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issue #11, november 20, 2018
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the wake-up swim
thoughts on swimming, coaching, and more from ryan woodruff
This incredible picture is shared with us by instagram user @2madeira. I love the wooden beams and ceiling arcing over this pool like a church sanctuary.  This pool on Madeira Island, Portugal and is open to teams coming to train there.  Find out more here.
“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from a successful one is a lot of hard work"
- Stephen King
  Sometimes before I publish a workout (particularly a distance set like today's post), I stop and think, "What will my coaching peers think of this one?" and imagine the USRPT hawks falling out of their chairs with laughter at one of my dinosaur-ish sets. Not every set can be flashy, instagrammable, and re-tweetable.  But I post it anyway.  Why? Because sometimes you just have to DO HARD WORK.  That might be old-fashioned, but I also know that it has laid the foundation for many of my athletes to be successful.  I love short, fast speed work and I love teaching technique, but not every set is going to look pretty in a square frame on social media.
  This may sound antithetical coming from a guy who writes a weekly e-mail and has published over 1,000 workouts through my blog over the last 9 years, but it is critical that you don't try every new gimmick, set, or drill that you see online.  Steal ideas whenever and wherever you can, but make sure that your coaching doesn't just jump from one fresh idea to the next.  Take what you think will help, adapt it to your team's current needs and discard the remainder.   -RW
loosening up
video of the week
check out how tight Joao de Lucca gets on his flip turn (from @goswimtv)
favorite stuff from the blog
Spotlight: Coach Abbie Fish of Ritter Sports Performance
Abbie is the Head Technique Coach for Ritter and swam at the University of Georgia.  I recently had the following email exchange with her about what Ritter offers and how she can help coaches.

RW: I first became familiar with Ritter Sports Performance through the podcast and have listened to many episodes.  Can you recommend a few episodes for my readers?
AF: Here are the "Top 4 podcasts":
RW: I know you all are doing so much more than the podcast — what other things are coaches and  swimmers most enjoying right now?

AF: The great thing about RITTER is we have content that's available through subscription only (like the Technique Toolbox and Coaches Corner memberships), and a lot of FREE content--like the weekly technique blogs, video dryland tutorials, and coaching interviews.
  It is part of our mission to give really GOOD content away, so we do our part in helping the sport continue to progress. From all the products to membership sites to free content--we take pride in knowing that we can help you out with and without your wallet handy.

RW: I have been really interested in the race analyses you have published online. Is this a service that you provide for a fee?

AF: Yes, we offer 4 different types of video analysis packages. Depending on the package you buy, you will get a certain number of swims analyzed, different feedback (either through Skype or email) and a step-by-step outline for you to start working on different race strategies and technique mistakes. Click here to see all the packages we have available.

RW: Based on your broad observation of the sport, what trends do you see? How will the sport be different in 20 years?

AF: With RITTER's background being in Strength and Conditioning, it's been really fun to see how the dryland aspect of the sport has evolved over the past decade and will continue to evolve into the future. We believe the dryland component is in its infancy stage (especially within the club level in US), and as more and more teams adopt and bring-in experts to "train" this part of their team--we will keep seeing faster and faster times.
  Also, with RITTER being an entirely online business--we definitely believe that is where the working world is going to. It's amazing how many coaches are now coaching online, and standardized jobs are giving employees more "time away" from the office. We were actually one of the first online dryland training businesses out there, so our plan is to continue to stay in front of the curve. There's not one day that something hasn't changed in the digital world--so staying on our toes is what we naturally and always do.

To learn more about Abbie, check out her bio or visit any of the links above for RITTER.
It's still November so it's not too late to get the BOGO 30% off deal using the code SMARTCYBER2 at SwimSmart.
this week's bit of coaching inspiration
"It is so easy to see what a player can't do. Unfortunately, the more you see it, the more the player feels it.  It is amazing what can happen if they feel you seeing what they CAN do"
- Tom Crean (@tomcrean)
That's all for issue #11 - I hope you found it useful and interesting.  My humble request is a simple forward to anyone in the coaching community who might like it. If you  want to subscribe, click here.  Please send any comments and suggestions to thewakeupswim@gmail.com. 
 
Thanks for reading,

Countdown to Tokyo: 612 days
Links listed in this e-mail may be affiliate links meaning that I earn a small commission if you make a purchase from those links.  This won't add any extra cost for you, and I appreciate your support of
the wake-up swim and The Swimming Wizard blog.
Copyright © 2018 Ryan Woodruff, All rights reserved.


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Ryan Woodruff · 801 Wyndhurst Drive · Lynchburg, VA 24502 · USA

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