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Andrea:
Where was the conference and how many days was it? Where did the participants
come from?
John:
The conference was held in Las Vegas, Nevada and took place over five
days from September 2-7. There were coaches from all over the world coming from
such countries as Mexico, Finland, Austria and the Philippines. There were many
coaches from Canada coming from Guelph, Ottawa, Vancouver and Edmonton. Many of
the coaches represented clubs, but there were also coaches representing universities,
high schools and Masters Programs. Numerous vendors were also in attendance to
show all the coaches the newest technologies available to their programs, ranging
from swim suits to underwater cameras, to how to "build your own pool".
Andrea:
Of the sessions you attended, what was your most interesting session?
John:
Some of the best sessions I attended were not even "official"
sessions but rather engaging in an informal talk with other coaches sitting beside
me at some of the presentations. I found these to be really beneficial as I could
get some really detailed info from just asking questions and discussing swimming
with these coaches. To answer your question, there were many great presentations
that took place over the five days. Bob Bowman talked about Michael Phelps's development
from an age grouper to Olympic Champion; Ray Benecki discussed his training of
World Record holder Kate Ziegler (in the woman's 1500 free) and Mark Schubert
discussed in great detail, Team USA's preparation and performances at the recent
Beijing games. All of these talks were very stimulating, but the one that stood
head and toes above all the others and had the greatest impact for myself was
Dick Shoulberg discussing "An Overview of the Germantown Academy Program".
Germantown Academy is located about 15 miles northwest of Philadelphia in Fort
Washington, PA. and is the oldest non-sectarian school in the United States. Coach
Shoulberg has been there since 1969 and describes himself as a "grassroots"
coach who teaches kids as young as kindergarten age to learn to swim, all the
way up to coaching international level swimmers. He has produced some outstanding
swimmers such as David Wharton, Trina Radke, Maddy Crippen and David Berkoff (just
to name a few). His swimmers have two things in common. First, they are all very
proficient in all four strokes (Coach Shoulberg has put a swimmer on the US Olympic
team in the 400IM for five Olympic Games) and second, all his swimmers are tough
as nails. Coach Murray prepped me for this presentation as he himself had taken
some swimmers to train with Coach Shoulberg's program when he coached in Ottawa.
He stated before hand two things: "You will be impressed" and "if
you think our kids work hard you haven't seen anything until you see Dick's program".
Coach Shoulberg did not disappoint. He showed us in a video format his very "old
school" dryland program that included medicine balls, polymeric boxes, vasa
trainers and many machines that Coach Shoulberg built himself from scratch. He
also outlined his swim program where the main emphasis is the ability to swim
all four strokes very well and very competitively. He trains his younger swimmers
(12 and under) for the 200IM and his older swimmers (13 and up) for the 400IM.
He believes that "you must pay the price of intensive training to be successful
in the IM". His philosophy of training showed in his workouts that he outlined
to the other coaches, as every minute of a workout is accounted for in a three
hour training session, where his swimmers cover about 13,000-15,000 yards a workout.
His swimmers are extremely coachable and self-disciplined. Coach Shoulberg's program
proves that you don't need a ton of materialistic training tools to be successful
- his pool is six lanes, 25 yards, with all his dry land equipment surrounding
the deck, where he has close to 80 swimmers working around the deck at one time.
I think his program represents what we want our swimmers to be in North York-
well conditioned, competitive and passionate about the sport of swimming. (If
anyone wants to see some of the workouts Coach Shoulberg has put together for
his swimmers, come and see me, you will be impressed!)
Andrea:
Did you learn anything new about Open Water Swimming?
John:
The National development group had an excellent experience in Brampton
last June with their first open water competition. In speaking with the coaches
at the conference, my appreciation for the event grew and the resolve to continue
to introduce new experiences to my swimmers was renewed. Open water swimming is
a different and challenging environment for the swimmer, and yet there is a fun
component embedded in the experience. The freedom that each swimmer experiences,
from the lack of lane ropes to the relief from chlorine, proves to be stimulating
and presents another opportunity for our swimmers to define themselves as strong
resilient swimmers. The recurring theme at the conference was to have in place
a variety of competitive experiences for your swimmers to provide ongoing enthusiasm
and challenge. Open water swimming is a winner in that venue.
Andrea:
When thinking of Age Group Swimmers, are there any new training concepts
or trends emerging?
John:
The new emphasis for age group swimmers is in- depth focus on visual
learning, ie the concept that most of us are visual learners and our preferred
mode of learning is visual and to this end, demonstration and reinforcement of
the learning is the accepted route. The accepted and long held belief that practicing
technique on land, then in the water with feedback from the coach, remains intact
with the focus on post race reinforcement for each swimmer. Catch the swimmer
at the prime opportunity for learning right after the race and provide immediate
visual feedback. Michael Phelps, at the conclusion of one of his most competitive
races, scans for his coach in the stands, even while celebrating, demonstrating
that even he understands the need to validate his technique. To take this visual
learning focus to the next level, it has become important to provide swimmers
with a picture of their technique in training and thus the use of video becomes
an important teaching tool. Thus NYAC has purchased video equipment to implement
this strategy. The swimmer now sees what the coach sees and can commence to develop
the skills of analysis and implement the strategies, on a daily basis, to move
toward sound technical skills.
Andrea:
What nation do you think does the best job training Age Group Swimmers?
John:
I would suggest that the United States and Australia perform the best
role in age group swimming. At the conference, I attended a number of sessions
delivered by high school coaches; their enthusiasm and commitment were always
evident along with a consistently well informed knowledge base. They had a resolute
sense that what they were doing was developing future champions. Their programs
were tremendously demanding in terms of mileage swam per week and this highly
developed high school program provided a vehicle that promoted deep commitment
from both swimmers and parents. One can only revere and envy the country whose
culture holds its swimmers in high regard and the advantages that flow from that
support and encouragement. Swimming in Australia is the equivalent of hockey in
Canada and football in the United States and this passion presents so many advantages
to the participants.
Andrea:
Did you attend any session on Sports Psychology? If yes, what new
things did you learn?
John:
There were no specific presentations on Sport Psychology, but the topic
was embedded in many of the sessions I attended. The high school coaches were
consistently concerned with strategies to enhance the competitive performance
of their swimmers and to this end, they were focused on relaxation techniques,
positive self talk, realistic short and long term goal setting, breathing exercises
before races, and effective communication skills. One consistent focus of concern
was the attempt to produce swimmers that had both the technical and personal skills
to sustain a total swimming career and not burn out prematurely. For swimmers
to not understand these challenges that they face and to overemphasize short term
goals is a very real error. Every career has both ups and downs and every swimmer
needs to understand and handle this reality. Resilience and managing your expectations
are the keys. The role of the parents as cheerleaders and nurturers was emphasized
by the vast majority of coaches. Swimmers swim, coaches coach and parents cheer
and support.
Andrea:
Did you attend any sessions led by coaches of famous swimmers? If
so, what caught your interest in the session?
John:
In addition to the ones I mentioned already there were also presentations
given from Gregg Troy (coach of Ryan Lochte and Head Coach at the University of
Florida), Teri McKeever (coach of Nathalie Coughlin and Head Woman's Coach at
the University of California), David Marsh (former Head Coach at Auburn University
and current Head Coach of Mecklenberg Aquatics in Charlotte) and Dick Hannula
(one of the greatest high school coaches in the United States and the author of
a ton of swimming books). I also attended a "turn" clinic for age-groupers,
run by Josh Davis (former US Olympian) with the help of Megan Jendrick and Tara
Kirk, both of whom just returned from Beijing, where they competed for the US
in breaststroke. Let's just say there were a ton of great ideas presented in all
these sessions. The overwhelming themes that start to overlap with all the coaches
at the conference were attention to detail; working harder but also smarter; looking
at the big picture; learning from your mistakes; using communication to grow your
relationships; using long term goals but also taking care of today by using short
term goals and trying to maintain positivity even during difficult times.
Andrea:
Did you take in any sights when you were there?
John:
The conference was located in the middle of the strip in Las Vegas at
The Rivera, which gave us great access each day to all the various spots to see.
I was able to see all the famous hotels that you see on tv and the movies (sorry
I don't get out much-haha) such as the MGM, Cesears Palace, the Luxor and Treasure
Island. I went to see (or so I thought), the feeding of the Lions at the MGM-
unfortunately whenever I arrived they were always sleeping. I took in the Dolphin
habitat at The Mirage, where Sigfried and Roy use to perform (they still do but
the tigers are a bit smaller now after Roy had his little dustup with one of them
a few years back). I also bought some interesting gifts at the M&M store and
almost (not on purpose mind you) took in the nude beach at Mandalay Bay. And Yes!
I did some gambling (not as much as my contemporary, who will remain nameless
and had a bit of trouble removing himself from the blackjack table). The whole
week was great and I had a wonderful experience - and would definitely consider
going again at some point. |
