As Howard Coselle would put it, "controversy!"
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../11404.asp
I find myself cheering her criticism of unchallenged assumptions about more yards always being better, and an unwillingness to determine why so many swimmers are getting hurt or sick.
Matt
Parents
Former Member
I had the privilege of spending a week with Shane when I was being trained as a coach back in 2002. Shane, at that time, emphasized perfection of technique as being at the core of success in swimming. And having seen Shane swim from a few yards away, I must say that she had the most perfect technique I've ever seen!
Originally posted by bud
I noticed she used the terms “elite swimmers” and “elite athlete”. I know it is just a convenient term (I’ve used it myself in the past), but I still wonder where the dividing line is drawn.
As she used the term in the article, the dividing line seems to have been between those do competitive swimming as a youth sports activity and those who continue with it beyond that. But I'm not sure she intended that there be a dividing line per se. Her point, I think, is that the appropriate training regimen for a swimmer may be qualitatively as well as quantitatively different depending on the level at which the swimmer is training.
Originally posted by knelson
I can't say I agree with her point about swimmers getting sick more than expected. I have not noticed this to be the case.
She's certainly right about shoulder problems! Before my Y began using the training approach she advocates, they had kids as young as 9 developing shoulder problems! I'm not aware that some of the other problems she mentions are all that common, but I've certainly heard reports of competitive swimmers who develop ailments during swim season that they don't have the rest of the time.
Bob
I had the privilege of spending a week with Shane when I was being trained as a coach back in 2002. Shane, at that time, emphasized perfection of technique as being at the core of success in swimming. And having seen Shane swim from a few yards away, I must say that she had the most perfect technique I've ever seen!
Originally posted by bud
I noticed she used the terms “elite swimmers” and “elite athlete”. I know it is just a convenient term (I’ve used it myself in the past), but I still wonder where the dividing line is drawn.
As she used the term in the article, the dividing line seems to have been between those do competitive swimming as a youth sports activity and those who continue with it beyond that. But I'm not sure she intended that there be a dividing line per se. Her point, I think, is that the appropriate training regimen for a swimmer may be qualitatively as well as quantitatively different depending on the level at which the swimmer is training.
Originally posted by knelson
I can't say I agree with her point about swimmers getting sick more than expected. I have not noticed this to be the case.
She's certainly right about shoulder problems! Before my Y began using the training approach she advocates, they had kids as young as 9 developing shoulder problems! I'm not aware that some of the other problems she mentions are all that common, but I've certainly heard reports of competitive swimmers who develop ailments during swim season that they don't have the rest of the time.
Bob
