the wake-up swim / issue #43

issue #43, July 2, 2019
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the wake-up swim

thoughts on swimming, coaching, and more from ryan woodruff

swimmingwizard.com

This is the site of the Ben Hair Open Water Quarry Swim, held this past weekend just outside Blacksburg, Virginia. Nearly 40 swimmers from my team and nearly 100 athletes in total took part in races ranging from 5,000 meters down to 500 meters. The H2Okies hosted the event and raised money for the Benjamin Hair Just Swim For Life Foundation, whose mission is "Waterproofing communities, Saving Lives."

"
You might win some, you might lose some.
But you go in, you challenge yourself,
you become a better man, a better individual,
a better fighter.

"
-Conor McGregor

You might win some, you might lose some. But you go in, you challenge yourself, you become a better man, a better individual, a better fighter.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/challenge"

Open water swimming is a passion of mine. In the late ‘90s my high school coach (Gregg Cross, to whom I dedicated The Quotable Swim Coach), would have a group of us meet at Ft. Myers Beach and drive us down the island in the back of his pickup truck. He would send us on a 3 mile swim in the Gulf of Mexico back to where we started. Though we were mostly in water that was 6 feet deep or less, I was terrified by the fact that I couldn't see my hand at the end of my arm and thus was also not able to see any critters that might be around me. When I finished, I felt a thrill of accomplishment exceeding anything I had experienced before. Overcoming my fears repeatedly through these excursions gave me the confidence to push myself harder and farther in the pool and away from it. Fast forward a few years... I have taken many athletes to Open Water Nationals (where Coach Gregg was sometimes the race director) and have introduced dozens more to the "outside the box" wing of our sport.
Open water swimming is something that I believe every year-round swimmer (of a certain level of competency and only under safe supervision, of course) should try at least once. On our team, it is something that we encourage them to explore because I have witnessed the transformation it can ignite. To do something hard, to face a challenge, to overcome fear and hesitation -- these can be mindset-changing experiences for young swimmers. Changing minds means changing lives.

- RW

loosening up

Though it has spread virally in the swimming twittersphere, it is still worth mentioning in case you haven't seen it: Olympic champion Maya Dirado's twitter thread on how we would benefit from seeing ourselves the way our competition sees us was pure gold. I read it to my team this morning and saw many heads nodding in deep agreement.
Weird, interesting, against the rules, and would probably help you swim faster: You can turn yourself into a full-body tech suit using Aerogel.
Basketball coaching sage George Raveling delivers his 22 Lessons I am Still Learning at 82.
One of my all-time favorite coaches to watch and learn from is basketball coach Billy Donovan. In this video he describes the 3 characteristics of great teams:

The NCAA has approved video review for 15m violations beginning this year, though it left plenty of room for interpretation on when to use it.

favorite stuff from the blog

Our breaststrokers did well but teetered on the edge of failure in The Breaststroke 75s Squeeze Set. I also had a parallel set for our backstrokers.
Mike Kavanaugh shared his Lots o' Fly workout that got some traction with our readers.
Dryland, Fly, and Fast Swimming: 3 of my favorite things.
I do Love Dem Buckets!
Coach Clarke Nyman of Eagle Swim Team had this gem to share: EZ Speed to Dramatic Descend Distance Set for LCM.
Looking for something a little different? Try the Zig-Zag Ironman
Sometimes my creativity fails me: The I.M. Set Without a Name

videos of the week

1. This clip shows a swimmer in a flume swimming freestyle and butterfly. For the most part she uses excellent technique, but you can SEE the drag created when she lifts her head to breathe.

2. This exercise can help build some great core/back strength while giving a chance to reinforce muscle memory of the stroke technique.

coaching inspiration

"If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.”

―Charles Bukowski

Thanks for taking a few minutes to read through issue #43 while eating your cornflakes. This newsletter and the blog is made better by the contributions of many. If you have a workout to share or a recommended article, please send them to swimmingwizard@gmail.com. If you are new to this e-mail, you can always sign up here.

Happy Coaching!

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