What do YOU need to do to have a major swimming breakthrough?

32.6 at age 10...he is doing something right! All that height and still able to turn fast enough to get that time, is good.

Originally posted by TheGoodSmith Well...... I was being facetious in my response, but you can not deny the importance of genetics. And to answer your question directly, Frank, "yes". If I was 22 and racing Micheal Phelps in the 200 fly or 400 IM and did my best times (when I lost and got pounded) .... I really don't think there would be anything wrong in admitting "genetic" defeat. As for my own children. I have 3 and they all swim competitively (I make them swim to get away from the TV). I love to watch them race. My son had a sharp 50yd back a week ago and went a 32.6 . It was a breakthrough swim for him on several levels. He's a really big kid .... 10 years old, 5'7", 112 lbs. I was 88lbs at his age. Genetics..... it's a wild card in the end. John Smith Whoa, it took my kid until he was 15 to hit that height. I bet he towers over everyone!

Well...... I was being facetious in my response, but you can not deny the importance of genetics. And to answer your question directly, Frank, "yes". If I was 22 and racing Micheal Phelps in the 200 fly or 400 IM and did my best times (when I lost and got pounded) .... I really don't think there would be anything wrong in admitting "genetic" defeat. As for my own children. I have 3 and they all swim competitively (I make them swim to get away from the TV). I love to watch them race. My son had a sharp 50yd back a week ago and went a 32.6 . It was a breakthrough swim for him on several levels. He's a really big kid .... 10 years old, 5'7", 112 lbs. I was 88lbs at his age. Genetics..... it's a wild card in the end. John Smith

Both of my parents were what now is called jocks. My father was tall & thin, my mother short and very muscular. All of my siblings are tall and thin. However, the next generation are tall and muscular. And their children look to be the same. I do think that genetics are very important. Also, though early accessiblity is very important. One of my best friends grew up in DC. He became a very good basketball & baseball player. He truly thinks that the reason is because the DC rec department is so good and easily accessible to kids year-round. My mother was a teen ager during the Depression. He grandfahter had a tennis court on his farm. He simply ploughed up the grass and made a clay court. My grandmother, mother, and aunt were all good players. They lived in Iowa. Both my mother & aunt were very good basketball players becasue of Iowa's stree of women's basketball. Here in Galesburg, basketball rules, even though the teams for many years have been very terrible. At on time, more teams from Galesburg had gone to state than any other highschool in Illinois. This helped make basketball so important to the identity of the city. (insertion of racist remark) All us tall thin Swedes and Norks. If you didn't play basketball, you were considered weird or strange, even if you were a great wrestler or swimmer. Now, there are so many more opportunities for young people and nontypical sports are more accepted. So while our swimming teams imporve and are more open to kids whose families couldn't in the past afford lessons, more traditional midwestern sports are "suffering."

mental components are key too An athlete can use mind techniques to stay focused and intense in training. With a mere attitude shift, just a change in thought patterns an athlete can dramatically improve her training performance levels. I believe if an athlete consistently performs at high levels in training, she'll do better in competition. Using mind techniques she can apply more effort on hard swims, handle training fatigue better and handle training pain better. It's also critical to athletes to identify their current ability levels. like best times for 10 yard free 25 free 25 fly kick 50 free 100 free or whatever else is important for athletes to to measure and improve. If you want to GO FROM "A" to "B" you need to figure out where "A" is then decide on what "B" is also anything we do and measure IMPROVES. I've written about most of this stuff in "Swim Faster Faster" Break on through, Ande

this topic always interests me anyone looking to have a breakthrough in 2008? what is it? What do you need to do?

this topic always interests me anyone looking to have a breakthrough in 2008? what is it? What do you need to do? Yes. Tighten up my 200BR and 100FR 200 BR (SCM) went 45 52 52 50 on 12/9 then on 12/16 I went 44 50 53 53 We've decided it's conditioning, and possibly too much focus on turnover too early and thus los of kick discipline and propulsion. So keep on the form stuff and get in some good race pace BR, making sure I get a 200 in at least weekly. 100FR well my 50 SCY is down to a 28:05 (conv.) and my 100 is around 1:06.66 to 1:07low (on converts). This is cool as hadn't been focused and in shape the last 2 to 3 weeks...Hope I can get a 1:05xx early next year with the right work. Talking with swimmers I edge in the 50 and get beaten by in the 100 we all decided it's conditioning...so got to work on that by dropping the intervals and doing a 4th swim workout if possible..maybe even just a Saturday Sprint Session warm up sprint a few hundred and warm down. Other goals; getting my decent SDK to intergrate into a better fly and maybe getting 50 back "kick some ass" relatively speaking. I was not last in anything I did this weekend so that's good.

Just saw a video of myself in practice. Coach was shooting the video while we were doing some long swims. I know I was tired, but oh god, it looked awful. I think this is the first time I've seen video of myself swimming, certainly at practice. I've got to clean it up and practice the way I want to race. The watch certainly doesn't lie. I don't think the video camera does, either.

I need to fix my god awful inconsistent turns and my flutter kick. I second that. My freestyle turns are inconsistent in the sprints and very consistent in longer races. My back to *** turns....are a joke. I need to practice touching under the surface as my pool as high walls but most pools I compete in are overflow.

I need to start by getting more sleep. 5-6 hours a night are NOT condusive to getting up at 4:30am to practice. I am seriously contemplating removing the TV from our bedroom but not sure if that will start WW III with my wife. Paul