Coaching Tips

BILL SWEETENHAM

Australian Bill Sweetenham joined British Swimming as the sport's National Performance Director in 2000.

Bill's previous coaching roles include becoming Australia's first State Director of Coaching, Head Swimming Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, Head Swimming Coach at the Hong Kong Sports Institute and more recently, Australian National Youth Coach.

SOME OF BILL'S TOP COACHING TIPS:

• When timing training repeats call last 50m time (or last half repeat), leaving athletes to sometimes get their own overall time and to always get their front end speed.
  
  
• Ask athletes to call skill to be worked on in each repeat – change after each repeat and the coach to evaluate the skill being nominated before each repeat by the swimmer.
  
  
• If recording heart rate/lactates always ask the swimmer to nominate their perceived value before offering the accurate and measured reading and data.
  
  
• Turn off or disengage pace clock to have athletes self evaluate speeds swum without the use of a clock.
  
  
• Have the athlete complete timed Short Course 50m butterfly and backstroke whilst ensuring that a 15m streamline is executed from each end both push start and turn.
  
  
• The inclusion of backstroke aerobic sets, monitoring the percentage of backstroke done during the total weekly volume.
  
  
• Slow motion swim with perfect skill, explosive turn.  (i.e.)  Back and F/s last hand enter to feet on wall in under 1 sec.  The slower the swim the greater the skill demand the faster the actual turn.
  
  
• Do some sets where: - 
  
  Stroke counts and record time and distance covered.  (i.e.) 10 times by 12 strokes measure time and distance.
  
  Timed swims as against distance repeats. (i.e.) 10 times 20secs repeat measure distance and stroke rate and stroke length.
  
  If the athletes best time 100m time for best stroke is 60secs then have the athlete go 24 repeats going max effort and max speed on kick, swim and resistance pull repeats.  (i.e.) 12x 60secs repeats and compare distance.  Then measure how far they can go on each repeat and how many kicks strokes and breaths they take over this period.
  
  
• Monitor the total volume of Breaststroke pull performed during the week.
  
  
• Kick in training to be timed and recorded.  With special attention placed on the percentage of Butterfly kick (the 5^th stroke) done during the total weekly volume, and whether done underwater and time.  Ensure that kick during swim downs is controlled.  
  
  
• Finish with kick challenge and then hop out, i.e.:
  10 x 100m on 1.30s hold 1.25s
  15 x 100m on 1.45s hold 1.35s
  20 x 100m on 2.00s hold 1.45s