Dear Coach:  Why do the lanes alternate directions (e.g. if lane 1 goes = counter-clockwise, lane 2 goes clockwise, etc.)?  Puzzled

Dear Puzzled:  The reason for this is = that if you hit hands with a person in the next lane, at least you are both going in = the same direction, so there is less likelihood of an injury.  In the = deep end, the lane nearest the diving well must go counter-clockwise to avoid = running into the corner of the "L", and the other lanes are calculated from = that.  The shallow end lanes go in the same direction as they would if the = pool was set up Long Course.

Dear Coach:  When should I = breath out in freestyle (do I breath out all the time, or just before I breath in again)?  Out of Breath

Dear O. o. Breath:  The more air you have in = your lungs, the more buoyant you are and the better you float, thus you want = to keep air in your lungs as much as possible.  At the same time, when you = turn your head to breath, you want to be breathing in, not out and in, to = maximize the amount of air you breath in while turning your head for as short a = time as possible.  Thus if you are breathing every three strokes, you = want to hold your breath in for about 1.5 strokes and then breath it out slowly = for 1.5 strokes.  If you were breathing every 5 strokes, you would hold your breath in for about 3 strokes, and then out for 2.  Practice this when we do sets with a breathing pattern -- = you should find the breathing pattern much easier to do if you hold = your breath in for all but the last 2 strokes!   

Dear Coach:  Can you please write the pace = times on the board larger as they are very difficult to see?  Twenty-twenty

Dear T.-twenty:  Sorry about that -- I will attempt to improve this!  Please let me know before you start your set if you can't = see the pace times.  I'll either write them in a larger font for your lane, = or explain the pattern so you can calculate them yourself -- sometimes it = is a multiple of a certain amount of time per 50m.