Announcements
Congratulations to Andrew Jones (Early Birds, Whitecaps
and Waterpolo) and his wife Julie on the birth of their first child!
Micheala was born on May 28th and weighed in at 8lbs 9oz. Mother and
daughter are back home and doing well.
Will Litchfield (Early Birds, Varsity Swimming and Waterpolo) is a member
of an Ottawa team that took part in the Canadian Underwater Hockey Championships
in Edmonton on the May long weekend. His team placed second in all of
Canada!! Way to go, Will!
A final reminder that, if you haven't already done
so, please register for Masters ASAP. Either drop by the
athletics office (8:30am-4:30pm M-F) or call 520-4480. New swimmers are
welcome and a pro-rated fee is available.
For those who like to plan ahead, note that there will be a workout on
Saturday, June 30th, but no workout on Monday, July
2nd.
Skills Clinics
Early Birds:
Starts and turns clinics will continue for the next
two weeks. These are optional and will be held during the last 15min of workout
(i.e. either 8:15-8:30am or 9:15-9:30am).
1. IM turns: Monday, June 4th and
Friday, May 15th
2. racing starts: Wednesday, June
6th and Monday, June 18th
3. breast and fly turns:
Friday, June 8th
4. free and back open turns:
Monday, June 11th
5. free and back flip turns:
Wednesday, June 13th
I also promised an open water swimming
clinic. We'll do that (optionally) during one of the distance
freestyle sets. Please remind me if you are interested!
Whitecaps:
On Thursdays when the "A" group is in the deep end (for June, this will be
the 14th and 28th), we have the space to do stroke and turn/starts clinics for
the last 15min of workout (6:55-7:10pm). Please let me know if
there's a particular skill you'd like to work on.
Swimming Etiquette
Rule #2: Except in an emergency (e.g.
cramp or choking), lane ropes should not be used as a flotation
aid!
Lane ropes are designed to cut down on the
wake/waves created by swimmers. Leaning, holding or pulling on
the lane ropes prevents them from doing their job, causes them to break more
easily, and can be dangerous to other swimmers (backstrokers may
accidentally catch a finger on the rope if it's lower in the water than it
should be).
Ask the Coach
Dear Coach: What
stretching exercises should I do before and after
workout? Stumped about Stretching
Dear Stumped: This is much easier to show you in
person than to write down! Just ask me anytime for a demo of appropriate
range of motion exercises for before workout and stretches for
after.
Dear Coach: I've noticed that
different coaches give conflicting advice! What's up with
that? Confused at Carleton
Dear Confused: There could be many reasons for
this! First and foremost, the swimming strokes and rules have changed
dramatically over the years. Thus, if you have been swimming for many
years, it would be more surprising if your coaches had all told you the same
thing! Secondly, each coach has his/her own favourite tips and drills, and
those, too, will change over time. Finally, a coach may ask you to do
something "wrong" to overcome a particular stroke flaw. For example, while
your hands should enter the water at 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock on backstroke, if
you have a tendency to cross over and put both hands in at 12 o'clock, I may ask
you to try to put your hands in at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. It's likely
that when you feel your hands are at 9 and 3, they will really be at 11 and
1! If your coach asks you to do something that conflicts with something
else you've been told, ask why. We'll be happy to explain.
Dear Coach: How can I swim
faster? I Need Speed!
Dear I. N. Speed: This is a rather open ended
question! There are many factors that contribute to your speed in
swimming, including: technique, flexibility, skills, endurance, pacing, power,
and practice.
Compared to many sports (e.g. cycling and running),
technique plays a more important role in swimming than does raw power. No
matter how much strength and endurance you have from other sports, it won't
transfer well to swimming unless you have the basic techniques mastered.
That's why we focus so much on stroke technique at Masters.
Flexibility is also quite important. For
example, in freestyle, if you cannot extend your foot far enough for the top of
your foot to form a straight line with the front of your leg, your feet will act
like brakes. (If you have ever seen someone go backwards doing flutter
kick with a board, I bet he/she needs work on ankle flexibility!)
Skills such as starts and turns (in the pool), or
navigation and swimming around markers (in open water) are also a factor in your
overall speed.
Endurance and pacing are also required.
You need to have a good training base, even if you focus on sprints in
racing. For those working towards longer events, pacing is key. You
need to have a "feel" of the right speed to start at so that you can keep the
same speed (or speed up slightly) throughout the event.
Power also plays a role in your overall speed. While you won't see
many good swimmers who look like power lifters, there are some key muscles that
you use a lot in swimming (e.g. triceps, lats, abs) and swimmers can benefit
from weight training programs.
Finally, to swim fast you need to train fast (sometimes!). Training
at race pace gets your body used to the demands required to go fast.
As each swimmer has unique needs and goals, ask your coach which of the
above areas you should be focusing on.
Early Birds Notes
The second set of time trials is just two weeks
away! We'll continue focusing on your chosen events for the next two
weeks. This week will be a busy week, with lots of distance and/or
intensity, and then things will gradually ease up until the time
trials. If you have any questions or special requests, please let me
know.
Happy laps!
Lynn
