Football player turned swimmer

Wow, a lot of responses have been posted since my last response. If anything, the interest and support of this discussion forum is very motivating. and don't owrry about negative responses, they only fuel the fire:cool: . and lefty, my coach is telling me to stay off the benching(i need to get flexible:D ) When i first started i couldn't get my arms over my head into a streamlined position. James good luck in canandaigua. Let us know how you do and what you are racing in. gull80, distanc eis definitely NOT going to happen. my endurance running is amazing for a football player(10.5 min 2 mile) but swimming is utilizing so many muscles that i have never really used, or that have never been used in the manner that they are currently being used for swimming. Finally, thanks again to everyone for the support. Now back to a little technique Q&A. Everyone so far has mentioned upper body technique and different things to look for on the stroke. What about lower body, and kick? is it critical to have a certain form in your lower body? i know you want to keep your legs straight with little knee bend, but i was wondering if there is anything else that is important in the lower body. (i know that i have little flexibility in my ankles and am working on that) One last question(for now!), how much on my side should i get through the stroke? or should i keep it where it is most comfortable? (But keep in mind i want to go fast and will bare the discomort) Thanks again everyone and i will check back real soon! (and welcome my coach if you get the chance!)

I have been watching this exchange and enjoying it. Joey I think it is great you are getting into this sport and hope you succeed in meeting your goals. Even if you don't you will be helping your schools team out because you have drive and that will help your learning curve. I would take your questions to your coach and teammates. I say this because it is hard for us to tell you what to do without seeing your stroke. One comment I will make about weights and sprinting. I think keeping the legs strong could be very beneficial for your sprint. My 15 year old son has played soccer all fall and not been in the water since August. He has been doing a lot of lower body weights with the soccer team. Two weeks ago he had to swim in a YMCA meet to "get a meet in". He swam the 50 free in 27.00 and he said did it all with legs. Last summer he was swimming high 24s on relay splits so he has a ways to go to get back in swimming shape, but it was interesting he could go that fast without upper body effort. He is small 5-9 and 135 and his forte is middle to long distance, but the leg strength seems to make a big difference in the sprint.

Joey, As someone who has swam a lot, coached a little, I'd like to try to sum up what I hear people saying to you: 1) Pay attention to your coach, especially when he is having you work on technique. You have expressed a desire to work HARDER to reach your goals. You will need that. You will also need to work SMARTER to ensure you are effectively applying your athletic ability in a new, foreign medium. This may call for meticulous attention to detail that may not seem quite as important as your coach is telling you it is. LISTEN UP! Remember when your football coaches got on you, or some other player, to get a few inches lower because it would dramatically improve your leverage? That is what streamlining, turns, starts, and all sorts of other drills you may have to do a slow speeds are like. Trust me, this work is as important as a killer fatiguing workout. 2) Mental toughness--Meeting the physical challenge you don't expect. (aka Pay attention to your coach Part II) You will of course need lots of physical conditioning that will push you to your limits; however, it may stress parts of your body in ways you did not expect. Instead of 10 second bursts at full speed, your coach may ask you to do a long aerobic set (lots of yards, short interval, little rest, done at slower speeds), or he make ask you to do low oxygen sets (instead of breathing every other arm stroke, breathing only 2-3 times per length). This is not crap; it is what you need. Go after it just as hard as you can. 3) Flexibility. Forget the weight room; find a yoga class. Others have discussed this, so 'nuff said. 4) Mental preparation. Keep in mind what you have probably already learned playing football: preparing yourself emotionally to perform is critical. Keep using the same techniques you've used to get up for a football game. They should work just fine. (Hey, I played D line on a flag football team when I was also swimming for my college team. The psychology of getting up a pass rush and the 50 free are remarkably similar.) Your new swim team mates might also have a use for any leaderships skills you learned on the football field. 5) Goals and having fun. Several folks have expended their eloquence on how likely or difficult it will be for you to reach 22 seconds. Reaching your goal would be awesome, but pay just a little attention to the wonderful journey you will be traveling while it is happening. You could miss your goal, but still be a magnificent "failure." What you have already done is amazing, and if you get under, say... 24.5 you will have my profound respect. Make sure you feel the joy in the moment, and consider whether you would like to make swimming, and maybe masters swimming, part of your exercise program for life after college. Lotsa luck. Please keep us up to date with how you are doing. Matt

Ion, I am not. The only ion I know has lost electrons.

Not that you'ld need any more information overload,...here's a link to some good pointers on training for sprint races. (www.swiminfo.com/articles/swimmagazine/articles/199511-02swim_art.asp) Good luck, get plenty of rest, and keep the keg parties to a minimum.

I'm Joey's coach. He showed me this forum this morning. I could not believe all the responses. thanks for all your interest and support. So I was hired this past July to be the coach of a start-up team at Canisius College. In August my atheltic director informed me that we needed 11 swimmers at every meet in order to meet NCAA standards. there was NO team prior to this season and NO recruiting done last season. so we were forced to find anyone willing. We flyered the campus and started with about 20 names.... half of them never showed at the first practice(when they realized they have to train 2x a day). so Joey offered to join the team and his efforts have been fantastic. I am well aware of how lofty Joey's goals are but, there is no way in hell I am going to tell him he can't do it! go Joey Butts!

It was the mid fifties, like 1954, 5, or 6 that the soccer coach at Courtland (sp?) State University in New York told one of his players he should (or had to?) report to the swimming coach. The swimming coach was the soccer coach. The Soccer player was Geogre Breen and swam in the Olympics in Melbourne in 1956. His Coach, Doc Counsilman, went with him and, as I understand it, there met a young swimmer from Indianapolis. This youngster, Frank McKinney, told the President of Indiana University, Herman B (without a dot) Wells, that if he would hire Doc to fill the coaching vacancy at IU, he would swim for IU after he graduated from high school. It did happen and the rest is history. Like, McKinney and a teammate, Alan Somers swam in the Rome Olympics in 1960. Etc, etc, etc. P.S. Breen set a world record in the preliminaries for the 1500 meter freestyle, but was defeated by a youngster, Murray Rose from Australia, in the finals.

This is going to be very interesting. I can't wait to see the progress Mr. Butts makes because I have never seen this kind of enthusiasm and support. Prove me wrong!

Originally posted by ArtShark Morini, could you please post when your first home meet is? I want to come and cheer for Joey! Go Joey Butts! We dont have any home meets but our closest one is at Niagara University on November 8th at 1pm. Support would be much appreciated. And dont forget to cheer for all the other boys that have come out and made the program happen. And I can tell ya after this mornings practice :-p Everyone deserves a little recognition. Its amazing what our coach has done, Joey is one of the more athletic swimmers on the mens team, and some with little or no athletic experience are doing great! SWIM GRIFFS Member of the female swim griffs team....Kasey

Mr. Beza, I'm guessing you've gone from Ion to Ian: But your rhetoric remains the same. I'd say Joey is doing well based on his background...My advice would be stay in the water!; And get the best coaching you can. .. Ian isn't that far ahead of you! (Trust me ;) I'd also offer that my nephew is a professional swim coach in the Buffalo area!