Well, i am a student at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY that had the football team cut from the athletic program and instead had a swim team and a few other sports put in the program in its place. One day as i was working out in the gym this past september, the coach of the swim team saw me working out and asked me if i wanted to swim. He needed numbers more than anything since the collegiate competitive requirements are 11 participants a team. Mind you i am 5'7", 185 lbs, broad chest and shoulders with large legs. A running back figure. I have never swam before and i agreed to be on the swim team. The coach wants me to swim the 50 and 100 free and i like that for it is a fast twitch race more than slow twitch, and since i am a senior i don't really have time to increase my endurance and slow twitch. I was wondering if any of you had advice for me in my endeavour to become an excellent swimmer by february 2004, and hopefully win an event at the MAAC nationals. In my first meet on Oct. 11, i swam a 27.88 in the 50 free at Duquesne. If you couldn't tell by my hunting for a discussion ring and post, i am very intense and competitive, and am taking this very seriously. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and hope to have some replies soon!
That doesn't leave much time Joey. Plus you have a long way to go. You might want to try and do two a days. If you can get away in the morning I work out at the Flickinger Center and currently am coaching another college swimmer. If you e-mail me I'll talk to you some more. I think your goal of winning at the MACC is a little aggresive. I haven't looked but I would guess your competition is about 5 or 6 seconds ahead of you. Thats a lot of time to lose. I like your spirit though.
Just thought of something else. Once you feel like you can "grip" the water, you want to feel like you are pulling yourself along (like climbing a rope, or pushing yourself onto the pool deck), rather than pushing water backwards.
You mentioned doing crew, so it's kind of the same idea. You are pulling the boat (you) past the oar (arms), instead of splashing/causing turbulance with the oars.
12 is a decent goal, but keep in mind that everyone is different. Also, as your stroke rate picks up while sprinting, you are going to lose some stroke length. (The skill comes from trying to keep as much stroke length as possible, while sprinting.)
You are right to look here for advice Joey. There are a lot of smart people posting here, and some of the country's best coaches also comment from time to time. By the way, I don't get paid for helping people. I do my workouts there in the morning and some people hook up with me for the free advice and motivation. If you are doing 2x a day's now there is really no reason to do more. In fact overtraining would become a consideration. For the "students" we work mainly on drills, and mostly Total Immersion drills and techniques. I do my actual workout prior to meeting with them. Good luck in your endeavor. Hard work and good form will get you there. For sprinting I also believe to race fast you have to practice fast. Push it in your workouts over the next couple of months, and have your coach develop a good taper based on your practices and mileage.
There are hundreds of things that will help you improve. I’ll mention just three here.
First, listen to your coach. He sees your stroke and is in the best position to provide you with appropriate advice regarding what you need to achieve your goals.
Second, stretch. As a football player, most of your weight training has probably been focused on power and not flexibility. Stretching to improve shoulder and ankle flexibility will help to lengthen your stroke and improve propulsion. There have been a number of posts regarding stretching and flexibility. And again, work with your coach on how to incorporate stretching into your training program.
Third, streamline. As a running back, your leg strength should be a great asset in starts and turns. It is important to explode off the blocks and walls in a tight streamlined position to ensure that you can get the maximum benefit from your legs.
Good luck.
Sorry to hear about Canisius cutting your football program. But, I hope football’s loss is swimming’s gain.
Yeah, times are around 22.5 to 21.5 with the record at 21.09 i think. I am doing two a days with my team, but if you are offering your services, i currently don't have a job and wouldn't be able to afford to pay you. But i thank you. Or if you would like to just see me swim and maybe give me some advice, that would be great. I have done some research within the usms website and read up on FQS, counting strokes, and keeping your head attached to your spine. I think these things will help tremendously if i can get them employed in my form and technique. thanks for your interest and support!
Rob took all the good ones! :)
I'm guessing that the other swimmers are working on strengthening up, but that is probably a lower priority for you (given your background). How well are you "catching/holding" the water? You might want to concentrate on drills, anything that will allow you to apply your strength more efficiently in the water. (Look at any of the threads here, on improving your stroke length.)
17-19 is a bit high for competitive swimming, and definitely high if you want to attack any records.
Someone else has stated that when you are holding water, the water almost feels like pudding (instead of, well, water!). I just remembered a good drill, sculling. With a pull buoy, keep your arms straight in front of you. You have to propel yourself down the pool by sculling your arms, without pulling them back. (Not even a breastroke pull, just sideways motion. You'll have to sneak in a breath when you can.) Or if you know any water polo drills, those are good for getting the feel of the water.
I am so glad i found this post. You guys have been great with advice and support and it has only been a day or two..thanks so much. i would like to do as much practicing as i can but there are only so many hours in a day! If anybody thinks of anything else, drop me a line, and i will keep you all posted on my wherabouts in the world of swimming. thanks!
Joey,
Yer doing great!!! You'll be awesome at MAAC's i know it. And to everyone who's helpin Joe out, thanks, yer advice is good and he's improving a lot.
Fellow Griff Swimmer,
Kasey
Thanks a lot guys for all your help. I counted my strokes per length and it was aorund 17-19 strokes per length of the pool. I really focused on gettin on my sides during the strokes, and implementing FQS. Stretching will need to be a key element in my regimen, and catching holding water is another thing that i feel i have a problem with. Is there any way to self check if you are catching water properly? i understand this concept a bit from being a rower. It is just hard to tell cause you can't really watch your own hand. thanks again gentlemen for your help, and if anyone has anything to add, i do take down notes and put key things in my locker to focus on before i hit the pool. Anything is appreciated!
