Forward Thinking

Beau Caldwell

Forward Thinking  

An incomplete list of growth & planning concepts in developmental swimming 

Written by Beau Caldwell – Head Coach, Elmwood Sharks 

March 22, 2023 

 

 

Most everyone in this sport should be considered a developmental athlete. If you’re at Olympic Trials or NCAA’s, maybe not, but almost everyone in USA swimming is on the developmental level. Learning, growing, and building, higher level skills is at the forefront of making progress over time. Consequently, this is a sport where significant growth and achievement is a few months delayed from the time and effort put in.  

 

Compared to several other sports, USA Swimming athletes are much more in control over their improvement and success. No one gets scored by a judge, there’s not a win/loss record, and there’s no politicking for playing time. It’s a unique sport and attracts a unique athlete. That being said, overnight fixes or slight changes might earn one a couple tenths, but aren’t always the solution for being better 6 to 12 months from now. Habitual and consistent demonstration of forward thinking concepts and habits allow one to grow to new levels.  

 

Consider the following concepts – there's probably 2-3 each athlete can gravitate to right away: 

 

Skill development first! Train your muscle memory and myelin sheath to demonstrate essential skills needed for success. It's a lot easier to build endurance with good skills and habits, rather than build endurance and then change skills and habits. Read that again and think about it. Some essential skills include: 

  • Being comfortable learning and trying something new, even if it doesn’t feel normal  

  • Proper push-offs, underwater travel, and streamlines 

  • Inhaling and exhaling at the proper times during each stroke and turns 

  • Grabbing water in front of the shoulder 

  • Kicking at the proper times, during a stroke, during a breath, into & out of a turn 

 

Practice attendance matters! 1 extra practice/week is 4-5 extra practices/month. 4-5 extra practices/month is 40-50 extra practices per year. Could you learn, grow, and execute higher level skills with 40-50 extra practices? YES! Everyone can, including your competitors.  

 

Before you turn 16, train and compete every stroke! Best events will pick you when you’re older based on your practice habits, in-water skill set, and how ones body grows into adulthood. Motivation for certain strokes and distances can changes as well. Develop the skills, base, and experience in your toolbox for when you need it. How one finishes or places in these events along the way is not indicative of failure. Avoiding certain strokes or events when one is younger closes doors of opportunity when opening one could be a solution to success. Specializing early does not do the athlete any favors. This doesn’t have to be done every meet, but certainly once or twice each season.  

 

Compare Long Course Meters (LCM) times to Short Course Yards (SCY) times. Take a time you swum in yards in October or November – try to swim that time in LC meters by the end of July. 1 yard is about .91 meters. Those with great attendance usually hit a few of these times or be very close in several. It’s an exciting milestone to pass. This will be most applicable to the 14 and under athlete who is starting to become more competitive. 

 

Use an upcoming championship meet to earn new time standards for the next championship meet. The intent here is head into the next season knowing what championship meet you’ll attend. 10 year olds should aim for 11-12 qualifying times; 12 year old should aim for 13-14 qualifying times, and so on. If qualifying times are already achieved, try to earn times that would score points at said championship meet. Heading into the start of the next season, factor out the question of IF you’ll qualify – focus on HOW you’re going to swim fast at the next championship meet.  

 

Challenge up! Prepare for what’s coming down the road! 

11-12's have different challenges than 10&Unders; 13-14's have new challenges than 11-12's, and seniors have different challenges than 13-14's. Find some challenges in order to prepare for the next level before you get there! To compare to the working world – dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Brining it back to swimming – train at the level you want to be at, not the level you are at. Some questions to ask may include: 

  • Are my strokes and skills on par to be competitive with the next age group? 

  • What new events can I try and grow into?  

  • What standards can I aim for my championship meet 1-2 years from now? 

  • How can I change my technical skills, breathing patterns? 

  • Am I attending enough practices and the right meets?  

  • What data can I use to measure my progress?  

 

 

The best resource for all of the above – your coach!