A championship season for swimming
is a way for all the student-athletes to see whether or not all of
their hard work has paid off throughout the year. Well, this
year was like any other year and was successful because of the work
ethic of all involved. As the team got closer to the
tournament season, many of the swimmers used devices to bring their
speed up including the Long
Belt Slider. This device enables the coach to have the
swimmer swim against it from the block end to work on keeping the
stroke long and powerful. Once they reach the other end, they
switch the belt to the front of the body and they are assisted by
the tension of the cord to the block end. This device enables
to "feel" what it feels like to swim fast! This type of
training gives the swimmer confidence going in to the last part of
the season. They are able to feel the speed and given
confidence to keep up the speed. All swimming strokes may be
used with this device as long as the coach follows general
guidelines. As a coach for the Cuyahoga Falls High School, we
used this for many of our student-athletes to promote what they are
able to do and make them realize how strong they are. When I
coach the CFYN-USA team members, we still use this device but
sometimes in different strengths to match the needs of the swimmer
to the piece of equipment.
Another product that we used quite a bit were the StretchCordz with Handles. This
product was used as part of our dryland program to reinforce proper
mechanics and technique out of the water. One use that we always
try to reinforce is to complete the routine with speed. The swimmer
needs to remember to
not slow down when they are out of
water. They were asked to complete a set of either 30 seconds or
complete a set of how many strokes that you take in the 50 or 100
according the stroke that you are swimming. This exercise gives
confidence to the swimmer in preparation for the championship
season.
As a coaching staff, we had great performances at all levels of
competition including but not limited to at Sectionals, Districts,
State, Leagues, Zones, USA Silver and Gold, and Y Nationals.
I believe part of our success was hinged on the products that we
use from NZ Manufacturing on a weekly basis.
Whether the products give our swimmers aid in performance, speed,
strength, or endurance it is clear that the use of products aided
their performance at the end of the year. Many of the
athletes competed as well as they did because of the assistance of
these products and the knowledge they obtained from using
them. As a coach, I was pleased with the results this year
and am already looking forward to what we are able to do next
year!