Online July Swimming World Magazine

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IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: BARCELONA 2013 J U LY

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photo by carlos serrao for speedo usa

>jones FROM FEAR TO TRIUMPH:

cullen

MAKING A BIGGER SPLASH: BRINGING WATER SAFETY TO “THE BIG APPLE” THE PROS AND CONS OF

HYPOXIC TRAINING

MAKING A DIFFERENCE:

>WHY GEORGE

BOVELL PUT HIS TRAINING FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ON HOLD

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J U LY

2013

FEATURES 010 A Five-year Lifesaving Mission

by Shoshanna Rutemiller USA Swimming Foundation’s 5th annual Make a Splash tour recently made its way to New York City for three days of media frenzy to garner nationwide attention for its message of water safety.

015 The Show Must Go On

by Shoshanna Rutemiller Olympian Lia Neal, filling in for Make a Splash ambassador Cullen Jones when he fell ill, spoke to crowds of swimmers and parents about water safety during USA Swimming Foundation’s recent New York tour.

016 Focused on the Bigger Picture

by Shoshanna Rutemiller Cullen Jones, two-time Olympian and world record holder, extends his passion for the sport of swimming to combating the staggering drowning rates through USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash campaign.

019 Making a Difference

by George Bovell Swimmers George Bovell, Max Kanyarezi and Duje Draganja are using their talents and skills in swimming to help with the Swim Against Malaria in Uganda.

022 Barcelona 2013: What to Expect

by Jeff Commings The 15th FINA World Championships will begin July 19 in Barcelona, Spain, with the swimming competition to take place the final eight days of the meet, July 28-Aug. 4.

026 Lessons with the Legends: Mark Schubert

by Michael J. Stott 6

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010 028 Athletic Foodie/Let’s Live a Healthier Life: Eating Well on the Road

by Garrett Weber-Gale The peak of the summer racing season is upon us, and that often means traveling long distances to compete.

Whether you’re going two hours in the car, five hours by train or 24 hours on a plane, there are some simple ideas to consider when preparing for the journey.

030 Dryside Training: Dryland Exercises for the Beginner

by J.R. Rosania

032 Ask Dr. Shannon: Shoulder Stretches

022 DEPARTMENTS 009 Twitter Talk 042 Up & Comers 043 Gutter Talk 048 Parting Shot

ON THE COVER

by Shannon McBride

034 The Pros and Cons of Hypoxic Training (Part I)

by Michael J. Stott

037 Q&A with Coach Brian Barnes

by Michael J. Stott

039 How They Train Emma Reaney

by Michael J. Stott

040 USSSA: Opening the Door to Swimming

by Robert Strauss Here are eight keys for learn-to-swim instructors to help open the door for beginning swimmers to the wonderful world of aquatics.

SWIMMING WORLD MAGAZINE (ISSN 0039-7431). Note: permission to reprint articles or excerpts from contents is prohibited without permission from the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for errors in advertisements. Microfilm copies: available from University Microfilms, 313 N. First St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Swimming World Magazine is listed in the Physical Education Index. Printed in the U.S.A. © Sports Publications International, July 2013.

Cullen Jones—one of the fastest men in the world in water—nearly had his life taken from him when he was 5 years old by that very same element. Today, the two-time Olympian and world record holder is an ambassador for the Make A Splash campaign, a child-focused water safety initiative created by the USA Swimming Foundation. (See stories, pages 10, 16 and 43.) [ photo by carlos serrao for speedo usa ]

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P U B L I S H I N G, C I RC U LAT I O N A N D ACCO U N T I N G O F F I C E P.O. Box 20337, Sedona, AZ 86341 Toll Free in USA & Canada: 800-511-3029 Phone: 928-284-4005 • Fax: 928-284-2477 www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Chairman of the Board, President — Richard Deal e-mail: DickD@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Publisher, CEO — Brent T. Rutemiller e-mail: BrentR@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Circulation/Art Director — Karen Deal e-mail: KarenD@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Circulation Assistant — Judy Jacob e-mail: Subscriptions@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Advertising Production Coordinator — Betsy Houlihan e-mail: BetsyH@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com

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I N T E R N AT I O N A L CO R R E S PO N D E N T S Africa: Chaker Belhadj (TUN); Australia: Wayne Goldsmith, Ian Hanson; Europe: Norbert Agh (HUN), Camilo Cametti (ITA), Federico Ferraro (ITA), Oene Rusticus (NED), Steven Selthoffer (GER), Rokur Jakupsstovu (FAR), Tom Willdridge (GBR); Japan: Hideki Mochizuki; Middle East: Baruch “Buky” Chass, Ph.D. (ISR); South Africa: Neville Smith (RSA); South America: Jorge Aguado (ARG), Alex Pussieldi (BRA)

P H OTO G RA P H E R S/S WTV Peter H. Bick, USA Today Sports Images, Reuters, Getty Images official magazine of:

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@SW IMMINGWORLD

>

Amanda Hardy

@ama nd a niicole

(Last month’s cover was) like the Vogue issue of Swimming World Magazine. @SwimmingWorld @swimhardy

>

Julia WilkinsonMinks

twitter

talk

@julia h20

Love watching a good 400 IM battle. Hated being in one.

Probably why I couldn’t hack it after high school. #SantaClaraGP @SwimmingWorld

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Michael Phelps @M icha e lPhe lps

Why do I keep getting texts about coming back? Do ppl really believe everything they hear or read? There are too many ppl in the world that think they have a “story” ...

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Charmagne

@h k m_hor ns

Thanks @USA_Swimming for streaming #SantaClaraGP and @SwimmingWorld for tweet updates #goodjob

>

Swimming World @Sw imming Wor ld

Horse owned by @MichaelPhelps and @coachbowman won Canonero II Stakes horse race on Saturday.

> Sara Sharp @Sha r poni

@SwimmingWorld You know you’re swimming royalty when Swimming World is reporting news about your HORSE. #NotEvenASeahorse July 2013

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n o i s s i m g n i v a s e A Five-year lif ll er ha nn a ru te mi ot os by sh os st or y an d ph

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USA Swimming Foundation’s 5th annual Make a Splash tour recently made its way to New York City for three days of media frenzy to garner nationwide attention for its message of water safety.

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early a dozen people sit around a glass-topped table, drinking bottled water and Diet Coke, their eyes focused on a mounted television screen. Two familiar faces are talking animatedly on the screen: Olympians Cullen Jones and Rowdy Gaines.

The gathered group is an eclectic mix of PR representatives, agents, sponsors, reporters and organizers. All have one thing in common: they are there to support Jones and Gaines, the primary spokespersons for USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash campaign.

For the first time, the message of the water safety initiative is getting nationwide attention. Rather than hosting a series of one-day clinics in cities around the country, the 2013 Make a Splash tour scheduled three days of media frenzy, May 16-18, in New York City.

Over the course of the weekend, U.S. Olympians and national team members participated in dozens of interviews at television and radio networks. They made special guest appearances at local pools throughout the city, and talked to children and parents about the importance of water safety.

“We decided to make a bigger splash this year by bringing the tour to New York City,” said Debbie Hesse, executive director of the USA Swimming Foundation.

TEACHING KIDS TO BE LIFE - SAFE Nearly two months of intensive work went into creating and scheduling the three-day media tour. But the real groundwork for the weekend dates back to the creation of the USA Swimming Foundation in 2003.

“At the Foundation’s beginning, we asked ourselves, ‘What is the bigger purpose behind our sport, besides producing Olympic gold medalists?’ ” said Gaines, one of the minds behind the Foundation’s creation. “We obviously want to get more people involved in swimming so we can have —continued on 12 July 2013

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A LIFESAVING MISSION—continued from 11

more Olympic gold medalists, but the real purpose (of the Foundation) is to teach kids to be life-safe. Hearing stories about drowning incidents was driving us all crazy. We felt that as an organization, we had a responsibility to teach about water safety.”

Nearly 70 percent of African American, 60 percent of Latino and 40 percent of Caucasian children do not know how to swim. If parents don’t know how to swim, there is only a 13 percent chance that their children will have formal swim lessons. And the drowning statistics are even more startling: every day, 10 people drown in the United States, making it the nation’s second leading cause of accidental death.

The Foundation created Make a Splash in 2007, and it launched the campaign’s annual city tour in 2009. Since then, nearly two million children have been impacted by the initiative through localized partner programs offering free and reduced swim lessons to their local communities.

“It’s interesting to see the different things people do with their programs and how they reach out to their local communities,” said Tina Dessart, who organized a Make a Splash program in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has since been involved in organizational aspects of Make a Splash for the Foundation. “There are all these different ways that people are reaching out that nobody knows about.”

INVOLVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY The Make a Splash group visited Harlem-based Ralph Bunche Swim School on the second morning of the three-day New York City tour. The swim school, headed by Agnes Davis, a vivacious swim instructor with a big smile and an even bigger personality, works closely with a local elementary school to handpick students for her free water safety lessons. Students submit essays to their teachers explaining their fears around water. Davis uses these essays to narrow down candidates based on available resources.

Davis’ approach is just one example of how swim instructors involve their local community in the Make A Splash program.

Dessart talks about another program that works in conjunction with apartment complexes to bring on-site swim lessons to the local community. Volunteers spend their summers driving a Toyota-sponsored Make a Splash van around their community, visiting a series of apartment complexes where they offer free swim lessons to children in the complex’s pool. These types of partner programs are found at every level of the sport—as USA Swimming club feeder programs, through YMCAs, the Red Cross and Boys & Girls clubs.

“The more people (there are) who know what they can do, the greater the reach will be,” said Dessart.

Right now, Make a Splash is represented in all 50 U.S. states through 600 partner programs. By the end of the summer of 2013, more than half a million additional children will have gone through these programs.

“When we first started (Make a Splash), it was an educational platform,” said Gaines. “Slowly, things and ideas started trickling in. Instead of just talking about water safety, we decided to teach it and create partner programs to teach local kids how to swim. Slowly but surely, things started taking off.”

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FACE -TO - FACE WITH CULLEN JONES At the Ralph Bunche Swim School, a crowd of kindergarten and first-grade students fidgets on the tile seating overlooking a four-lane, 25-yard pool. The facility, formerly one of New York City’s original bathhouses, is muggy and smells strongly of pool chemicals. But the students in the stands don’t seem to notice.

Instead, their dark eyes are focused intently on the towering athlete standing an arm’s length in front of them. Jones, with his Olympic gold medal draped proudly around his neck, is on deck talking to these children about water safety.

Jones has been the face of Make a Splash since its first tour in 2009. He was drawn to the program because of his own near-drowning experience at age 5. Jones, despite being under full adult supervision, flipped upside down coming off a slide at a water park. Although Jones claims that it takes only 20 seconds to drown, he was submerged for a full 30 seconds and needed to be resuscitated by emergency crews. His parents enrolled him in swim lessons following the incident, not knowing that he would eventually go on to win gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

The Bronx native uses his story as an example of turning a near-tragedy into a success story. Unfortunately, there are numerous other examples of children who didn’t have the chance Jones had.

“We were visiting (Shreveport, La.), and were told of a family of six people that had drowned, one after another,” Gaines said.

“One child was drowning, another went in to try and save him and she drowned, and then one after another, they all drowned.

It was very tragic, but out of that came a Make a Splash initiative in their community.”

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS Phillips 66 is the title sponsor of the Make a Splash campaign. This year, the company celebrates 40 years sponsoring USA Swimming. Phillips 66 recently adopted a hands-on approach with the Make a Splash campaign, which includes sending two representatives, Kristi DesJarlais and Ric Sweeney, to attend every event over the course of the three-day New York tour. Both have attended tour stops in previous years.

“We want to stay really personally involved. We don’t want to hand over a check and walk away. For us, this is about building a relationship with USA Swimming,” said DesJarlais. “It’s meaningful to watch a kid get in the pool with Jones, see their time in the water from beginning to end, and see their comfort level rising. That right there is really powerful. It allows us to say that what we’re doing is working.”

“I got involved with (Make a Splash) two years ago,” said Sweeney. “At the time, I had a 6-month-old son. As soon as I learned about the program and the numbers and what an epidemic drowning is, he was in swim lessons within two weeks.”

Unfortunately, not every parent has the financial resources or sufficient information to enroll their children in formal swim lessons. That is where Make a Splash steps in to educate communities throughout the United States on ways they can offer free and reduced early childhood water safety classes.

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“I hear so much from parents that they ‘Just didn’t know,’ ” said Hesse. “We’re trying to change that message by giving local communities the information and the tools they need.

That way, the statement of ‘I just didn’t know’ isn’t ever going to happen or ever be said again.”

Once a Make a Splash partner program is created, it is required to report its numbers and diversity to the USA Swimming Foundation. It is also required to offer free or reduced lessons and actively recruit the local community into the program.

“Before we travel to a city (on the tour), we discuss with the local community the ways to get more kids into learn-to-swim (programs),” said Hesse. “It’s really important for us to have a conversation to figure out how the program is going to work within that particular community.”

For Dessart, that meant finding a sustainable way to offer free and reduced swim lessons at her school in Colorado Springs.

“We applied through the (USA Swimming Foundation) grant program just like everybody else,” she explained. “We received some grant funding to offset scholarship costs, then used the local schools’ free and reduced lunch programs as the basis for deciding whether or not we could accept somebody into the scholarship piece. That was a sustainable piece for us.”

AFFECTING THOUSANDS OF MILLIONS Back in the New York City conference room, the half-dozen people who are gathered around the glass-top table look up suddenly. Jones and Gaines have just entered the room to rest for several minutes between interviews.

“I think I’m getting slap-happy,” said Gaines to the group.

Gaines and Jones have just spent the morning calling nearly 20 media outlets across the country and answering questions about Make a Splash. They are expected at the top of the Empire State Building in 15 minutes.

The group heads down 13 floors and files into a row of cabs waiting on the street. After 10 minutes battling one-way streets and city traffic, they finally reach the Empire State Building, where a group of paparazzi awaits Jones’ arrival.

Jones, again with his Olympic gold medal around his neck, poses for pictures, then takes three elevators to get to the top of the building. With a 360-degree view of New York City in the background, he is presented a plaque proclaiming May 18 New York City’s official Make a Splash day. Jones only allows a few photos to be taken of him by himself before gathering the whole group for pictures.

“The Make a Splash initiative is much bigger than just one or two people,” said Gaines. “We want to affect thousands of millions.”

“We’re hopefully touching the lives of people and spreading the message of why it is important to learn how to swim.

Swimming is the only sport that can save your life if you learn how to do it,” said Hesse. “No kid should ever have to be around water and know that if they fall in, they could potentially lose their life. That’s the compelling reason why I think we’re all here.” v

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The show must go on

stor y and phot os by shos hann a rute mill er

Olympian Lia Neal, filling in for Make a Splash ambassador Cullen Jones when he fell ill, spoke to crowds of swimmers and parents about water safety during USA Swimming Foundation’s

T

recent New York tour.

he Make a Splash team had to think quickly when Cullen Jones fell ill and was hospitalized the night before he was to speak about water safety at several pools around New York City. The USA Swimming Foundation had four current national team members, including Jones, scheduled to make guest appearances at the Saturday event. Dozens of swimmers and parents were expecting to meet an Olympian; they couldn’t leave disappointed.

Step up Lia Neal, a Brooklyn-based New York native and Olympic bronze medalist.

Although she’s only 18 years old and a relatively new addition to the USA national team (the London Olympics was the first time she traveled internationally with the squad), she graciously accepted the challenge of speaking before crowds of swimmers and parents in place of Jones.

“It wasn’t as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be,” said Neal. “It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere because you get to talk to little kids, and the little kids are just excited to be there.”

The last pool Neal visited was her club team AGUA’s home pool, Asphalt Green. Neal, who committed to swim for Stanford in the fall, has been swimming for AGUA for more than 10 years now, currently training under Rachel Stratton-Mills.

Neal spoke to parents and swimmers about her own swimming roots before fielding questions on everything from the food in the Olympic Village to her favorite color. v July 2013

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record holder, extends his passion for the sport of swimming to combating the staggering drowning rates through the USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash campaign.

Cullen Jones—one of the fastest men in the world in water—nearly had his life taken from him by that very same element. At 5 years old, Jones begged his parents to take him to a water park. Tagging along with his father, he climbed the stairs to the top of the biggest water slide and clambered into an inner tube. At the bottom of the ride near the exit chute, Jones flipped upside down, trapped beneath the inner tube.

“My parents were there, the lifeguards were there, but because I hadn’t had swim lessons, I didn’t know how to react when I went under,” said Jones. “I had no idea what to do when I was underwater. I kept pulling on the inner tube, but that didn’t work.”

Children can drown in a very short period of time, sometimes less than a minute. Jones was underwater for a full half-minute. Emergency crews needed to resuscitate him. Even though the experience happened nearly 25 16

by carlos serrao for speedo usa ]

Cullen Jones, two-time Olympian and world

[ photo

by shoshanna rutemiller

pictured > cullen jones with fellow speedo athlete tyler clary

years ago, Jones remembers certain moments of the experience vividly.

“I remember going down the ride, I remember my parents freaking out, and I remember being underwater. I remember knowing what it felt like being underwater and that feeling of helplessness. I really didn’t know what to do to help myself in that situation.”

SPREADING THE MESSAGE OF WATER SAFETY Fast-forward to the present day, and you’ll find Jones touring throughout the United States, spreading the message of water safety through USA Swimming Foundation’s Make a Splash campaign. He always makes sure to bring along one of his Olympic medals.

“Do you want to touch an Olympic medal?” Jones asks a group of children gathered to hear him talk about water safety.

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“I remember knowing what it felt like being underwater and that feeling of helplessness. I really didn’t know what to do to help myself in that situation.”

They are at a small pool in Harlem, not far from Jones’ own birthplace in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Dozens of eyes light up, and the children reach out their little hands. Although Jones’ gold medal is the ultimate symbol of having conquered his fears, he hopes that children won’t need to have near-death experiences to reinforce the importance of swim lessons.

“I really want to get as many kids in the water as

possible,” he said. “When I got back into the water at 5 (years of age), it took quite a bit of coaxing from my parents. I went through three teachers until I felt comfortable.

“Getting the kids to feel comfortable with you is the biggest challenge for most teachers. If I have them in the water for 30 minutes or an hour, and they have a positive experience—whether it is just blowing bubbles to getting their ears or hair wet—getting them to take that first step is very rewarding.”

After talking to the children, Jones heads into the locker room to change into his swimsuit. Swim instructors guide nine pre-selected children to the edge of the pool. The shallow end is outfitted with platforms for the 5- and 6-year-olds to stand on with their heads above water. The swim instructors ease the children into the water and —continued on 18 July 2013

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BIGGER PICTURE—continued from 17

place them on the platforms.

Across the pool, Jones dives into the water, paddling to the area where the children are patiently waiting. He takes one young girl by her arms and demonstrates the correct way to blow bubbles. Jones instructs her to put her face in the water and try it herself. She shakes her head, “No.” He urges her to try again. She refuses. Jones reassures her that she is safe with him, and the little girl briefly dips her mouth in the water. She quickly pulls her head up and shakes the water from her chin. Jones smiles and places her back on the platform.

“I love working with kids who are absolutely terrified because I see a lot of myself in them,” said Jones. “When I talk to the kids—although they all come from different backgrounds—I’ll still hear stories that are kind of similar.

Some had a crazy uncle who threw them in the water, or they slipped and fell in a pool by accident. There are so many kids who have felt helpless in the water.”

PASSIONATE ABOUT SWIMMING After overcoming his fear of the water caused by his near-death incident at the water park, Jones continued with swim lessons, eventually realizing his natural talent in swimming. Before his teen years, Jones split his extracurricular time between the basketball court and pictured > cullen jones , standing on the observation deck atop the empire state building , was presented a plaque proclaiming may

18 new york city ’ s official make a

[ photo

by shoshanna rutemiller ]

splash day .

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pool until his competitive instincts drove him to commit solely to swimming.

“I was about 13 or 14 when I stopped basketball and made the decision that swimming was going to be my sport,” he said. “There was this swimmer who kept beating me. I got frustrated and asked my mom: ‘How do I do it, how do I beat him?’ She said, ‘You’re going to have to do this the right way. You’ll have to go to practice and focus in practice.’ That was a change because I was always the one making jokes during practice. But I decided that this is it.

Swimming is my passion—it’s what I love.”

That passion and competitive drive paid off in a big way.

Jones has since qualified to represent the United States in two Olympic Games, and helped set a world record in the men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay at the Beijing Olympics, making him only the second African American to hold or share a world record in swimming. But though his list of accomplishments is long, Jones, at heart, is still an innercity kid—one of the compelling reasons he signed on with Make a Splash.

GIVING BACK TO THE SPORT “A friend of mine approached me (about Make a Splash) and showed me the drowning rates,” Jones said. “He asked if I knew what I could do for the sport of swimming.

It became very clear at that point, growing up in the inner city with most of my friends being Latino or black, that—wow—this is my way of giving back. So I signed on immediately.”

But becoming the face of Make a Splash took some getting used to.

“I was terrified,” Jones said about speaking at his first Make a Splash tour stop in Houston in 2009. “The first day they had the mayor, local officials, first responders. I was a little nervous about public speaking at that time. It seemed like a daunting task for me to try and move and stir people, but I knew that the message was going to resonate with a lot of people.”

In an effort to spread the word about Make a Splash, Jones appeared on a segment prior to the London Games with MSNBC correspondent Tamron Hall. The 42-year-old African-American news reporter confessed that she didn’t know how to swim because of her fear of the water. As part of the segment, Hall donned a swimsuit and cap and got in the water with Jones.

“Tamron Hall learning to swim resonated with a lot of people,” Jones said. “Whether it was embarrassing (for her) or not, people were impacted seeing her have trouble going underwater. There are so many people, especially in the African-American community, who have that same fear.”

Whether Jones spreads the message of water safety through television appearances or being physically present in the water with young children, the Make a Splash message—at its core—is simple: “Through and through,” says Jones, “the thought process has always been about saving lives.” v

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Swimmers George Bovell, Max Kanyarezi and Duje Draganja are using their talents and skills in swimming to help with the Swim Against Malaria in Uganda. pictured > george bovell

stands at the equator in uganda , where he helped with the swim

against malaria event .

B

eing the best in anything is selfish. Competing at the highest level of sport is a selfish endeavor. It’s all about self-improvement: • What can I do to get better?

• What mistakes can I fix?

• How can I get stronger, faster?

• How can I become the best?

If you aren’t constantly asking these questions and thinking about yourself and about what is in your own best interests, you won’t make it to the top, and you’ll inevitably be forced to settle for mediocrity.

Yes, after a certain point, we may do it for our countries, our clubs, our families, our friends—but, ultimately,

by george bovell

MAKING A

DIFFERENCE photos provided by george bovell

we do it for ourselves. We do it because we can and for our own personal gain.

Egotistical people who strive to be the best, the best ever, the best in the world should naturally be more keenly aware of where they fit into the world. They may see themselves as one person...from one place... against everyone else—but where do they really fit in? What difference does all this selfishness really make in the broader context of life outside of sport? *** I met Max Kanyarezi back in 2010 at the World Championships in Dubai.

Max was representing Uganda as its lone swimmer.

Coming from a small island that is not a traditional swimming powerhouse from the developed world, I was keenly aware of how circumstantial success was in the sport. It depended on young athletes having good health, caring families with disposable income and access to great coaches and adequate facilities.

This is evident by the simple fact that the top swimmers usually come from the developed countries that pump money into the sport.

That’s why I respected Max as an athlete—as he no doubt had to overcome severe challenges to be able to represent Uganda at the elite level.

We quickly became friends. One of the beautiful things about sport is that it brings people together. The mutual respect between competitors, the shared lifestyle of hard work, dedication and sacrifice often forms

the solid foundation of lasting friendships despite differences of citizenship, race, religion or social class.

With the advent of social media and e-mail, it has never been easier to maintain friendships, and many of us may now find that we have a global network of friends. It was through these means that Max reached out to me and offered me an opportunity to use all that past selfishness to start and make a difference in the world.

Something inside me was stirred, and on a whim, I decided to put my training for the upcoming World Champs on hold and join him.

SWIM AGAINST MALARIA Max invited me to Uganda to help with the Swim Against Malaria event that was sponsored by the Midland Group of Companies. It was evident that there was a need for an initiative such as his, and its purpose was twofold: • First, it would raise money that would circumvent corruption and be given straight to the Malaria Consortium Uganda to be used to fight the disease. Malaria killed an estimated 1.2 million people worldwide in 2010. According to a recent report from the World Health Organization, Uganda has the world’s highest malaria incidence, with a rate of 478 cases per 1,000 persons per year.

• The second and less evident goal of the Swim Against Malaria event was to raise interest in swimming, with the aim at saving lives by encouraging —continued on 20 July 2013

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making a difference—continued from 19

people to learn to swim.

Uganda is a country with many large lakes that has tragically high rates of drowning. Cases of overcrowded ferries sinking near shore in Lake Victoria with all of the passengers aboard drowning are commonplace. Drowning is considered an occupational hazard for many who seek out a livelihood from the lakes in areas such as fishing and transport.

The swim itself involved more than 500 people completing a sponsored swim—similar to a traditional “swimathon”—to raise money for malaria aid.

Part of my role in the Swim Against Malaria event was to use my past swimming success and my status as a celebrity to raise the profile of the initiative in order to attract corporate sponsorship and media attention.

Most Ugandans are afraid of water, so the first step in encouraging Ugandans to learn to swim was to use the media attention to show swimming as a fun and healthy activity.

My other role was to inspire children at schools and to encourage the current young swimmers in Uganda by conducting free swim clinics. In the past, I have conducted free swim clinics in my homeland of Trinidad and Tobago to give our young swimmers exposure to world-class techniques and training methods.

Duje Draganja—my former training partner and friendly rival from Croatia who won the silver medal in the 50 free at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, pictured > george bovell

( left )

and duje draganja prepare for a swim clinic in uganda .

20

Greece—had been a huge asset in my free swim clinics. He is an incredibly humble individual, a natural teacher and great role model.

For these reasons and also because of his swimming fame, I suggested to Max that we include him in our efforts to increase the profile of the Swim Against Malaria event. Max agreed, and Duje was thrilled to be involved.

A SOBERING DOSE OF REALITY Our time in Uganda flew by. We were fortunate to travel the country extensively, allowing us to see varied landscape and to interact with the different indigenous tribes.

I had been to Africa before for a swimming competition in South Africa, but this visit was different. Uganda to me was so raw, real and teeming with people struggling to scrape a living out of every square foot of its fertile, dark, African soil.

I decided on one of our 10-hour cross country drives that when raising my own children, I would bring them on a similar journey to expose them to reality instead of going to the popular vacation destination of Disney World.

In the West, many people are consumed by the luxury problems of consumerism. Exposing Western children to the developing world of the African countryside would surely provide a sobering dose of reality to cure the sense of entitlement that is all too common these days.

Although the prospect of contracting malaria was terrifying to me, I must admit that I didn’t take any anti-malarial drugs because of their strong side effects. Duje and I opted instead to wear long pants and sleeves, utilizing insect repellant daily.

We also slept under mosquito nets each night.

I was aware that one bite from a mosquito infected with the malaria parasite would not only put a premature end to my upcoming swimming season, but it could also mean death if it went cerebral.

Facing the constant and omnipresent threat of malaria gave me a special understanding of what the Swim Against Malaria event was really about—the profound simplicity of

pictured > george bovell

( left )

and duje draganja speak to ugandan children at the swim clinic

saving lives.

The Malaria Consortium Uganda promised us that the funds raised by the swim would go toward purchasing and distributing more than 17,400 rapid diagnostic tests for malaria and for medicine to village health teams for diagnosis and treatment of malaria in their communities.

A BRIGHTER FUTURE Max, Duje and I may not have changed the world overnight, but I believe we have found one way of using our talents and skills in swimming to make a difference in the greater context of life outside of our sport.

The Midland Group has pledged their continued support for this initiative. I hope that what we started this year will receive the necessary publicity to increase the size of the event next year, attracting more worldclass athletes to help the cause and, perhaps, even raise money for malarial aid through Swims Against Malaria all over the world.

It makes me smile just to think that if we even helped save just one person’s life from malaria or drowning, then we have made a difference. v George Bovell, former world record holder in the men’s short course 200 IM (2004-05), is a four-time Olympian (2000-04-08-12) from Trinidad and Tobago. In 2004 at Athens, he won an Olympic bronze medal in the men’s 200 meter IM. Just last year, he captured bronze in the 100 IM at the World Short Course Championships in Istanbul.

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BARCELONA 2013: WHAT TO EXPECT by jeff commings

The 15th FINA World Championships will begin July 19 in Barcelona, Spain, with the swimming competition to take place the final eight days of the meet, July 28-Aug. 4.

T

he previous edition of the FINA World Championships, held in 2011 in Shanghai, produced a shocking world record in the men’s 1500 meter freestyle and officially marked Sun Yang as the new legend in distance swimming.

We also saw the official world debuts of Missy Franklin and James Magnussen, as well as the return of Dana Vollmer to the top of the podium.

What storylines will shake out over eight days in the pool at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona later this month?

Before we dive into this World Championships preview, it should be noted that Great Britain and the United States had not yet held their selection meets when this issue went to press. The British and American names mentioned in the following pages represent only our speculations regarding which individuals will make the U.S. and U.K. teams.

WOMEN’S EVENTS Several Olympic champions are set to continue to ride their waves of momentum into the World Championships.

In the 50 freestyle, Holland’s Ranomi Kromowidjojo is the clear favorite, not just because she is the reigning Olympic champion, but because she has been on a career upswing since placing second to Therese Alshammar in the event in 2011. Kromowidjojo is 22

the pick to win the 100 free as well, though reigning co-champions Jeanette Ottesen and Aleksandria Herasimenia will provide stiff competition.

Rebecca Adlington’s retirement—and Federica Pellegrini’s shifting focus to the backstrokes in 2013—leaves the door open for an American world champion in the 400 free for the first time since Janet Evans in 1991. It is fitting that that person could be Katie Ledecky, who was crowned as Evans’ successor when she took Olympic gold last year in the 800. With qualification to the world team not likely to be an issue, Ledecky is expected to build on her success from London with a sweep of all three distance freestyle events. Look for Lotte Friis of Denmark to present a challenge in the 1500.

With Rebecca Soni out of the picture this year, the breaststroke events are wide open. In the 100, reigning Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania is favored to take the world title and could push for a sub-1:05 swim that would put her in rare company: only Soni and Jessica Hardy have broken the elusive barrier. As for the 200, Denmark’s Rikke Pedersen will be looking to break 2:20—a time deemed untouchable until Soni did it twice last year. Pedersen posted a 2:20.53 in March, and if she can match or better that time, it could be a great moment for the Danes.

As for the butterfly events, the reigning champions

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by peter h . bick ]

pictured > ranomi kromowidjojo , holland

[ photo by peter h . bick ]

[ photo

[ photo

by rob schumacher - usa today sports ]

pictured > katie ledecky , usa

should defend their titles successfully. Will we see another sub-56 100 fly from Dana Vollmer on her way to another big win, or will she do just enough to secure the gold medal? Vollmer’s strongest challengers—Aussie Alicia Coutts and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom—are almost a full second behind the American.

Jiao Liuyang backed up her 2011 world title in the 200 fly with an Olympic gold medal last year, and the Chinese star is on pace to repeat. Spain’s own Mireia Belmonte Garcia looked to have the gold medal in hand through the 175-meter mark in London, but was defeated by Jiao’s blistering final 25. The home crowd could propel Belmonte to her first long course world title.

But will Belmonte’s monster schedule get the better of her? She’s set to race in five individual events, all of which are 200 meters or longer. Belmonte swam that many races in London and left with two silver medals, so it’s likely she will be able to manage her racing through eight days in Barcelona.

Missy Franklin is also primed for another heavy workload. In 2011, she only swam two individual races, but this time around, she could repeat her four-event schedule from London. She’s the heavy favorite to repeat as world champion in the 200 backstroke, but Australia’s Emily Seebohm, reigning world champion

pictured > missy franklin , usa

Zhao Jing of China and Japan’s Aya Terakawa are going to be formidable foes in the 100 back. With another year of training under her belt, Franklin should be able to race with Allison Schmitt, Camille Muffat and Bronte Barratt in the 200 free, the three ladies who stood on the podium in London. Muffat and Barratt have shown better form so far this year, but Schmitt will take a couple of key months of training with Bob Bowman with her to Barcelona.

Ye Shiwen’s prowess in the individual medleys cannot be ignored. With that techsuit-aided 2:06.15 world record in the 200 IM still out there, Ye might have that time as her primary target. Reigning champion Elizabeth Beisel likely still has visions of Ye speeding past her on the freestyle leg in the 400 IM in London, but she’ll do everything she can to keep history from repeating itself. Hannah Miley of Great Britain may mount a challenge after a subpar Olympics.

Relays are tough to figure out in the weeks before Worlds. The USA is primed to sweep the women’s relays, but the Australians will be tough in both freestyle relays, while the Netherlands is looking to return to the top of the podium in the 400 free relay after nearly five years of dominance.

—continued on 24 July 2013

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S

23

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( from

left ) elizabeth

MEN’S EVENTS Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps waged an epic battle in the 200 IM in 2011’s World Championships, resulting in both posting times faster than the existing world record. With Phelps gone, Lochte may find himself only racing the clock and no one else in the shorter IM, with likely contenders more than a second slower.

Lochte’s plans on swimming the 400 IM are still unknown as of press time, though if he steps out of the event, the Americans could have the reliable Tyler Clary to keep the title in American possession for a fourth-straight World Championships. Japan’s Kosuke Hagino is going to be tough to beat, however. After winning bronze in the 400 IM last summer, Hagino has continued to improve and already has swum faster in 2013 than he did in 2012.

Lochte won the 200 freestyle in Shanghai in 2011, but it’s questionable if he can defend that title. Despite Olympic champion Yannick Agnel removing himself from individual race duty this summer in Barcelona, the quest for gold in the 200 free is still tight, with no clear favorite.

Sun Yang is on a mission to become the first man to win four of the six freestyle events at Worlds, with the 200 his toughest challenge. If he has the speed to stay close to the leaders at the 100-meter mark, he should 24

by peter h . bick ]

pictured > ryan lochte , usa

[ photo

pictured >

beisel , usa ; ye shiwen , china

[ photo

by rob schumacher - usa today sports ]

pictured > ruta meilutyte , lithuania

[ photo

by richard mackson - usa today sports ]

BARCELONA 2013: WHAT TO EXPECT—continued from 23

be home free, as no one can withstand his amazing finishing speed. That almost certainly will be the case in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyles, where he is unmatched. We’ll see the effects of Sun’s new training regime in China this summer.

The sprint freestyles crowned new kings last summer at the Olympics, when Florent Manaudou (50 free) and Nathan Adrian (100 free) beat out the pre-race favorites for gold in London. Manaudou goes into the World Championships with the fastest 50 free in the world this year, but whoever steps up to the blocks for the United States in the 50 free in Barcelona will be worthy challengers. Adrian is an early pick for a win in the 100, though he’ll have to contend with reigning champion James Magnussen, who is looking to prove himself after faltering at the Olympics last year, when the American outtouched him by a hundredth of a second.

Magnussen has already posted a swim this year that is faster than the time Adrian swam to win Olympic gold.

Cesar Cielo’s knee surgery could have an effect on the crucial start and breakouts in the 50 free, but should the Brazilian win, he will be the first to capture the 50 free three times at a World Championships.

Let’s not forget about the Sizzling Siberian, Vlad Morozov. He’s been on fire since the Olympics, winning short course European, world and NCAA titles. Look for him to kick off the professional chapter of his

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pictured > vlad morozov , russia

burgh , south africa

[ photo

by kyle terada - usa today sports ]

pictured > cameron van der

pictured > chad le clos ,

by peter h . bick ]

by kirby lee - usa today sports ]

[ photo

[ photo

south africa

swimming career with a bang. If he wins the world titles in the 50 and/or the 100 free, it will not be unexpected. Though the 5-11 Morozov has yet to prove himself in the long course pool, his increasing strength and technical prowess will be on display against taller swimmers.

Expect the breaststroke races to be exciting—and emotional. The 100 breast could see an opportunity for South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh to pay another tribute to his late friend, Alexander Dale Oen, who died suddenly in early 2012. Van der Burgh will look to succeed Dale Oen in the 100 breast, though Australia’s Christian Sprenger has found new life in the event and could fight for gold. The South African may also be under tighter scrutiny this year after his admission that he took multiple illegal dolphin kicks in his winning swim in London.

Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta was impressive in the 200 breast in London, finally winning the gold medal, but the world record he set was broken a month later

by Japanese teenager Akihiro Yamaguchi, who will be making his international debut. Alongside these two could be Great Britain’s Michael Jamieson, who appears to be just starting to improve in the event. The Americans who swim these events in Barcelona could be major wild cards.

Phelps’ absence will be felt in the 100 and 200

butterfly events, though Chad Le Clos of South Africa is looking to wear the crown in the 200. His silver medal in the 100 suggests that we could see him on top of the podium in the shorter butterfly race as well.

Competition abounds in these events, and whoever takes the gold medals should thank Phelps for blazing a trail that has only made butterfly swimming faster.

One might think that Tyler Clary and Ryan Lochte have a lock on qualifying for Worlds in the 200 back, but with the competition so tight among the Americans, it’s presumptive to say that they will be America’s representatives in that event again. Whoever represents the Stars and Stripes in the event will have to deal with the Japanese tandem of Hagino and Ryosuke Irie for gold. A four-way battle for gold? This could be the race of the meet.

And who will walk away with gold in the men’s 100 back? Will it be a first-place tie again, as it was in 2011 with Frenchmen Camille Lacourt and Jeremy Stravius?

Will Matt Grevers back up his Olympic win with a gold medal at the World Championships? Or will Irie and Hagino sneak onto the medal podium?

As it was with the women, predicting relay results is a dicey proposition—especially in the 4 x 100 free relay.

Will Agnel’s reduced concentration on training hurt France’s chance to win the event? Will Australia bounce back to defend its crown? v July 2013

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LESSONS with THE LEGENDS

by michael j . stott

Sponsored by

Swimming World debuts a series in which coaches share secrets of their unparalleled success.

This month’s featured coach: Mark Schubert. pictured > coach mark schubert is a seven - time usa olympic coach , former usa olympic head coach and , among other things , a leader of teams that have won more than 60

national championships . schubert , who now coaches at

golden west college in huntington beach , calif ., is also

the head coach and ceo of golden west swim club . schubert coached olympic champions at mission viejo , university of texas and the university of southern california .

Q. How do you suggest a coach speak to athletes for best performance?

A. How a coach approaches his athletes, how he teaches them to approach each other, is really important. The bottom line is to be positive. Teach them how to talk and how to think. You are trying to influence how they see themselves. Regardless of what you say to them, what they say to themselves is the most critical thing.

Q. What’s “Job One” for a coach?

A. To improve athlete self-image. The way you talk to them, the way they perceive your opinion of them, makes a huge difference in their self-image and performance.

Q. When is a good time to speak to an athlete?

A. Anytime. Show up early to practice to shoot the breeze.

Sometimes, I’ll talk to swimmers individually about my impression of their training. If they seem down or if practice is lackluster, I’ll ask how I can help them do better.

After practice is an opportunity for individual attention and to let swimmers know I know they’ve been working on things we’ve discussed to help them get better.

Q. What if a swimmer asks, “Why is my breaststroke so bad?”

A. I’ll ask that they rephrase the question in a positive way so I can suggest a positive way to improve.

Q. Are your messages different depending on the time of season?

A. Yes. Early on during tough aerobic training, you want to develop a good attitude, so the words are about why they are working hard. I emphasize that the taper starts in September and is only as good as our constant preparation.

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Tell athletes to approach you individually if they have questions, as no question is ridiculous. In mid-season, focus more on race specifics—such as race pace, starts, turns—to get the little things right. You want to sharpen those skills before season’s end.

Q. Championship words?

A. We’ll have a weekly team meeting or huddle before practice to talk about the championship season to keep them excited and to remind them what the end goal is.

Remind them of their goals and the little things that they need to do to reach them—such as hydration, nutrition, rest and a POSITIVE mental attitude.

Q. You speak before competitions...

A. ...To the group, to convey our expectations so they can picture how to approach the meet and their performance.

Q. What do you say when faced with a disappointing performance?

A. I ask the swimmer’s opinion first because (he or she) will have one. Then I give my frank opinion. I do not dwell on past performance, but present a mental picture of what needs to be done. It may be to improve self-image. The quicker an athlete focuses on the next race, the better. If you talk about mistakes, use the phrase, “the next time.”

Some swimmers need to focus on their opponents because that motivates them. Others need to swim races totally between the lane lines.

Q. How do you counter negativity?

A. I correct it immediately. Don’t allow that in your culture. The team speaking positively to one another is as important as the coach speaking positively to the athlete and the team.

Q. Last words?

A. As coaches, we are trying to develop good athletic performance and good athletic self-image. It is important to realize that athlete’s self-image, self-confidence and character is going to stay with them for a long time after his or her swimming career, so we need to be teaching for the long term. A coach must remember that the most impactful statement he can make is, “You can do this.” Then teach them how! v Michael J. Stott, one of Swimming World Magazine’s USA contributors, is based in Richmond, Va.

Total Access members click here at www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com to read more Q&A with Mark Schubert.

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PERISHABLE AND NON-PERISHABLE FOODS Here are some foods you could pack on your next trip:

PERISHABLE

• String Cheese • Turkey Sandwich • Bag of Spinach • Apples • Grapefruits • Plums • Raw Asparagus • Banana • Yogur t • Broccoli • PB&J Sandwich • Carrots • Hummus • Tupperware of Beans/Chili • Baked Sweet Potato

NON-PERISHABLE

• Gogi Berries • Dried Cherries • Prunes • Sweet Potato Chips • Walnuts • Almonds • 7-Grain/Whole-Wheat Crackers • Dehydrated Veggies • Small Packets of Almond Butter • Rice Cakes • Granola Bars • Low-Sodium Pretzels • Energy Bars • Granola • Rice Chips • Cereal On many trips—like when I competed at the World Championships in Shanghai, China—there might not be a great opportunity to make a quick stop at a grocery store to stock up on goodies for the return travel.

In some foreign countries, you even have to be careful of what you buy, as it isn’t safe to trust the food you buy. In these cases, save some nonperishables in your bag from before you left home. v

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{ } by garrett weber - gale

The peak of the summer racing

season is upon us, and that often

means traveling long distances to compete. Whether you’re going

two hours in the car, five hours by

train or 24 hours on a plane, there

are some simple ideas to consider

W

when preparing for the journey.

hen you travel this summer to a swim meet, don’t see it as something that will hurt you. If you take a few proper precautions, you’ll be just fine. I even approach long travel as a perfect time to get a bit of extra rest for my legs.

Team USA will be traveling to Barcelona this summer to compete at the World Championships.

Maintaining a healthy diet and getting all the fuel that athletes need while competing overseas can be tough. Fortunately, the provisions for good food are usually excellent at major international meets.

But what about the plane travel?

Staying healthy during our time at home is easy, but airports aren’t known for being packed with healthy foods. The truth is, just like taking charge of your fitness and diet, you must also take charge of your food when you travel through the airport.

(See “What Should We Eat in the Airport?” sidebar, next page.)

PLAN AHEAD Over the years, I’ve learned how to maintain my diet on the road— and satisfy my cravings as well. I’ve traveled to six World Championships and one Olympics. I’ve been able to compete with great success by putting the following plan into place

on each occasion: • First off, pick a number of things you like to eat that are nonperishable.

• Figure out how long your travel is going to be and pack enough food to get you through the travel...plus a bit extra. If I’m traveling for one day, I’ll try to pack enough for a day-anda-half—even sometimes for two days.

One time, I even packed enough food for a 37-hour trip to Australia—dang, that was a long trip!

• If you want to pack some perishable snacks, that is OK, too, but eat them early in the trip. (See “Perishable and Non-Perishable Foods” sidebar, far left column.)

CONSTANTLY FUEL YOUR BODY When I’m at home, I try to eat something every two to three hours.

I always eat until I feel good, not until I feel full. I try to stick to these principles as much as I can on the road, too. There’s no need to change what works just because we’re traveling. Constantly fueling your body is the best option to promote good performance when you arrive at your destination.

STAY HYDRATED Most people don’t think to drink much when they travel. You don’t need to be sweating to lose fluids.

Although you might not realize it,

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}

it is easy to get dehydrated while traveling, due to the dry air on the planes and in airports, and the ease at which we can forget to drink enough fluids on the road.

Sitting for such long periods of time without fluids can cause muscle cramps and headaches, and it can make you feel weak. I always bring at least one water bottle with me, which I fill up immediately after going through security at the airport.

You may also want to think about bringing some little packets of electrolyte powder to pour into your drink as well.

BE CONFIDENT So, get ready to swim fast this summer. Give yourself a better chance to achieve your goals by planning travel just like you would plan your training.

Be prepared. Be flexible. Stay confident that what you’re doing is going to help you swim fast. Take charge of eating on the road by spending a few minutes to make a plan for success. v

What should we eat in the airport?

Finding healthy choices to eat in airports can be really tough.

I always try to go for the least processed choices.

Salads, fruits, raw veggies, pastas, sandwiches, burritos and cereals are always good choices. Look for the items that look like they were actually cooked there, and from natural and whole ingredients. There will be times during travel when you can’t get exactly what you want, but that’s OK. Be confident that making an effort to stick to your schedule and put good food in your body is still providing some good nutrition for your system.

If you can’t find anything you’re really happy with, just go with the next closest healthy option.

Remember: the healthy snacks you packed are helping you supplement to stay on track and keep you on the path toward achieving your competition goals! v

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dryside // training

1

D ry land exercises for the beginner

PHYSIO BALL ALTERNATING DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS Lying on your back on the physio ball, perform a one-arm bench press movement while alternating your arms.

by j . r . rosania photos by kaitlin kelly demonstrated by samantha caldwell and j . r . rosania

J

ust in the last five years, dryland training for swimming has gone mainstream!

The best swimmers in the world now spend as much as six hours a week training “out of the water,” doing dryland performance training. Years ago, only a few swimmers engaged in activities out of the water such as weight training.

Today it seems every swimmer is now seeking some form of resistance training— from Olympic medal winners to the “Weekend Warrior,” from the pre-teen swimmer to the college performer.

Never before have I seen such a demand for dryland training for swimmers. In 1999, I was part of a team of coaches who worked with Misty Hyman. Together we developed a training program that would help her win the gold medal in the women’s 200 fly at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Since then, I have worked with thousands of swimmers of all ages and abilities to achieve their very best through resistance training.

Here are five great dryland exercises for the beginner level. Perform two sets of 20 reps per exercise.

In the following months, I will offer more dryland exercises that, if done correctly, will certainly improve your swimming performance. v J.R. Rosania, B.S., exercise science, is one of the nation’s top performance enhancement coaches. He is the owner and CEO of Healthplex, LLC, and has finished the Ironman Triathlon 18 times. He also serves as Swimming World Magazine’s fitness trainer and was named one of “America’s Top Trainers”

by Men’s Journal and Vogue magazines. Check out Rosania’s website at www.jrhealthplex.net.

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2

PHYSIO BALL DUMBBELL PULLOVER Lying on your back on the physio ball and holding one dumbbell, keep your arms straight as you slowly lower the dumbbell behind your head until it is parallel with the floor. Raise your arms back to the starting position.

3 SINGLE LEG DEAD LIFT Holding a medicine ball or light dumbbell, stand on one leg and lower the weight to the floor slowly. Keep your opposite leg straight and parallel with the floor. Return to the starting position.

4 BOX JUMP Standing in front of a box onto which you can jump safely, first lower into a squat position and jump upward onto the top of the box.

MED BALL START JUMPS INTO STREAMLINE While holding a med ball, lower yourself into your normal starting position on the blocks. Explode upward and forward into a vertical jump.

5

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. .

Q

what shoulder stretches should i perform before a swim workout?

DR. SHANNON .. Here are four stretches that

swimmers can perform using just their body and

a wall or doorframe. Use these to stretch out sore by shannon m c bride photos provided by shannon m c bride demonstrated by shannon m c bride

1 CHEST STRETCH

(Targets your pectoralis muscles and subscapularis)

1. Stand facing a doorway.

2. Take the knife-edge of your right hand and place it against the doorway.

Your right elbow should be level with your right shoulder.

3. Gently turn your chest, hips and feet to the left.

You should feel a stretch in the front of your right chest.

4. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat to the left side.

2 SIDE STRETCH (Targets your latissimus dorsi)

swim workout!

3 THREAD THE NEEDLE (Targets your rhomboids, chest and neck)

1. Start on your hands and knees with your knees hipwidth apart.

2. Lift your right arm and slide it under your left arm until your right shoulder is on the mat. Your palm should be facing up. Place your right cheek on the floor and look to your left, not at the ceiling.

3. Stretch your left arm out over your head with your fingertips on the floor. You should feel a stretch between your spine and your right shoulder blade.

4. Hold for one minute and repeat to the left side.

4 TRICEP STRETCH (Targets your triceps)

1. Raise your arms overhead and place your palms together.

1. Raise your right arm over your head with your palm facing forward.

2. Gently lean your body to the right.

2. Bend your right elbow and place your right hand on your spine with your palm facing your body.

3. Keep your head in line with your body—do not jut your chin forward.

32

shoulder and back muscles before hopping in for a

3. Use your left hand and gently press your right elbow down and back.

4. Keep your hips pointing forward—do not twist or rotate your spine.

4. Keep your gaze forward and gently press the back of your head into your right elbow.

5. You should feel a stretch in the left side of your torso.

5. You should feel a stretch in the back of your right arm.

6. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat to the left side.

6. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat to the left side.

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Screening & Training Officials by susan woessner

W

hy are the background check and athlete protection training required of officials? Is this extra hurdle worth the time and money?

Our greatest assets in creating a safe sport environment for athletes are our adult volunteers.

By ensuring that these volunteers are the best people for their jobs and by empowering them with abuse prevention information, we create a formidable force for keeping athletes safe in sport.

Screening and training accomplish this.

Criminal background checks are our first line of defense against individuals who may be seeking to harm children. We cannot identify individuals who have a criminal history without screening all volunteers seeking membership.

Thirty-nine dollars ($1.63 per month) is a small price to identify members who have criminal histories (i.e., sex crimes, violent crimes or drug-related crimes).

Additionally, USA Swimming rules require clubs to complete pre-employment screens on any coach member or employee who will have frequent and direct contact with athletes. We also suggest volunteer interviews in advance of service as a screening tool.

Once screening has occurred, we must educate members as to the behavior we expect. We

require that all non-athlete members complete the athlete protection training. This creates a shared understanding of a safe environment for athletes and appropriate behaviors between adults and athletes. This short, 45-minute online training module has been very successful in empowering our membership to take action when they observe red-flag behaviors.

Since this training began, there has been a dramatic increase in communication from our members with questions, concerns and reports in which they directly reference something in the training that resonated and made them pick up the phone.

Officials play an invaluable role on and off the deck, and USA Swimming is grateful for their service to the sport as well as their willingness to meet the requirements of screening and training to keep swimming safe for all.

For more information on the USA Swimming Safe Sport program, please visit www. usaswimming.org/protect. To submit a question to a future Safe Sport Corner, please e-mail athleteprotection@usaswimming. org. v

MAXWELL MEDALS & AWARDS E XC E L L E N C E AWA R D

A

sk any coach or official—or most of the athletes— in the Colorado Swimming LSC who Linda Seckinger is, and an answer will follow that lets you know immediately the level of her involvement. It is also a way to gain insight into how important and appreciated she and her work are to the LSC. Her volunteer time began 17 years ago when she ran the timing equipment for her daughter’s swim team. This soon evolved into Seckinger’s true passion, officiating, which has taken her from venues in Colorado— where age groupers stop to chat with her after a swim—to nationallevel meets. She is well qualified at any position and always keeps the athletes’ best interests in mind.

Always available, the coaches will let you know that she has hunted down information for them, day and night, in the capacity as the LSC’s times coordinator and its general chair.

PROUD SPONSOR OF THE MAXWELL EXCELLENCE AWARD

Susan Woessner is USA Swimming’s director of safe sport.

CALL FOR YOUR FREE FULL- COLOR MAXWELL CATALOG: 1.800.331.1383 July 2013

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THE [PROS AND CONS OF

hypo xic TRAINING

by michael j . stott photo by peter h . bick

D I S C L A I M ER- Hypoxic training is a workout with limited breathing and a limited intake of oxygen, and, therefore, carries with it inherent risks. This type of training methodology is to be used only under the direct supervision of a qualified professional coach/trainer.

Swimming World introduces the

we’d do hypoxic work for 200s. For sprinters, we’d do it for 25s, and it was a lot more restrictive—more like 3, 2, 1 or no breaths per 50,” says Schubert.

Back then, breath holding, lungbusters and hypoxic training were processes that increased lung capacity. Total Immersion founder Terry Laughlin submits that since then, the world has “learned that the only physiological result of breath holding is an increase in CO2 levels, not lung capacity. And there’s no desirable training effect from that,” he says. Laughlin also notes that he associated swimming well with increasing his pain threshold, a concept espoused by Counsilman himself.

first of two parts on hypoxic

training, including definition, history, role in training, pros/

J

cons and safety concerns.

udith Sperling, a well-respected aquatic safety consultant, defines hypoxic training as “low oxygen training involving the reduction or elimination of breathing.”

After announcing at the 1974 ASCA World Clinic that there was practically no research on the subject, Indiana’s Doc Counsilman proceeded to investigate it himself.

In time, he came to a variety of conclusions—not all of which are supported today—but in the process, influenced a generation of coaches, laying the foundation for many of the sport’s current training practices. In short, Counsilman viewed oxygen debt as a stimulus for physiological change, and he believed swimmers did not have to breathe as much as they did.

“Doc really promoted it, so a lot of coaches were using it in the ’70s,” says Golden West College coach Mark Schubert who, at the time, was building a powerhouse at Mission Viejo. “We would do a lot of hypoxic training with sprinters and distance people. Brian Goodell did a lot of 3, 5, 7 or 3, 5, 7, 9 breathing patterns. When pulling up to 800 meters, he often breathed every fifth stroke. For middle distance,

34

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ADAPTATION What remains relevant is the physical and mental adaptation that takes place as a result of hypoxic training.

“We are teaching our bodies,” says University of Arizona associate coach Rick DeMont. “You have to be able to go into oxygen debt—even if it is a sprint at the end of a mile or a 500 or 50s and 100s. You’ve got to be able to deal with that. You have to train the system. And like anything else, you have to practice it,” he says.

Five-time Olympian Dara Torres—another Schubert protégée—says the most hypoxic training she ever did was with Richard Quick in her successful bid to make the 2000 U.S. Olympic team: “I personally hated it because I was horrible at holding my breath for long periods of time.

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“it’s about Relaxation, stretching the lungs and building confidence. once they realize they can do a 50 without breathing, swimmers just pictured > michigan coach

start to relax, swim easy

mike bottom does not allow hypoxic training to exceed 50 meters , and enforces mandatory partnering with swimmers on the surface .

“For example, he used to make us do ten 50s from a dive on four minutes, holding the fastest times you could go, with the 10th one on a minute (not four minutes) and then going right into ten 100s on 1:25, breathing 3, 5 ,7, 9 by 100s. I thought I was going to pass out! The biggest difference I saw from doing sets like this was I felt it helped me finish my races better,” she says.

Tom Jager, world record holder in the 50 meter free for 10 years and now women’s coach at Washington State, says he did hypoxic training “for as long as I can remember. I enjoyed it and worked it hard when I was supposed to. I breathed three times in the 50, short course or long course. In the 100, I would breathe every stroke when I needed to, and then I didn’t breathe the last 10 yards to the finish.

“Hypoxic is important for physically and mentally training the body. It helps create better breath control, which is critical both before and during a race. We do a lot of hypoxic training, and it has helped our turns and walls,” he says.

Jager’s use of the term, “breath control,” is reflective of present-day coaches’ attitudes toward hypoxic training.

BREATH CONTROL TRAINING “I like to use the term, ‘breath control,’ (instead of) ‘hypoxic,’ ” says Suzanne Yee, assistant women’s coach at Princeton, “as I believe it changes the mindset away from a scary word such as ‘hypoxic’ and puts the athlete in control of her breathing.

“I start out the season talking about training body/mind for breath control, just like training your body/mind for any physical activity. Everyone can make a breath control set if you present it as a manageable challenge and vary

and more efficiently.”

-MIKE BOTTOMwhat you are doing—especially early on—so everyone has a chance to be successful. There is also a benefit in underwater no-breath kicking or pullout work. For those who don’t excel at underwaters, it gives them the option to swim/pull without taking a breath—again, creating an atmosphere for success,” she says.

Once mastered, breath control “builds confidence,” says Schubert. Adds Yee, “Doing breath control after sprinting and/or at the end of a set near practice conclusion prepares the athletes to race with the confidence that they can skip breaths, put their heads down and race into the wall at the end of any distance—and know they are adequately prepared. No matter what stroke/distance you are training for, you need confidence that you can stay underwater/skip breaths somewhere in the race—and that comes from training,” she says.

Hypoxic training also promotes relaxation. With controlled breathing, “so much of it is settling down, not panicking and teaching your body that it is not going to drown,” says DeMont. “You can blow out all your air, swim a 25 and live, so the secret is learning to relax. But if you don’t practice it every time you come up against it, it just creates a panic.”

Mike Bottom, head men’s coach at NCAA champion Michigan, has a similar take: “It’s about relaxation, stretching the lungs and building confidence. Once they realize they can do a 50 without breathing, swimmers just start to relax, swim easy and more efficiently.”

Since 1988, DeMont has coached some of the world’s best sprinters. He likes breath control training for another reason: “Most deficiencies in stroke are built around the breath, so with reduced breathing, you have a chance for a —continued on 36 July 2013

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“you have to learn to live with pain. agony has to be your companion.”

-doc counsilmanHYPOXIC TRAINING—continued from 35

better stroke more often,” he says. And to be most effective, DeMont suggests the system needs to be warmed up, as in doing a straight 200, breathing only twice each 25.

SAFETY CONCERNS “You have to learn to live with pain,” said Counsilman.

“Agony has to be your companion,” he told his ASCA audience. “You have to enjoy it. The more you live with pain, the more the system adapts,” he said.

Counsilman also stressed the downside of hypoxic training: “It is potentially dangerous, and you have to be very alert.”

Schubert agrees: “The coach has to be aware of any breath-holding activity. I don’t think total restrictive breathing should be done for distances more than 50

36

meters, and it should always be done with enough rest.

And you may have some asthmatics or swimmers with breathing problems. A coach especially needs to prevent dangerous situations arising from potential competitive breath holding,” he says.

Bottom, who did hypoxic training with Bob Lim at Santa Clara Swim Club as an age grouper and used it as a coach at The Race Club, flatly prohibits competitive breath holding at Michigan.

“That’s when problems occur,” he says. With the Wolverines, it is safety first. Bottom does not allow hypoxic training to exceed a distance of 50 meters. “It’s a 50, and then stop. That’s all they get.”

He also enforces mandatory partnering with swimmers on the surface: “I make sure they partner up when they do hypoxic training. When one person is doing it, the other person is swimming backstroke, so there is not only a coach’s eye on it, but a partner’s as well. We also keep swimmers above water—not below. Under water is where you can lose them,” he says.

“A coach needs a sense of duty,” asserts DeMont. “We are always trying to keep it on the right side of the line. We have to remember we are training a system, not torturing an athlete.” v Michael J. Stott, one of Swimming World Magazine’s USA contributors, is based in Richmond, Va. Next month, Stott will explore in depth the implementation and specific sets coaches are using with today’s swimmers.

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brian

Q&A

BARNES

by michael j . stott

As head women’s

photo provided by university of notre dame

coach at the

BRIAN BARNES

Dame, Brian Barnes

Head Women’s Coach University of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana

led the Irish women to their highest finish ever (16th) at the 2013 NCAAs.

SW: What influence did Richard Quick have on your coaching career?

BB: Working with Richard Quick was an incredible experience. He influenced me tremendously. The biggest thing that I learned from Richard was to establish a belief and then teach it. I also learned that if you were sharing the deck with him, you were coaching for second place.

SW: What was it like to go from a highly successful Auburn program to the head job at Notre Dame?

BB: You have to keep in mind that when I was hired at Auburn, I walked into an established NCAA championship culture built by

SW: You also include yoga in your training. How does that work?

BB: Yoga happens mostly in the fall. It is great for the body and mind.

The positions the women on this team hold help them to find tone in the body when competing. It is also a great recovery tool during periods of high academic stress.

—continued on 38

University of Notre

Q. Swimming World: What brought you to Notre Dame?

A. Coach Brian barnes: Notre Dame brought me to Notre Dame.

involve anything that would cause muscle breakdown. Essentially, on loading days, you go to the well, and you give it up. Unloading days promote muscle repair. I often call these days, “Aerobic Technique.” These practices are often centered around light aerobic swimming with a strong emphasis on technique.

David Marsh. A big part of what I learned there was the day-in and day-out pace that is required to win repeatedly. When I made the move to Notre Dame, I knew that much of my initial focus needed to be on developing a culture that understood the value of hard work and aspired to performance at the highest level.

You can’t focus on the act of winning before that culture is in place. To be great, you have to have a team that is willing collectively to step outside its comfort zone.

SW: You have adopted a “recovery training” philosophy....

BB: I learned this from David Marsh and then saw it again with Richard. It comes down to a day of stress followed by a day of recovery.

I often refer to them as loading and unloading days. Loading days would

Brian Barnes (Indiana University, B.S., kinesiology, ’95) has found a home under the Golden Dome at Notre Dame. As a team captain and All-American distance swimmer at IU, Barnes was twice named USA Swimming Indiana Male Swimmer of the Year (1989, 1995). He was a member of the U.S. national team in 1989 and 1992 and a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier (1992, 1996). Following graduation, he began compiling a coaching resumé that included successful stops with the Michiana Marlins (his former club team), University of Kansas and Lawrence Aquahawks (Kan.) as well as Indiana and Auburn, where he benefited from the counsel of legendary coaches David Marsh and Richard Quick. In his first five years at Notre Dame, his women have finished first three times and second twice at the Big East Conference Championships. Under his tutelage, Notre Dame has earned 18 AllAmerican honors/honorable mentions at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

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Q&A: BRIAN BARNES—continued from 37

SW: You are respected for your ability to coach individuals. With a roster of 27, how do you accomplish that?

BB: With a great diving coach and great assistants.

SW: You often write individual warmups for your swimmers at meets. Why and from whence did that come?

BB: I watched Dorsey TierneyWalker do this masterfully at IU and then again at Auburn. Richard always used to say, “Don’t assume they know what to do.”

SW: The Notre Dame women finished 16th at the 2013 NCAAs— the best finish in school history.

What’s it take to break into the top 15 and stay there?

BB: In 2013, 11 more points would have placed us in the top 15. To do this consistently, we are going to have to continue to attract highly motivated, talented and bright women to the University of Notre Dame.

SW: In a championship meet environment, how do you position swimmers to swim fast in the morning?

BB: I try to give the athlete a clear picture of the challenge of that particular day. We talk about how to organize races in the prelims. At any huge meet, prelims is the name of the game. If you are not ready to go in the morning, then we may never see your true performance capacity. We talk about being “race ready,” not about “feeling good.”

SW: What does it say to a team when a girl such as Kim Holden comes back from double shoulder surgery to win three events and place second in four others as she did at the Big East Conference meet?

BB: Kim is also a two-time honorable mention All-American.

The success of Kim’s senior year campaign is a reflection of an off-thecharts level of commitment. We were 38

sitting in the training room at Notre Dame when we first heard that Kim needed the surgeries. I told her in that moment that this did not change her goals, but it did change the path required to get there. Kim committed herself to the process fully right from the start. That was the summer before her junior year. In coming back from injury, you have to endure a lot, and it’s not just physical. There’s a level of emotional and mental endurance that you need to bring to the table. To do that without a set date of when you

“When I made the move to Notre Dame, I knew that much of my initial focus needed to be on developing a culture that understood the value of hard work and aspired to performance at the highest level. You can’t focus on the act of winning before that culture is in place.”

-Coach Barnes will be “better” takes a tremendous amount of courage and trust.

SW: What attracted Emma Reaney to Notre Dame from Lawrence, Kan.?

BB: Notre Dame and the women’s swimming and diving team.

SW: Did your former association with the Lawrence Aquahawks have anything to do with it?

BB: I would like to think so, but it probably didn’t. Nobody comes here because of any one individual.

You choose to come to Notre Dame because of the university. Notre Dame is a place unlike any other.

SW: You have endured some very tough years, especially when your wife battled cancer. How have you successfully managed your family and coaching obligations?

BB: Sometimes you do not have any choices in life, and you have to step up your game. I often ask myself two questions when it comes to navigating life: • What am I trying to do?

• Does this particular scenario or activity help?

If it doesn’t help me, I move on.

SW: You run a Coaches vs. Cancer Clinic in the fall. Is that an offshoot of the basketball initiative?

BB: It is. When I began this benefit, ND men’s basketball coach, Mike Brey, was a great resource to get things off the ground. As time went on, my focus in fund raising shifted more toward local cancer care rather than research.

All of the money we raise in this clinic goes straight to our community. In the last two years, we raised more than $30,000.

The continuing success of the Coaches vs. Cancer Clinic is a great testament to the strength of the Michiana swimming community.

SW: How have participants benefited?

BB: The participants benefit from getting instruction from our women’s team. Additionally, this past season, we brought in Olympian Tyler McGill to help out. The participants got to swim with him. He was an AllStar!

SW: As an excellent clinician, what advice would you offer parents and campers looking to derive maximum benefit?

BB: Show up to camp ready to have fun and be willing to try something new. v Michael J. Stott, one of Swimming World Magazine’s USA contributors, is based in Richmond, Va.

July 2013

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HOWTHEYTRAIN

EMMA

REANEY

by michael j . stott

N

otre Dame head women’s coach Brian Barnes describes rising junior Emma Reaney as “competitive, a racer, highly intelligent and a great decision maker.”

Those qualities have earned the 5-10 Reaney a total of seven All-American honors so far. At 2013 NCAAs, the Irish finished 16th, thanks in large part to Reaney’s two fifth-place finishes in the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes (59.19, 2:06.77), a ninth in the 200 IM (1:55.06) and 13th in the 400 medley relay (58.43 breast/3:34.66).

Those performances came on top of garnering six wins (two meet records) in seven events and Outstanding Female Swimmer honors two weeks earlier at the Big East Conference Championships.

Barnes subjected Reaney—a breaststroker and IMer out of Lawrence (Kan.) High School—to a regimen of backstroke her freshman year, “and that really helped her IM,” he says. As a sophomore, Reaney knew she would be called upon to contribute heavily in relays and committed to improving her freestyle. As a result, she went 1:45.8 as a leadoff on a Fighting Irish 800 yard free relay as well as clocking 49.4 over 100 yards.

“Emma has a great sense of our sport and what it takes to be successful,” says Barnes. “She is a hard worker and is willing to invest in training all four strokes. She also has terrific instincts on how to race. There is a talent to being

photo provided by university of notre dame

ready on Game Day. Emma has that talent.”

An added bonus is that Reaney is “a terrific teammate,” a quality Barnes finds important since she was a member of all three Notre Dame winning relays at the Big East meet. “Emma is very calm, cool under stress and in control of her emotions. There is a pleasantness about her that relaxes those around her,” he says. “If we are in a meet that is close, and stress is high, she has the ability to keep her cool and not let the atmosphere get to her.

That behavior is contagious to other people.”

In the heat of battle, Reaney is known for swimming controlled back halves of races. “That’s the game plan,” says Barnes. “She is in control and willing to learn. In December, she swam best times in the 100 and 200 breast. We talked about the changes that would be necessary for going faster at NCAAs.” In March in the 200 breast final at NCAAs, Reaney took four strokes for the first 25 and just six for each of the next seven lengths to finish with the ninth-fastest SCY (2:06.77) all time. In prelims, Reaney covered the first 100 in 1:01.34, outsplitting eventual winner Breeja Larson of Texas A&M over the second 100.

For Reaney’s junior and senior years, Barnes forecasts continued improvement. “From my experience, Emma has national team potential. She has the right head for the highest level of competition,” he says. v

PRO G R ESSI O N OF T IMES SCY 200 F RE E STY L E

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

H I GH SCH OOL SE NI O R

FR E S HM A N

S O PHO M O R E

1:53.02

1 : 4 7.1 5 *

1 : 4 5 .8 8

100 B REASTSTROKE

1:02.57

5 9 .8 1

5 8 .8 4

200 B REASTSTROKE

2:15.84

2 : 0 9 .7 3

2 : 0 6 .7 7

200 INDIVID U AL ME D L E Y

2:00.86

1 : 5 5 .6 7

1 : 5 5 .0 6

400 INDIVID U AL ME D L E Y

4:18.85

4 : 1 2 .1 9

4 : 0 8 .6 3

* =R E LAY SP LI T

Total Access members click here at www.SwimmingWorld Magazine.com to see a sample workout for Emma Reaney and some of her Notre Dame teammates.

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by robert strauss photos provided by john kirk

Here are eight keys for learn-to-swim instructors to help open the door for beginning swimmers to the

1

wonderful world of aquatics.

G UA R A N T E E H E L P • “Hold on”: offer an open hand; do not reach to grab the student’s hand.

• “Step down, be careful, go slow”: continue offering an open hand.

• “Hold onto the rail”: if there isn’t a rail to use to get in the pool, offer both hands and allow the child to make the decision to hold on.

Verbally direct a child who has a fear of the water to hold onto your hands. Allow him or her the first move to grab your open hand, and then slowly, carefully secure him by hugging the child with his back to your front and by wrapping your arms carefully around his waist. You should whisper into her ear things such as: “I need to help you all the time—you are little and cannot go by yourself” or “Be careful, don’t push away—you don’t know how to swim.”

A parent should be with children under 3 who go into the water for the first time. It is common practice for children to avoid strangers and to get away from the pool. In the very first swim lesson, Mom should tell her kids, “This is your teacher; it’s OK to go in the pool!”

2

AC C E P T C RY I N G “It’s OK to cry, it’s OK to be scared!” Let your students know that you are aware that they are scared, and 40

that is why you have to help them all the time!

If a child begins to scream or cry, release her slowly, and ask, “What happened? Did you get hurt? Did I hurt you?” Wait for a reply, and if the crying doesn’t stop, ask her nicely, “Please do not scare everyone around the pool.”

In the event crying won’t stop, initiate a gentle search for a “booboo.” Find a cut or a recent scrape, scab or a scar. When you find something, ask with a soft and unsure tone of voice, “Is this why you are crying?” If you get a positive reply, offer a Band-Aid and some honest sympathy.

If there isn’t any reply or you cannot find a “cut,” look directly into his eyes, and ask with a very soft voice, “Are you crying on purpose?”

Pause for a second and ask, “Do you want to get out?”

He’ll probably answer, “Yes,” so turn him around and hug him from behind and say, “Let’s look for Mommy.” Once you’ve spotted his mom, ask her, “Mommy, (use the name of the child) wants to get out.”

As you’re looking at the mom, shake your head, indicating you need a “No” answer from her, and almost immediately ask her, “How much longer?”

That will probably be your last chance to bond with the child...so, GET TO WORK!

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3

BONDING Make it easy for your students to want to be there with you.

Upon arrival, there is always a fear of the unknown, so begin by exchanging names at any safety area. Shake their hands or offer a high-five. Learn the name of everyone in class—and make sure everyone knows your name—don’t be a stranger.

You should also introduce all of the children and adults to the safety areas—places where they can “hold on” or stand.

At Swim Gym (Miami, Fla.), we have a game that helps with bonding. Since we opened in 1984, squirting water from a bottle with a pinhole on the caps continues to be the fastest “smile-getter” as we “help” them squeeze the bottle, and the squirt lands on the instructor’s face! If you’re going to squirt someone, always be sure the student does it to you first!

You might even consider squirting the parents—but don’t get them too wet! A drop is enough— just don’t squeeze the bottle so hard!

4

TRUSTING Take a minute, rub your hands and ask, “Do you know what the big hands are for?” Explain that the big hands are there to help ALL THE TIME (see #1).

Then rub their hands and ask, “What are your hands for?” Explain that their hands are the wings to fly in the water!

Place a student’s hands on top of your hands, and comment that if his hands are used as claws, it is difficult for the big hands to hold and help him.

5

IT IS U N AC C E P TA B L E TO SAY: • “It’s OK!” If it were OK, the person—any age—would perceive the friendly environment and would behave accordingly. Look around. What is unfriendly? Is it

you? Change it!

• “I know you can!” How could you know? For some reason, she did not do it. Teach it again! And “let it go.”

6

E X P E C TAT I O N S Expectations are the seed of frustration, which is the seed of failure. Be proud of what he can do!

How many people try their worst?

NO ONE! If he did not get it the first time, teach it again a different way. And if he does not get it at all, let it go! Do not reach a level of frustration. Every person tries his best. Maybe it’ll be the next class, in 16 weeks or maybe in 32 weeks— but, eventually, everyone can!

What about expectations for advanced swimmers? It’s the same thing. Educate her on how to set goals, and empower her to try her best.

If a goal is not reached, remember that it is her goal—not your expectations—that she is trying to meet.

7

on his arms—do whatever it takes until he can find the handles in the water.

Easy breathing means, “Every subsequent breath can be taken at will, and every breath is as good as the first breath.” v

pictured > beginning swimmers show off their skills — and smiles — at the miami , fla . swim gym , which started in 1984 . robert strauss , director for the swim school , competed in the 1971 pan american games and 1972 olympics for his native mexico . by 2011 , more than

45,000 students — 80 percent non - swimmers when they first started their lessons — have become safer and more competent swimmers .

Total Access members click here at www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com to see more tips from Robert Strauss, director of Swim Gym in Miami, Fla.

H O R I Z O N TA L POSITIONING Do not carry a beginner in a horizontal position— chest and/or shoulder girdle in one hand and belly or legs with the other. The head will unhinge (nose forward) and load the hips.

Allow her to discover horizontal travel and hold her vertical. Ask for a balloon face and initiate a glide.

Help by gently holding at her arm pits for a three-second glide, and add one or two seconds in the next glide.

The water traveling underneath the body will automatically lift her.

If the head unhinges, direct her eyes to your toes, away from your nose.

8

BUILD ON SUCCESS It is very easy to build on success. To succeed, you should “help as much as necessary and as little as possible.”

Challenge with achievable goals, and help as much as needed until breathing is easy. Offer your hand, tie a float on his back, put floats July 2013

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UP & COMERS AGE GROUP SWIMMER OF THE MONTH by shoshanna rutemiller

ETHAN

EVANS WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT SWIMMING? “I love winning medals and entering competitions. I always try my best to win, and it makes me stronger, faster and healthier.”

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO START FUND RAISING? “I started fund raising when I found out my school needed sports equipment, but had no money to buy it. When I raised the money myself, it made me feel good, and it made me want to carry on and help lots of other charities.”

WHAT ARE YOUR SHORT-TERM GOALS? “I want to keep improving and get faster and stronger.”

LONG-TERM GOALS? “I’d like to qualify for the Great Britain swimming team and go even further. I also want to raise many thousands of pounds for different charities.”

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE AND LEAST FAVORITE STROKE? “My favorite stroke is butterfly, and my least favorite stroke is breaststroke.”

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[ photos

provided by facebook . com : ethan evans fundraiser ]

D

Doctors told Ethan Evans he’d have to give up soccer when he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident three years ago. Instead of giving up sports entirely, the now 11-year-old from Langworthy, Salford, UK decided to dive into the pool.

“It was like watching a duck take to water. He loved it at once,” said Edwin Green, Evans’ grandfather.

“I was upset (when I was told I couldn’t play football),” Evans said, “but if I had to choose now between football and swimming, I would choose swimming every time.”

Evans had a natural affinity for the water. He quickly accumulated a collection of gold, silver and bronze medals from local competitions. But that wasn’t enough for Evans, who represents the Worsley Amateur Swimming Club in Salford. He decided to dedicate his time swimming in the water to fund-raising efforts throughout the United Kingdom.

“One day he came home from school and said to me, ‘Granddad, my school needs sports equipment, but they have no funds to buy them,” Green said. “He came back to me a few weeks later, and he asked me to help him help children with cancer. His reason was that he fought back to health and now he wanted to help others who are fighting.”

The driver in the hit-and-run accident that left Evans badly injured was never found. Evans required long-

term physiotherapy care for damaged kneecaps and a broken jaw following the accident, and he will need major dental surgery when he turns 18.

To date, Evans has successfully completed two sponsor swims, the first of which raised 500 pounds (about $780 U.S.) to buy sports equipment for his classmates at Willow Tree Primary School. The second swim raised 3,670 pounds (about $5,700 U.S.) for the cancer unit at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Evans is currently training for a junior triathlon (a one-mile swim, three-mile bike and three-mile run) for St. Ann’s Hospice in Manchester, UK. He chose to raise funds for the Hospice because it is where his grandmother, Carol, was treated before she died of stomach cancer at age 44.

Evans was voted Salford’s Citizen of the Year in 2012 by a large housing association, the same year he won a Youth Heroes award from Salford. ASA Swimming, the governing body for swimming in England, also recognized Evans for his fund raising. But Evans’ biggest dreams are still very much centered on swimming.

“His ultimate dream is to meet both his heroes one day,” said Green. “The two greatest swimmers of all time in his eyes are Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

“He talks about them all the time.

I hope one day he can be on the podium himself.” v

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> GUTTERTALK

[

]

Sponsore

d by

CULLEN JONES OW A BO UT 25 TH IN G S YO U D ID N ’T KN 9. What can ’t you live without ?

Haircuts—they make me feel confident

10. Celebrity crush : Meg—I mean Mila Kunis— Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba and Dania Ramirez 11. Most spontaneous thing you ’ve ever done ?

Bungee jump 12. Favorite pump: “I’m a ] up song a ru te mi ll er nn ha os sh Boss (Remix)” and [ ph ot o by “The Motto”—but it’s always a— Nov and CJ : 1. Nickname changing given to me by my family 13. Favorite subject in #2 2. Favorite school ? English. (I’ve) always and s animal : Dog been a good writer—not that I tigers like to do it, though!

3. What ’s your professional goal outside of the pool ? Like Trey Songs said, “I Just Want to Be Successful”; start a clothing line

14. Biggest fear : Letting my family and friends down.

15. Guilty pleasure : Truffle FRIES!!! And hot chocolate chip cookies

4. Favorite movie : “Snatch” and “The Avengers”

16. Favorite way to kill three hours : “Call of Duty”

5. Favorite color : Red and black

17. Childhood hero ? d Michael Jordan and Muhamma Ali

6. What ’s the first thing you do after a workout ? I eat something— I’m starving!

7. After a race ? I eat something—I’m really starving!

8. Favorite food chain : McDonalds and Pizza Hut—it really is a tie

20. Favorite sports team : New York Yankees and the Knicks 21. One food you can ’t stand : Sardines 22. What ’s one unusual thing you have in your room ?

Two American flags with the signatures of all of the 2008 and 2012 teams—guess that’s not really unusual... I earned those : ) 23. Favorite place you ’ve ever been ? Wh y?

Australia—the people are unbelievably nice 24. What ’s in your fridge right now ?

Gatorade and Coca-Cola that I can’t drink until I swim fast!

25. Where are you ? writing these answers On a plane heading to the Santa Clara Grand Prix

#18

18. Favorite cartoon character : Bugs Bunny— always cool—and Optimus Prime 19. What ’s the one thing you can ’t travel without ? My hair clippers and my phone July 2013

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THREE STYLES OF FREESTYLE This film documents the innovative philosophies and training methods of The Race Club as they teach you the secrets of Mike Bottom’s ‘Three Styles of Freestyle:’ shoulder-driven freestyle, hip-driven freestyle and body-driven freestyle. (The Race Club: Three Styles of Freestyle, $39.95; SwimmingWorld Magazine.com)

FINIS TEMPO TRAINER PRO Develop consistency and avoid lulls with a personal pace coach, the FINIS Tempo Trainer Pro. The small waterproof device easily secures under a swimmer’s cap and transmits an audible tempo beep to help you train smarter and discover your perfect pace. (FINIS Tempo Trainer Pro, Originally $49.99, now $42.95; SwimmingWorld Magazine.com)

SEIKO S141-300 LAP MEMORY The stopwatch that does it all...literally. The Seiko S141-300 Lap Memory Stopwatch has a dual memory function, split/lap time measurement, the ability to store and recall up to 300 split/lap times, multiple event memory and so much more. (SEIKO S141300 Lap Memory, Originally $239, now $199.95; SwimmingWorldMagazine.com)

DMC HYDRO TECH 2 SWIM FINS The principle function of the Hydro Tech 2 Swim Fins is to enable anyone, from a novice to an Olympic standard swimmer, to achieve an exact balanced kick, while using their preferred armstroke.

(DMC Hydro Tech 2 Swim Fins, $44.99; SwimmingWorldMagazine.com)

FINIS AGILITY PADDLES The Agility Paddles strapeless design is not only comfortable, but also effortlessly teaches swimmers the correct palm positive position for every stroke. (FINIS Agility Paddles, $19.99; SwimmingWorld Magazine.com) 46

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BELOW THE SURFACE The first comprehensive collection of procedures and policies that unifies a team’s mission with its attitudes and expectations. It is for every coach, parent and director who needs new and proven ideas on how a successful swim club is organized and administered. (Below the Surface,

by Brent Rutemiller, Originally 15.95, now $12.95; SwimmingWorldMagazine.com)

LIFE IS WORTH SWIMMING Find out why life is truly worth swimming from three-time Olympic swimming medalist Gary Hall Sr., who takes us on a journey through the five swimming disciplines that are needed for success. Discover the culmination of The Race Club’s years of Olympic level swimming experience. Learn the secrets to fast swimming and gain training knowledge from The Race Club: home of 33 Olympic swimmers and 24 Olympic medalists. (The Race Club: Life is Worth Swimming, $39.95; SwimmingWorldMagazine.com)

...AND THEN THEY WON GOLD With its broad themes of motivation, discipline and leadership, Chuck Warner transcends the sport of swimming and provides a recipe of success for coaches, athletes and parents. (...And Then They Won Gold, by Chuck Warner, $25.95, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com)

FINIS NEPTUNE MP3 PLAYER The FINIS Neptune MP3 Player is a waterproof MP3 player that provides the highest quality sound in the water without the use of ear buds by attaching securely to your goggle straps and resting securely on the cheekbones as to not interfere with swimming technique. (FINIS Neptune MP3 Player, $165; SwimmingWorldMagazine.com)

VIEW SHINARI MIRRORED GOGGLES Perfect for outdoor training or racing, the V-130M Mirrored Shinari goggle is a one-peice, low-profile construction bonding lens and eyecup together that prevents leaks and fits snuggly along the shape of your face to reduce the instances of the strap twisting and/ or flapping. (VIEW Shinari Mirrored Goggles, Originally $20.99, now $19.50; SwimmingWorld Magazine.com) July 2013

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Joao de Lucca gives himself a “high-five” with his feet after winning the 200 yard freestyle at the recent men’s NCAA Division I Championships in Indianapolis. His winning time of 1:31.51 is the third fastest swim all-time.

[ photo

by peter h . bick ]

parting shot

pictured > Louisville’s

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