OK, I'm a Dinosaur. I actually like sets like 10x100 on the same interval all the way through.
Why do all of the sets have to have some kind of break in stride or change in interval or undefined purpose today? I have been swimming in Masters long enough to know that our bread is buttered by the fitness swimmers and their singular lack of desire to compete. But do the coaches believe that we are all ADD enough not to be able to complete one set on one interval ? Or do we as swimmers really pose such a dilemma that the coaches do the very worst thing possible - try to make every one happy. The ultimate result of that is to make virtually no one happy.
If you are giving a set to your swimmers, can you tell them what it (the set) should accomplish for them? What they should get out of it? If you simply gave the same set oveer and over again every day, it would become boring, of course. But it would also become a benchmark to which each swimmer could chart his or her progress. A desireable outcome by any standard, I would venture.
I fully realise that the Masters coach is handed a bewildering array of talent and motivation with his swimmers, but you, as a coach, do not have to confuse, bewilder or befuddle your swimmers with meaningless or useless sets. Keep them simple and straghtforward, with one defining mission per set. There is nothing surer to get me to go home as a (competitive) swimmer than a set with multiple intervals and distances, changing intensity and changing strokes. And don't deny that you give such sets. Many coaches thrive on designing sets that are like circuit training in the water. I would go on and on, but I have to get up early to find out what new torture my coach has in store. Take it away, folks.
Parents
Former Member
Whew! Hope you feel you got that off your chest!
As both a professional coach and former athlete, my philosophy regarding practice content is threefold: effectiveness, interest, and progression. Along the lines of the old saying: you can be on-time, under budget or have the job done correctly, pick two out of three. A similar quandry confronts coaches on a daily basis---its really easy to focus on just one of those components, reasonably challenging to incorporate two....but three? Sometimes the creative juices don't permit, nor should they depending on your goals, though. This applies to my entry-level, age group, senior and Masters swimmers.
While I understand your point about one goal, one interval, the vast majority of Masters swimmers and coaches of noteworthy Masters' programs don't just engage the body, but also the mind. Descending efforts, intervals, changing strokes, etc. improves mental awareness, physical conditioning and overall athleticism. I agree that something steady and unidimensional has its benefits, but it often puts swimmers of all ages into 'screen saver' mode, something you don't want athletes to do. Natalie Coughlin recently is quoted as saying, "I never take a stroke without thinking about it".
Personally, I wish some of the creativity I see now was around when I was a kid! See if you can forgo your paleontological ways, and some physical and mental benefits may accrue if you embrace it long enough. Cheers.
Whew! Hope you feel you got that off your chest!
As both a professional coach and former athlete, my philosophy regarding practice content is threefold: effectiveness, interest, and progression. Along the lines of the old saying: you can be on-time, under budget or have the job done correctly, pick two out of three. A similar quandry confronts coaches on a daily basis---its really easy to focus on just one of those components, reasonably challenging to incorporate two....but three? Sometimes the creative juices don't permit, nor should they depending on your goals, though. This applies to my entry-level, age group, senior and Masters swimmers.
While I understand your point about one goal, one interval, the vast majority of Masters swimmers and coaches of noteworthy Masters' programs don't just engage the body, but also the mind. Descending efforts, intervals, changing strokes, etc. improves mental awareness, physical conditioning and overall athleticism. I agree that something steady and unidimensional has its benefits, but it often puts swimmers of all ages into 'screen saver' mode, something you don't want athletes to do. Natalie Coughlin recently is quoted as saying, "I never take a stroke without thinking about it".
Personally, I wish some of the creativity I see now was around when I was a kid! See if you can forgo your paleontological ways, and some physical and mental benefits may accrue if you embrace it long enough. Cheers.
