensated based on performance at all levels.
- Current performance is inadequate, with only one male gold medal being described as "pathetic."
- Emphasis on setting high goals to inspire achievement, aiming for all gold medals at the Olympics.
- Importance of utilizing sports science for training, recovery, and biomechanics to enhance swimmer performance.
- A new science-based learn-to-swim program is being developed to correct early swimming mistakes.
- Continuous improvement and serious commitment are necessary for future success in swimming.

- Coaches must explain their philosophies to engage a skeptical generation of athletes.
- Focus on creating learning opportunities for athlete independence and self-discovery.
- Teach athletes to handle failure and responsibility for their development.
- Shift from high mileage to quality-focused training, using technology for technique analysis.
- Encourage personal responsibility in young athletes, countering parental over-involvement.
- Instill accountability and self-management from an early age.
- Critique parents for hindering children's basic life skills learning.
- Advocate for athlete autonomy to boost motivation and responsibility.
- Emphasize mental health education and athlete-driven goal-setting.
- Concerns over slower motivational standards in swimming and the need for better training strategies.
- Highlight the importance of aerobic fitness development during sensitive growth periods.
- Recognize gaps in training practices among coaches regarding aerobic conditioning.
- Promote honest feedback for athlete improvement and accountability.
- Acknowledge successful long-term coaching strategies focusing on endurance.
- Most young swimmers are ready for higher expectations.
- Coaches can effectively challenge athletes within limited training times.
- Distance swimmers can transition to shorter events for competitive advantage.
- Foster a supportive coaching environment and international cooperation for better performance.
- The U.S. swimming community needs improved collaboration among coaches.
- Historical coaching strategies emphasized competitive yet collaborative environments.
- Current challenges include a lack of respect and support for coaches.
- International experiences show better resource allocation in countries like Canada.
- Importance of gathering top athletes for meaningful competition and addressing stagnation in events.
- Suggest integrating short and long course training for overall performance improvement.
- Emphasize the significance of valuing the 200-yard butterfly for success in related events.
- Call for a cultural shift in U.S. swimming to prioritize Olympic success.
- Leadership in USA Swimming should focus on supporting coaches.
- Coaches should be compensated based on performance.
- Current swimming performance is inadequate, with a call for high Olympic goals.
- Importance of utilizing sports science for enhancing swimmer performance.
- Development of a science-based learn-to-swim program to correct early mistakes.
- Continuous improvement and commitment are essential for future swimming success.

We are educators as coaches and we're dealing with a generation of athlete now, more than ever before, is skeptical but also highly intelligent.

And so we have to think more about how we're going to provide information about the why behind our philosophies and the things we're trying to teach.

You know, it creates a barrier at first because they're going to ask, like, I don't know, I don't believe you just on face value because their parents are no longer telling them that the coach knows best in all circumstances.

But if you explain things and you start to dig into the science behind coaching philosophy, they buy in, I think, more than any generation before them.

And so there's an opportunity to really connect with those kids by understanding how to be better educators as coaches.

All right what has changed for me over the last 5 to 5 to 8 years has been trying, I think I talked a little bit about it in my talk earlier, trying to set up situations where kids can learn more about themselves as opposed to me just dictating everything all of the time.

I mean this is what you've got to do and I have to give reasons why and I have to show the process and allow them to work the process as opposed to just helping them, have them do it exactly as I said.

I don't know if that makes 100% sense, but trying to create situations where they can learn as opposed to me just doing it for them.

I think there's a lot of over-coaching and I've certainly have been guilty of that.

Warning, like my talk probably should have been entitled, like, chasing excellence, doing the least amount of damage.

Like, I think it's not, it's not about doing damage, but I do think my job, like, Tom's, like everyone's, I think, sitting up here is, I think swimming is the vehicle through which they're learning all the tools they need in life.

But I think swimming is actually the best 1.

It's individual, it's team, but I do still feel my role is to help them.

I have to quit the person for the swimming because all the things we're talking about, whether it's like high standards or expectations, like I've got to teach them how to fail.

I got to teach them how and in such a safe, I feel like I'm the last safety net before they go out into the world.

And I think it's an honor and a privilege like, cause if, if I can have them sail and get hurt and crush it and want something so bad they think they're going to die and then not get it and they learn, oh, wow, and it did kill me and swimming, you know, and they keep moving forward.

And that's what that's what helps them get faster.

It's those lessons that help them get fast.

I mean, we could talk about drills all day long, but it's also everything else.

Everything else with that and creating opportunities to fail and succeed and do it within, with around people that care a lot about

I disagree with all these guys about process.

The question was what has changed as far as me is concerned.

I've followed coach Benchek's method of distance on certain days, stroke and I am on certain days, quality usually with me, quality days are Wednesday and Saturday with tent suits.

So it's not as much mileage in total, although Monday and Thursday we do quite a bit of mileage.

But that's a lot different than it used to be 30 or 40 years

As a sports scientist I like to measure everything.

And I remember, I don't like just what the chief analysis is.

And when we look at the technique, videos and other stuff, it's good, it's nice.

I remember 20 years ago, worked with Marps swimmers and more than that.

Before that we really have technology to measure.

Now we can measure swimming technique and we can exactly tell what's working what's not working.

And once you collect the data, again you don't know how to interpret correctly.

You're collecting a lot of data, then you're thinking, analyzing all the stuff, retesting again, and finally, thinking about, okay, that's how we can fix some mistakes, That's how we can maintain speed longer during the stall.

That's how we can reduce the drops of the speed during the stall.

That's how we can improve upkeep, which we do as well.

Now we have not only technology and understanding what mistakes are but also how to rule that in most effective ways.

That's what in the last probably 10 years or so working on biomechanics and a lot of research doing so testing already 87 olympic champions and about 17 17, 000 total swimmers from multiple countries.

And so that they're taking responsibility for their own work for their in on time of practice all the little things that out my three-year-old carried his own bag to swim swim lessons every day and when he left it there I sent him back in to get it.

I can't stand and I will let parents know when their 10 year old walks in and mom or dad's carrying a bag okay.

I mean it goes way beyond all that as far as wind it's not just swimming 50% of it maybe maybe even less than that of the whole processes these guys are talking about they got it You got to teach them a little bit of responsibility.

What the age is, it's got to be different.

But you know, I don't think 6, 7, 8 is too early to be able to teach a kid to take care of his stuff.

And there's too much, there's too much, what's it called, helicopter parenting going on.

And at MEAC, I tried to, we've always tried to avoid that stuff as much as possible and and let the kids be responsible with things and it it's it had as over time become increasingly more difficult because their parents are doing everything for them and the piles of stuff left after every practice is unbelievable.

I mean I you know I know my own kids because you know I trying to bring them up like I'm thinking you know I my my daughter I don't know if my son ever lost anything.

Of course, he became a Catholic priest, so maybe he had some connections there.

My daughter didn't lose anything until like her junior year at college, and she always kept track of her stuff because I instilled that in her.

And I think the more you can do to talk to your parents to let their kid walk, you know, we don't have parents on the deck or really even watching practice that much.

And to drop the kid off, let the kid walk in, let him be responsible, and to care, let him fail a little bit, let him lose something, but don't go after police or in the next day.

So I don't know if there is a tube young they can start being liable for themselves.

It's, you know, I think it's our job, at least does, you know, the age group realm or even the head coach run on to instill a little bit of that responsibility on as early as you

Okay I'm gonna add on to Tom because this is a MBAC story kind of to the next level.

So I was at Olympic games and, I had gone on a van to go to the pool for finals as a USA staff.

I was actually, I was the head coach of that 1 and I sound the bus Chase Kalish Michael were on there and There's another athlete gone on there as When you think you're gonna like We're the metal or something You have to take a bunch of clothes and shoes and you have to wear just for that.

So you come at these boxes and then you have your equipment bag and they've always had theirs.

And then we're sitting there and this other athlete came and got on and his coach was carrying and all that stuff and Chase, NBA athlete, buzzed out, texted me, he's like, hey Bob, carry my stuff through the full meeting.

And I gave him a look and I actually did respond and will tell you what was in the tent.

I have never walked an ass leap to the ready room in my life.

They have to know how to handle their business and walk down there and take care of it.

God knows, please, if any of you people were like, a vandal was on their hands, stop doing it.

I went to a meet 1 time and there was there was a coach another little team which interestingly enough we had go over the clean but that happened he was sit at at the in his team area and I had a line of 50 kids waiting for the coach to write their event number and see on their hand.

You know, I go, I go with Teddy's co-programs and put them in the stands, and I always post 1 on the, on the saying, they wanna know what he's saying, they wanna read the program, find out where you're at, you come back and tell me which you're at.

My kids were born, don't do anything for your kids that they can't do for themselves.

And it's like, I think other moms thought I was kind of the mean long kid.

So I put my kids actually, they're like, you're not gonna give your kids a bath?

I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna wash their hair.

I don't, I mean, like, and if they were dirty, that's their fault.

And I've had kids, I mean, this is 12 years ago, I had to, we were writing thank you notes to, I don't know, people, their parents, something I believe in thank you notes, and 1 girl didn't know where to put the return address.

Like she didn't know where to put the address anyway.

I mean, she came up and she honestly was said, I, how do I do this?

And I had another girl probably 8 years ago.

She didn't know how to use a can opener because I think she had she said well actually didn't know what it was we were at the OTC and she was like she's learning how to cook and she had 1 of those things in her house it was like I guess like no I was on like alright like but I I just threw out it's It's wild how little some of these kids know and it's a complete disservice.

I can't get angry, but I just, you just kind of have to meet them where they're at.

So even if I see that on the recruiting visit that they can't say please and thank you and they can't do things by themselves and they don't, we accept them an itinerary and they can't figure it out.

I have a story, it's many moons ago, but I was coaching Egan O'Hair, and I was at an Egan on them, and I happened to pick the worst place when the deck, as I said, was right at the end of the of the live room, and this was when parrots would walk through the live room.

And I was sitting near the door and I just, it must have been 15, you know, do you need to go to the bathroom?

You know, parents wives were telling their kids, so I was like, I can't take this anymore.

So I got all the kids up, I'd circle them all together.

I said, how many of you know how to go to the bathroom and if you need something to eat you will go to them.

I think with college athletes you can really hold them accountable.

With age group athletes in most cases you can't.

It's the parent and I will tell the athlete You need to tell your mom that you have to be here on time or you won't be able to practice and I'll give them 3 times and Then I'll send them home and after I send them home.

They're on time, but it's amazing It's the same ones that are late every time and it's not the kid and there's no way you can have the kid you know start the car and bring him to practice it's training the parent

I think the scary thing as a coach about giving your athletes more autonomy is well, what if they make the wrong choice, right?

And I think about when I was doing more club coaching, there were times where I would give the athletes an opportunity during taper, for example, to make decisions, decide what type of pace work they wanted to do, maybe even have some input into whether it was going to be a longer taper, shorter taper.

But I think the thing to keep in mind is that, A, to give athletes more autonomy, it's sexual to motivation.

When you own something, it motivates you, it becomes yours.

And so you are giving them that power to be more motivated.

But secondarily, now they have to take responsibility.

So if you give them the chance to have a longer taper and it doesn't work out, Now it's not just on you, it's on them too.

And you can have a dialogue with your athlete.

And again, with this generation of kids, I think that's what they want.

And my experience was positive with that.

I found that kids, when things didn't go the way that we expected them to, but they were given a voice, then our conversation afterwards was, all right, how can we fix this together instead of casting blame?

And that's accountability, and that's what we're looking for more of, I think, with this generation of athletes.

Swivas also know what they need to work on.

And so, and some swimmers, they don't even know what to work on, what to fix.

But once they know the drills, and the Alikom coaches delivering these drills to swimmers,

okay, you have to work on this to improve or something does that's be worse much better than just coach knows only I think in terms of getting our athletes ready to psychologically perform our Alindians have access to the resources that they need for sports psychology and mental wellness, but it starts earlier than that, right?

Having awareness of mental health and mental wellness at the grassroots level, educating athletes on concepts within sports psychology at the club level is going to prepare them to be able to take full advantage of those resources when they get to the Olympic club.

I think the fact that, you know, Reagan has talked about and Michael has talked about, Ignatius has talked about having post Olympic depression is indicative of the fact that even with those resources, they had not been working on it enough to be able to be in a happy pet space coming off of those Olympic games, regardless of how they perform.

You know, And so for me, I'd love to see more kids have access to mental health resources and education at the club level to prepare them, of course, for performance.

But also I really want to see our Olympians in LA come out of LA happy and feeling like their identity is bigger than just as athletes, but they feel good about themselves as people too.

Want anybody memorize, I don't want any of

my coaching staff memorizing cuts, because the kids always come up to us like, well what's the cut I'm gonna brush it with?

And then, I mean, different ages, different things, I think goal setting process, wherever you start that in your program, for us, it's 11 and 12 year olds start writing out their goals.

They're there, they're goals, not you, they're online as the code.

And so we take them and we have it ours as you get older you start having embellishments of what the expectations are for the new group and I evolve Meeting with the parent I start with that in doll fret that they signed and the kids signed.

That's how we start in a lot of our meetings is we're not covering any of this stuff because we've already talked about it's ownership that you and your athlete should have already taken.

So I think the goal setting process, it should change depending on how old your kids are, how old the athletes are, but it's their goal sheet, not the coach's court.

But these new motivational time standards just came out and made them slow.

And there was a whole bunch of them like 70% of them are slower than and so for me and so I logic off before what they were before and most of them the distance are the most egregious ones they have gotten they've got this drastically slower on the distance it and I believe and somebody who's probably been a part of this would know better me I believe it's an aggregate or an average of the previous soft number of years and so if that's really what it is that's that's an alarming thing sure us that are the guys that are getting it, some of these, what the hell have these have been made, and we're lowering our standards.

It makes no, right, and it makes no sense to me, because in, I think it was either 92, or it was ran in the United States.

And they made the time standard faster for Olympic trials.

So we just done the opposite thing, you know, or the motivational time standard, anything that you'll do, you'll leave.

Clearly nobody's asking us, but like Lark did when he was at USA swimming he made up this he made up this me I was on that staff and he's and he was like we're gonna get people faster because we realize that if people take an international trip before the Olympics they're gonna do much better so Mark made up these time standards and it was time standards it wasn't we're gonna take X amount of people and he made up this time standards and how many people qualify for that being Japan 72 was like he got in trouble that from USA swimming because we took like 17 people or something to Japan And it was awesome because people wanted those time standards so bad and they were fast.

We had a lot of people that made the Olympic team off that trip.

Rebecca Sony improved 2 seconds to make a team and then won gold medals that set world records and I give that trip a lot of credit for that and motivation.

Do we not say doing baby things that decisions like that might also kind of be part of why at the top level

Because the philosophy is it takes what it takes, You have to either do it or not.

And if you don't we have 2 people fine and But I don't think should ever make this Lord ever like they can stay the same for a

year, but they should not be slow We all need to do something better like and from the eight-year-old to the 25-year-old we all need to find a way to be better.

My opinions continue to kit more, we will strengthen power is important.

I think in our program there's a whole lot of talking about going 30, 20s and 60, 40s closing out the last 20 meters of each 50 closing out races.

Seems like right now we're very speed oriented which is awesome that's great we're great to the 15 meter mark but we're not as good from the 35 to the 50 meter mark so getting into walls and closing out races I kind of tell kids all the time you're never gonna win being crappy the last quarter of a race so like we have to get back to I think for so long we were the negative split country like everybody wasn't wanting to negative split everything and I Don't think that that really works if the sport has become more speed oriented But there is a there is a happy video in there and I think watching the Caged Bats and Silver 8 hunters is probably a good example how they have tweaked that kind of stuff.

But also they just getting everybody together.

I think Bob Martin told me at lunch today he was talking about a conversation that he and Schubert had back when it was Lock D and Phelps and Klee Keller and Peter van okay, and I mean those are killers, but I Shubert by the van in charge and Bob was telling me that he got everybody in

a room was like we have 1 We've won a little bit 8 hours really for a long time It was like 8 years until this guy started a swimming coach.

And we decided, I just remember thinking, I had Michael, John was, or Regic was coaching PBK before I got to Michigan.

And there was Lockheed, Troy of Lockheed.

And I remember thinking, I gotta go get this 200 free going so we can do this relet.

That's what it's gonna take, the pieces, right?

And once we started putting that together and then we had another piece so we kind of went to 2004 and had us nail whiter but we got there and then after that it started rolling but the thing that all those guys at a Cobb and Lockheed, Delfts, Vanderkeet, Fleet Keller who was the 1 on there every 1 of them swam with 400 meters every 1 nobody wants to do that anymore They want to go 50 and a 200.

I had 8 guys who could do that all the time You know, this is like we don't do that anymore So it's not part of the deal and it's exactly what he said if you want to be good at 200 meters 500 yards You must be swimming in Luke Hobson Right lay on more shot.

They're the ones that do a bit of 200 meters.

The ones that do 200 yards, they do 100 meters.

So you have to adjust your thinking and you have to be willing to get in and do the work that's going to produce a 400 meters good enough that these guys to do the 200, right?

Instead of just trying to go up to the 200 from 100, that's never gonna take it where they wanna go.

People don't wanna hear that, it's just the truth.

Here's our best 200 freestyle women, is this still Alissa Schmidt?

Oh, she got second in the 400 meters by a tenth in the Olympics.

That's the level you have to swim on to get those together, right?

So I think that that's something that's really important and we're thrilled losing that.

Yeah, I was going to say, yeah, between 1 of these ends, the 150 briefs, right?

It is, but we relied on Katie, you know, they're just like, oh great, we have this tool now.

Yeah, this is the age group reading up to the order.

Where is the break that has liked to dip in the middle distance free side?

Well, there are some so-called sensitive periods of development in long-term training.

And I was discussing that in my course as well for coaches over here.

And if we are missing aerobic development sensitive period, we are done.

It's going to be very hard to develop good aerobic fitness.

And that sensitive period of development for kids starts at age 11 for girls and 12 for boys.

How many of these coaches are know about that and focusing on aerobic development at that age?

Based on my conversations with coaches, very little.

I'm going to show them models of how much you should reach annually swimming at sensitive period of development.

Piper told me, oh, we're exactly among this volume, sir.

From my experience on this, I know that probably teams that I was working with, 70-80% of them, they're not reaching this volumes and they're not developing good aerobic conditioning in that age.

And that transfers to a little also actually.

They never will be good, they didn't do good aerobic training.

They are not recovering well, because aerobic training improves muscular capability, more oxygen is coming, more nutrients coming, metabolic products are removed faster and if we are not developing that, we can work as hard as we want later on and not develop middle distance and distance well.

And we're doing pretty good, but unfortunately only shortness.

Well, I got a 13, 14 boy who swims a 24 and a 53, okay?

All I do, I pull out the top tie and I said, you gotta go 19, you suck at a 50.

And it's like, you know, I'm, look, you know, there's no bones about it.

I don't bull crap with the kids if they suck at something.

I'm gonna let them know I'm gonna tell why yeah and let them understand why but it's also important for that.

That's where that's whereby You say positively negative or negative positive.

Yeah, I think it's positive to be negative until it's well, I think he's cute

He's a given the feedback and I think that 1 thing the MBAC has always done.

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