Reply To: New swimmer/pacing/technique
Rick,
Try a tempo trainer if you have the lane space. Set it to 33s and he can be “no slower than”. It’s “beat the beep” using 50s. My guess is you will probably need to set it at ½ or 16.5, that way he would have feedback at the 25 as to correct pacing. So it would be 1st beep push-off, 2nd beep should be feet on the walling making turn or very close and 3rd should be finish. You can adjust rest anywhere from 1 beep (16.5s), w:r 1 to ½ out to how many beeps you think he needs.
We have done this with 200/500 kids and its not easy. Especially at w:r 1 to ½. We have even done it to a ¼. We call them “slow learners” kids think it’s pretty funny.
You can get pretty creative with the workout and stay very close to USRP.
Your kicking question is interesting. I would ask: does it interfere with his 1.Body alignment (balance), 2.Power phase or 3.Rhythm/timing? Kinda the check list I use with regards to making stroke changes. Does it keep him from making pace times? Can’t hold consistent time/tempos/cycles? If you feel the kick is interfering with any of those then a change may be warranted.
If you buy into that the kick is really a mechanism for balance and really doesn’t provide much in the way of propulsion and it’s not messing with alignment, power phase, rhythm and he can hold what he needs to within the metrics given. Why mess with something that may not be broke?
It may be a point of diminishing returns?
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