USMS SwimFest '09 (The SUPER Clinic!)

SwimFest Day 2 Recap We started at 6:30 this morning with set up and in just over 90-minutes, checked in around 100 swimmers and 40 coaches for day two of SwimFest. Each swimmer got a SwimFest printed TYR training bag. The bag included a FINIS Snorkel, product samples from sponsors such as Tri-Swim and Speedo, a USMS bag tag and SwimFest t-shirt. By 8:30, our seven Masters mentor coaches and the 40 additional Masters coaches were in their stations and ready to go. Today’s program was geared towards pool swimmers. Tomorrow the lane lines will be pulled and the focus is on open water/triathlon swimming. Each Mentor coach had a station assignment for the day. They included the following stations and Mentor coaches: Short Axis – Kerry O’Brien Long Axis – Jim Montgomery Dry Land – Susan Ingraham Open Water – Sara McLarty Video taping – Mike Collins and Whitney Hedgepeth FINIS station – Kris Houchens Swimmers were in teams of roughly 15 to 20. They spent about 50-minutes with Mentor coaches and as many as 10 other coaches in each station. With this many Masters coaches, there was a lot of one on one attention for the swimmers. The Masters coaches were able to interact with the Mentor coaches and vice versa. Every 50-minutes, both the coaches and swimmers would go to another station. I had an opportunity to interview several coaches and swimmers. Here is their take away. Steve Morris: head coach of the Plano Wetcats. Steve’s team recently set two national records, in the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay in the 55+ age group Why did you come to SwimFest? Steve: “I loved the idea of being able to interact with all the coaches. I wanted to practically work on deck with coaches rather than a clinic in a classroom setting. This has definitely been that experience and I’m picking up ideas I can take back to help my team.” You just worked with Kerry O’Brien on short axis. What did you learn? Steve: “Kerry gave us coaches instruction on deck. He shared with us things to look for and pay attention to in the butterfly and breastroke. We then had the swimmers go through a series of slow motion drills where Kerry looked to us to give feedback to the swimmers. One thing I took away was the importance of fluid arm entry and catch for a more efficient stroke.” What did you pick up from working with Mike Collins in the video tape station? Steve: “Mike’s analysis and word pictures are tremendous. He is giving instant feedback and I’m learning the vocabulary he uses so I can take it back to my swimmers. I do a lot of video taping so watching and listening to Mike has been valuable.” Kevin Joubert – head coach BATC Masters in Baltimore. Why did you come to SwimFest? Kevin: “I wanted to learn from other coaches and programs and not be stuck in a vacuum thinking I know everything.” Tell us a little bit about BATC Masters, the team you coach? Kevin: “I’ve been coaching BATC nine years. My team is all triathletes. We have about 80 swimmers and only a handful ever go to swim any swim meets. They are focused on triathlon training. I really like though the USMS Postals. Our entire team does the 1-hour Postal the last day of January. I additionally like to use the other strokes as motor input and to help them with their freestyle.” What have you learned working with Sara McLarty? Kevin: “Sara is the fastest open water triathlete swimmer in the country so I really was looking forward to her on deck session. She is teaching the swimmers to arch their back and throw in a couple of hard kicks when they arch to stay more horizontal in the water. I’d never heard that before. Most open water or triathlete coaches are so focused on the front end of the stroke such as head position and arm entry but her tip there, and what to do with your feet, is something I can take home.” How do you recruit and retain members to your team? Kevin: “Our website www.baltimoretriathlon.org is a big tool for us. We continuously update it with results and information. Word of mouth and having current triathletes encouraging their friends to come join us is another valuable tool.” Is coaching full time for you? Kevin: “I wish. I would love to be a full time coach but we’re maxed on lane space and it’s just not possible. I’m a chemical engineer for the DOD and coaching is something I love to do.” Dana Burkhart, Michelle Kagy-Schwartz, Cherly Kupan (aka the “Bad Girls”); SwimFest participants Have you ever had this many coaches on deck that have worked with you? Girls: “No, and thank you to them. We got so much attention and interaction with all the coaches. The video taping and feedback from it was terrific. It seems like everytime we stopped at a wall, there was a coach right there with a comment for us. To have this many coaches offers a lot of perspective and opportunity for take away.” Do you think a beginner could have done this clinic? Girls: “Absolutely! This was not a hard core competitive clinic but was a technique clinic. It would be great for anyone who is just getting into swimming or is fitness minded.” Ahelee Sue Osborn; Masters coach and big champion of Masters swimming. What do you take away from today? Ahelee: “I’ve never seen anything like this and hope we can do it for years to come. It was an amazing experience today to work side by side with so many knowledgeable and dedicated coaches. We all wanted to learn more, exchange ideas and for me it was an opportunity to keep developing as a coach.” Kyle Deery: a recent college graduate and newbie to Masters swimming. You swam competitively at Florida and the Olympic Trials. You’ve seen a lot in swimming. Did you get anything from today? Klye: “Susan Ingraham’s dryland medicine ball and pilates workouts were intense. She simulated all the strokes using the medicine ball to show core balance. She was also making corrections when you would simulate the backstroke for example. The coaches working with her were really into it too. I looked over at one point and there were 10 of us on medicine balls and each of us had our own coach helping us with body position or corrections. I think she also hit some muscles in my shoulders I didn’t even know I had. It really was something to watch her energy and attitude she gave to swimmers when they were in her station.” So that is a wrap on day two. We've taken a lot of pictures and video that we will be positing online. Tomorrow we'll bring you day three from SwimFest.

SwimFest Day 2 Recap We started at 6:30 this morning with set up and in just over 90-minutes, checked in around 100 swimmers and 40 coaches for day two of SwimFest. Each swimmer got a SwimFest printed TYR training bag. The bag included a FINIS Snorkel, product samples from sponsors such as Tri-Swim and Speedo, a USMS bag tag and SwimFest t-shirt. By 8:30, our seven Masters mentor coaches and the 40 additional Masters coaches were in their stations and ready to go. Today’s program was geared towards pool swimmers. Tomorrow the lane lines will be pulled and the focus is on open water/triathlon swimming. Each Mentor coach had a station assignment for the day. They included the following stations and Mentor coaches: Short Axis – Kerry O’Brien Long Axis – Jim Montgomery Dry Land – Susan Ingraham Open Water – Sara McLarty Video taping – Mike Collins and Whitney Hedgepeth FINIS station – Kris Houchens Swimmers were in teams of roughly 15 to 20. They spent about 50-minutes with Mentor coaches and as many as 10 other coaches in each station. With this many Masters coaches, there was a lot of one on one attention for the swimmers. The Masters coaches were able to interact with the Mentor coaches and vice versa. Every 50-minutes, both the coaches and swimmers would go to another station. I had an opportunity to interview several coaches and swimmers. Here is their take away. Steve Morris: head coach of the Plano Wetcats. Steve’s team recently set two national records, in the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay in the 55+ age group Why did you come to SwimFest? Steve: “I loved the idea of being able to interact with all the coaches. I wanted to practically work on deck with coaches rather than a clinic in a classroom setting. This has definitely been that experience and I’m picking up ideas I can take back to help my team.” You just worked with Kerry O’Brien on short axis. What did you learn? Steve: “Kerry gave us coaches instruction on deck. He shared with us things to look for and pay attention to in the butterfly and breastroke. We then had the swimmers go through a series of slow motion drills where Kerry looked to us to give feedback to the swimmers. One thing I took away was the importance of fluid arm entry and catch for a more efficient stroke.” What did you pick up from working with Mike Collins in the video tape station? Steve: “Mike’s analysis and word pictures are tremendous. He is giving instant feedback and I’m learning the vocabulary he uses so I can take it back to my swimmers. I do a lot of video taping so watching and listening to Mike has been valuable.” Kevin Joubert – head coach BATC Masters in Baltimore. Why did you come to SwimFest? Kevin: “I wanted to learn from other coaches and programs and not be stuck in a vacuum thinking I know everything.” Tell us a little bit about BATC Masters, the team you coach? Kevin: “I’ve been coaching BATC nine years. My team is all triathletes. We have about 80 swimmers and only a handful ever go to swim any swim meets. They are focused on triathlon training. I really like though the USMS Postals. Our entire team does the 1-hour Postal the last day of January. I additionally like to use the other strokes as motor input and to help them with their freestyle.” What have you learned working with Sara McLarty? Kevin: “Sara is the fastest open water triathlete swimmer in the country so I really was looking forward to her on deck session. She is teaching the swimmers to arch their back and throw in a couple of hard kicks when they arch to stay more horizontal in the water. I’d never heard that before. Most open water or triathlete coaches are so focused on the front end of the stroke such as head position and arm entry but her tip there, and what to do with your feet, is something I can take home.” How do you recruit and retain members to your team? Kevin: “Our website www.baltimoretriathlon.org is a big tool for us. We continuously update it with results and information. Word of mouth and having current triathletes encouraging their friends to come join us is another valuable tool.” Is coaching full time for you? Kevin: “I wish. I would love to be a full time coach but we’re maxed on lane space and it’s just not possible. I’m a chemical engineer for the DOD and coaching is something I love to do.” Dana Burkhart, Michelle Kagy-Schwartz, Cherly Kupan (aka the “Bad Girls”); SwimFest participants Have you ever had this many coaches on deck that have worked with you? Girls: “No, and thank you to them. We got so much attention and interaction with all the coaches. The video taping and feedback from it was terrific. It seems like everytime we stopped at a wall, there was a coach right there with a comment for us. To have this many coaches offers a lot of perspective and opportunity for take away.” Do you think a beginner could have done this clinic? Girls: “Absolutely! This was not a hard core competitive clinic but was a technique clinic. It would be great for anyone who is just getting into swimming or is fitness minded.” Ahelee Sue Osborn; Masters coach and big champion of Masters swimming. What do you take away from today? Ahelee: “I’ve never seen anything like this and hope we can do it for years to come. It was an amazing experience today to work side by side with so many knowledgeable and dedicated coaches. We all wanted to learn more, exchange ideas and for me it was an opportunity to keep developing as a coach.” Kyle Deery: a recent college graduate and newbie to Masters swimming. You swam competitively at Florida and the Olympic Trials. You’ve seen a lot in swimming. Did you get anything from today? Klye: “Susan Ingraham’s dryland medicine ball and pilates workouts were intense. She simulated all the strokes using the medicine ball to show core balance. She was also making corrections when you would simulate the backstroke for example. The coaches working with her were really into it too. I looked over at one point and there were 10 of us on medicine balls and each of us had our own coach helping us with body position or corrections. I think she also hit some muscles in my shoulders I didn’t even know I had. It really was something to watch her energy and attitude she gave to swimmers when they were in her station.” So that is a wrap on day two. We've taken a lot of pictures and video that we will be positing online. Tomorrow we'll bring you day three from SwimFest.