Coach's Corner

General Season Plan

As we have begun the new swimming season, I wanted to give everyone a general plan for our training over the next several weeks.  During the first 4-6 weeks of each season we spend a considerable amount of time doing long over distance training sets to rebuild our aerobic conditioning (endurance).  This phase of training is very important because it places more of an emphasis on slow training but for long periods of time.  This allows each swimmer to focus on technique rather than speed.  The work done early in the season establishes a good foundation for the rest of the season.
  During the next phase of training a premium of time is placed on thresshold swimming.  In other words, the improvement of aerobic conditioning.  This phase of swimming helps each swimmer to swim fast for a longer period of time.  During this cycle we continue to reinforce techniques, but training fast becomes more important.
  The third phase of our season is the where speed becomes more important.  Each practice groups puts more of premium on race pace swimming and less on general endurance.  At this point in the season, we are trying to perfect all of the little techniques while swimming very fast.  This is also the most intense portion of the season.  The kids will become quite fatigued and getting lots of sleep is very important.  This part of the season is where we begin focusing each swimmer on their best events.
  The final phase is the taper.  For most of our younger swimmers, taper is an over used word.  It basically means rest.  Most young swimmers do not require much rest to swim fast because their bodies do not become as fatigued as older more physically mature swimmers.  Their rest phase is usually only a few days.  For older more physically mature swimmers, the taper/rest phase can last several weeks.  The reason that older more mature swimmers require more rest is that they are more muscular.  It takes longer for their bodies to physically recover from the demands of heavy training.  At the end of a taper/rest cycle most swimmers will feel more energized, therefore more powerful and fast in the water.  However, resting too often or in the middle of a season can cause the swimmers to lose conditioning therefore causing poor performances at the end of the season because they have gotten out of shape.
  I hope everyone has a great season, and if you have questions about our training plan please feel free to speak with one of our coaches.

Coach Bob