Inspired by some of the discussion in the fly thread , I was wondering how you all feel about drills.
Personally, they drive me nuts, yet everywhere people rave about TI and boy do my coaches like 'em. I find that generally drills just make me feel as though I'm learning to swim a way I will never actually swim, as opposed to helping me focus on one aspect of the stroke. For instance, last night, we were doing breaststroke drills and I spent the entire time trying to learn the drill as opposed to focusing on what we were meant to learn.
Also, I tend to learn technique by figuring out what feels right, but with drills, it feels different because you aren't doing the full stroke.
What about you?
Former Member
Perception - kick a few lengths then swim and you seem to be swimming better, but are you?
I'm going to have to give it time to see if I want to do drills. As I've been at this only a bit over a month, I'm still focusing just on increasing my distance per workout. I feel confident enough with where I am that I've entered the 800 meter distance of an open water swim this weekend. I plan on entering a meet in July and trying the shorter distances at all four strokes with a goal of just finishing. I never swam high school or college, only summer club teams. Starting to swim with my six year old in February made me realize how much I missed just swimming after 30+ years away.
I watch my daughters do drills so I've been exposed to them & understand what they're for, I just don't know at this point if I want to dedicate part of the (realitively) small amount of time I get to swim to drills rather than just swimming.
One arm fly??? People do that, for real?
Ahhh trying to breathe on both sides is quite the production for me as I too only learned as a kid to breathe in 1 side. How do you get into the proper rhythym of doing both?
Originally posted by craiglll@yahoo.com
Sometimes whe really bad swimmers ask me how to improve their stokes, I tell them some drills. They say to me that they aren't going to do that . They remain bad swimmers.
I think that swimmers who have good strokes can use drills. Peole with bad strokes need to use drills.
See, I think some people just learn things different ways. My technique has gotten much better as of late, and it had nothing to do with drills. Rather, the person I was working with said, "You need to do more X." Then I attempted to do so and said, "Like that?" And he would say yes or no. When he said yes, I memorized what that felt like. However, when I do drills, I spend the time fighting againt my instinct to swim the stroke normally.
I know it sounds like justification, but I guess I'm just trying to figure out if anyone else has had this experience.
Gotta agree with Shark and really, really disagree with Geochuck on this issue.
Drills have purpose in reinforcement and correction although there are probably some coaches out there someplace (and not just in BC) that don't understand them and may just throw some in to kill time.
Jim
BTW, the poll could use a 4th choice between the "love 'em" and "don't mind them", such as "I like them occasionally, just not all the time".
Sometimes whe really bad swimmers ask me how to improve their stokes, I tell them some drills. They say to me that they aren't going to do that . They remain bad swimmers.
I think that swimmers who have good strokes can use drills. Peole with bad strokes need to use drills.
Originally posted by geochuck
Bob McAdams
Just a thought I think drills were made up by coaches to make workouts to be fun, but drills are not fun.
Drills are an excuse by coaches to not coach proper technique.
I'm not sure what this means. Drills are used by coaches to teach proper technique. I bet if you look at any of the olympic swimmers, they all use some type of drill. Be it drills for starts, strokes, turns or breath control. Drills are a very important part of swimming. I use drills as a conditioning part of my program for my young swimmers. Conditioning through proper drilling on technique.
You can't find any elite athlete at any sport that doesn't use drills to enhance their performances.
football - blocking drills
baseball - hitting drills
basketball - shooting drills
cheerleading - varsity sport where I teach - cheer drills
wrestling - take down drills
swimming - stroke, turn, start drills
etc.
Just my two cents worth.
Originally posted by shark
I'm not sure what this means. Drills are used by coaches to teach proper technique. I bet if you look at any of the olympic swimmers, they all use some type of drill. Be it drills for starts, strokes, turns or breath control. Drills are a very important part of swimming. I use drills as a conditioning part of my program for my young swimmers. Conditioning through proper drilling on technique.
You can't find any elite athlete at any sport that doesn't use drills to enhance their performances.
Just my two cents worth. I have been watching other coaches who make up their workouts and every work out is a drill no time spent on stroke correction. I as a coach don't do anything but stroke correction. I let the drill sargents have the swimmers drilled to death. Drills will not correct anything unless each drill is a coached drill. That is the reason I only do one on one teaching (coaching???)
Originally posted by jim clemmons
Gotta agree with Shark and really, really disagree with Geochuck on this issue.
Drills have purpose in reinforcement and correction although there are probably some coaches out there someplace (and not just in BC) that don't understand them and may just throw some in to kill time.
I don't waste the time of the people I teach, they are nearly always begginner tri athletes, most have a little experience. So the time I spend with them is to correct major mistakes. I get rid of their problems and let them go to the slave drivers. As I said before I make a few bucks to buy coffee and they go on to someone else. I usually sign them up for 6 to 10 teaching sessions. I have between 7 to 10 clients a week. I really do not want to work harder and have more.
