The Road to Nationals-Matt Grevers
The Road to Nationals-Matt Grevers
The Stats:
Name: Matt Grevers
Age: 25
Club: Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics
Upcoming Grand Prix Appearances: Santa Clara International Grand Prix (June 17-20) and the Los Angeles Grand Prix (July 8-11)
Distance to ConocoPhillips National Championships: 475 miles
Name: Matt Grevers
Age: 25
Club: Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics
Upcoming Grand Prix Appearances: Santa Clara International Grand Prix (June 17-20) and the Los Angeles Grand Prix (July 8-11)
Distance to ConocoPhillips National Championships: 475 miles
Training and Travel Snap Shot:
Favorite Drill:
My favorite stroke drill is called the Quarter-Quarter-Quarter-Quarter. The first quarter of the lap is an all-out kick in a streamline position. The second quarter you add your arms in so you still have lots of kick but the point is to not let your kick slow down when you add the arms. Then the third quarter is back to just kicking and then you finish off the last quarter with swimming again. It really allows me to connect my stroke by connecting my feet with my arms and my core.
Current training status:
We’re staring to work on the details, like good stroke technique, more power and anaerobic work. Before the Charlotte Ultra Swim, I was working on aerobic work. So now it is time to sharpen the tools and focus on smarter racing, not just putting in the yards. This is my happy time of the season where I really start to enjoy it.
Favorite Swimming Road Trip:
Every time I travel with the National Team is a great experience. Obviously the Olympics were great, but I would say when we went to Riccione, Italy. We were there for a training camp before we went to Rome (for the 2009 FINA World Championships). Our room was overlooking the ocean – and this is unreal – so I remember sitting on top of this hotel on the roof, overlooking the ocean, watching a beautiful sunset on a warm day with a cool breeze and we are getting massages from the massage therapist. It really felt like we were getting the full, five-start treatment. I just remember thinking back to that and thinking that we really do have the good life. That was a great moment with the National Team.
Goals for Nationals:
I want to make the ( Pan Pacific Championship) team and hopefully make it in one individual event and a relay. I would love to make it in the 100 or 200 backstroke and go on the 400 freestyle relay.
Favorite Drill:
My favorite stroke drill is called the Quarter-Quarter-Quarter-Quarter. The first quarter of the lap is an all-out kick in a streamline position. The second quarter you add your arms in so you still have lots of kick but the point is to not let your kick slow down when you add the arms. Then the third quarter is back to just kicking and then you finish off the last quarter with swimming again. It really allows me to connect my stroke by connecting my feet with my arms and my core.
Current training status:
We’re staring to work on the details, like good stroke technique, more power and anaerobic work. Before the Charlotte Ultra Swim, I was working on aerobic work. So now it is time to sharpen the tools and focus on smarter racing, not just putting in the yards. This is my happy time of the season where I really start to enjoy it.
Favorite Swimming Road Trip:
Every time I travel with the National Team is a great experience. Obviously the Olympics were great, but I would say when we went to Riccione, Italy. We were there for a training camp before we went to Rome (for the 2009 FINA World Championships). Our room was overlooking the ocean – and this is unreal – so I remember sitting on top of this hotel on the roof, overlooking the ocean, watching a beautiful sunset on a warm day with a cool breeze and we are getting massages from the massage therapist. It really felt like we were getting the full, five-start treatment. I just remember thinking back to that and thinking that we really do have the good life. That was a great moment with the National Team.
Goals for Nationals:
I want to make the ( Pan Pacific Championship) team and hopefully make it in one individual event and a relay. I would love to make it in the 100 or 200 backstroke and go on the 400 freestyle relay.
The Story:
With just two months until the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships, Matt Grevers is enjoying the transition from aerobic, high-yardage training to anaerobic speed sets and focusing on sharpening his technique. With only three meets left before arriving in Irvine with an opportunity to make the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships team, Grevers has very specific goals for each upcoming meet.
With just two months until the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships, Matt Grevers is enjoying the transition from aerobic, high-yardage training to anaerobic speed sets and focusing on sharpening his technique. With only three meets left before arriving in Irvine with an opportunity to make the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships team, Grevers has very specific goals for each upcoming meet.
“Not this weekend but next, I’m going to the Southwest Meet that is here in Tucson,” Grevers said. “It’s kind of a gauntlet swim meet where I will be possibly swimming 15 races with prelims and finals. It will be good to see where I am.”
It was actually the Southwest Classic that two years ago set the stage for Grevers to win silver at the Beijing Olympics.
“That meet back in 2008 is where I decided to swim the 100 backstroke at Trials because, randomly at this meet in our home pool, I did a great 100 backstroke,” Grevers said. “I had given up on it to focus on freestyle, but that race made me see that I didn’t really lose my touch in the backstroke so I went back to it.”
After the Southwest Classic Invitational, Grevers will travel to California twice to compete at the Santa Clara Grand Prix in June and the Los Angeles Grand Prix in July before setting his sights on Nationals.
“Santa Clara is usually one of the fastest meets in the US aside from the National meet,” Grevers said. “I just want to race tough and race all of the fast people that will be at Santa Clara. I would love to try and win the 100 backstroke, which will be a very hard goal with
Aaron Piersol being there and
Nick Thoman being on fire. That would give me a lot of confidence going into Nationals.”
Finally, it is on to the last stop of the Grand Prix series in Los Angeles.
“The LA Invite is going to be even closer to the big meet so I would like to have a little speed,” said Grevers. “It’s not just racing anymore, but I want to be looking at the times and feeling confident in my times. Then, it’s on to Nationals.”
