Christmas Training Checklist

The holiday training season is upon us and every swimmer and coach is preparing for that dreaded week or two of swimming, eating, and sleeping.  Ask yourself what your goals are for the team, what do certain types of sets accomplish, and what does your team need to do better than they did last year.  Here's some things to think about.


1.  Yardage:  Many coaches, including me, can get caught up in yardage over the Holiday break.  There can be some good team building and confidence that come from a big set, however, these should not be the norm.  If the yardage creates injuries, sick athletes and worn out swimmers, it may not be helping.  Are you making your swimmers tired or better?  Forty-five minutes to an hour of swimming at the right speed is all it takes to maximize aerobic capacity. In theory, shorter aerobic sets can be more beneficial IF they are swum at the right speeds (it's faster than most swimmers want to swim).  There are many methods to find this out, find the best for your team.

2.  What are your workouts accomplishing? Swimming fast is a skill that is very hard. We are in the business of swimming fast, not far (even the mile is not far).  It is important that the swimmers can still get repetitions at high speeds on a regular basis.  Are you giving your swimmers an opportunity to learn how to swim fast?  Have workouts that cover all the bases: endurance, skill, speed, legs, strength/power, underwaters, streamlines and FUN!  If another coach came into your workout, could they tell what kind of workout was going on, or do they all look the same?  Sometimes, many swim practices look like we are training to swim across Lake Michigan!

3.  Don't forget the last big Meet!  Whenever I am at our conference championships, or NCAA's, I never hear swimmers or coaches bragging how far they swam or wishing they had done another long-hard set.  It's usually, "I need to do starts, turns, streamlines like that" or "My stroke needs to look like ______."   We have a lot of time during the holiday's with our athletes, use the time wisely.  Take time to work on the little things that make a big difference.


4.  Bring Enthusiasm every day, every practice!  Sell how important this time of year can be!  Motivate and be a Positive Influence on your athletes!