Reply To: Speed Barrier
izSwimming,
You just don’t get many coaches reading this stuff (which if you think about it is sad or just flat lazy). Couple of other books, one written by Dr. Frank Dick and another is Programming and Organization of Training by Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky, this book will unscrew your head with regards to the detail the USSR and what they expected coaches to understand and the recorded keeping is just off the charts. He’s now dead but his daughter still maintains the website. Just search his name and it should come up. While not an Eastern European, I was strongly influenced by the detail they expected. i.e. East Germans and Eastern block countries. I’ve been VERY fortunate to have met, developed a relationship with and watched a number of former USSR and East German coaches and scientist over the years. Enough of the past.
The .03 improvement is pretty good. When you think about it. I was just discussing this one of the young assistant coaches the other day. There is a problem with the system and that’s not only that you’re going to know when they’re going to swim fast. But also swim slow and there can be numerous reasons for that; turn speeds (to slow), underwater work(too much angle on undulations or energy in the wrong place) and the list could go on with numbers done last year vs. this year, speed last year vs. this year. I pretty sure you get the idea.
You really seem to be on the right track and are trying to cover every base possible. I would say this, stay with what you had planned at the start of the season. I know its hard because you want the kids to swim well. But if you change I’ll say more than 10% of what you had planned then you really won’t know what actually worked or didn’t work. I’m in the same boat! You get nervous, start to doubt and I’ve run the system for over 20 years.
On your tracking sheets. They are really rough to read (not meant to be mean). I’ve attached a file I use that tracks training speed, race performances, average performance speeds thru the season, number offered, number made, season offered and made plus % made for season. It looks like a lot but once you make one sheet its just copy and paste. This gives me a quick snapshot of how we are doing with training pace to race performance (it has to line up somewhere).
I apologize for chapter one of the book I’ll never write 🙂
We leave Monday for conference for both W & M.
Best to you.
? All that is not shared... is lost.
