THE OFFICIAL WORD

BY MICHAEL J. STOTT

www.NZcordz.com

[PHOTO BY DAVID CERVENKA ]

PROGRESSION OF TIMES

SCY AGE 5 AGE 6 AGE 7 AGE 8 AGE 9 AGE 10 AGE 11

25 Free 25.40 21.00 16.36 15.28 — — —

25 Fly 37.96 25.69 17.99 15.53 — — — 50 Free — — — 34.59 31.90 29.53 27.69

50 Fly — — — 37.55 31.54 30.10 28.75 100 IM — — 1:34.07 1:25.04 1:17.06 1:09.86 1:05.97

Of all the thousands of youngsters Steve Haufler has taught in his 45-year career as a swim instructor, it just may be that Charlotte Shamia is his quintessential poster child. Shamia is now 13 and a straight-A eighth-grader at Head-Royce School in Oakland, Calif., swimming for Orinda Aquatics with a love for dance and musical theater.

But it was at age 5 as a beginning swimmer that she was drafted by Haufler to learn butterfly in five minutes in front of 75 coaches! Haufler’s assistants assured him that Shamia had learned the basic skills of air exchange, body position and kick, and possessed the perfect butterfly body with the requisite flexible shoulders and back.

“I began with testing her body for flexibility,” says Haufler. “I had her lie on the deck with a stack of four kickboards under her hips and one kickboard under her chest. I kept her arms straight and positioned them higher than her ears. Her 5-yearold body contoured beautifully into the butterfly landing position. Then, she got in the water, and I taught her the body dolphin (hands by her side and in front), the arm pull and recovery and how to put them together. Pull, swing, body dolphin—success.

“As I came to find out later, Charlotte was very shy in new situations,” says Haufler. That didn’t stop her from joining the 300-member Orinda Country Club team, developing new friendships and a love for swimming. “From the beginning, Charlotte rarely missed a practice and would attend rain or shine. Her humble personality, quiet confidence, coupled with her strong work ethic and a great group of supportive teammates, made her a team fixture,” he says.

Though introverted, Shamia is a good listener and extremely coachable. “From the start, Charlotte has been laser-focused on mastering the strokes, and she never cut corners to go faster in the moment,” says Haufler.

Initially unsure of her capabilities at meets and concerned about beating her friends in practice, Shamia has since cultivated a competitive edge that has led to winning six Orinda Moraga Pool Association and Costra County high-point awards in the 7-11 age groups. In addition, she has enjoyed Junior Olympic success (as a 12-year-old, she swam 27.92 and 1:03.78 for the 50 and 100 yard fly), and she has been the recipient of numerous club sportsmanship and “hardest worker” awards.

Future plans include becoming one of Haufler’s junior instructors.

SOME FAVORITE SHAMIA OCC SETS

• Warm-up set: 4x {25 FR zero breaths, 25 BK 15 meters underwater dolphin, 25 BR (distance per stroke), 25 FL with 15 meters zero breath, then EZ FR

30 seconds rest between following set elements:

• 4x {4 x 50 (descend 1-4) @ 1:10; rest extra :20; 100 IM (descend 1-4 by round @ 2:00)

(The first round of 50s was FL, or KS FL, 2nd round BK, 3rd round BR, 4th round FR)

IMs were done 1:22, 1:20, 1:18, 1:16

• 2x {8 x 50 FL, FL/BK, BK, BK/BR, BR, BR/FR, FR, FR/FL) @ 1:10; rest extra :30; then 3x {75 IM w/o FR @ 1:20; 25 FR @ :50 (3 breaths or less, FAST)

• 3x {25 FL @ :30, 50 BK @ 1:10, 75 BR @ 1:40, 100 FR @ 2:10, 25 FR @ :30, 50 BR/FR @ 1:10, 75 IM w/o FL @ 1:40, 100 IM @ 2:10

• 6x {75 FR @ 1:20, 25 FL @ :40

• ALL FR — 2x {4 x 50 @ 1:15 breath control 3-3, 3-2, 2-2, 2-1; rest :30; 4 x 25 @ :30 w/paddles and fins (technique focus); rest :30; 4 x 50 @ 2:00 w/paddles and fins FAST=50 race time; rest :30; 6 x 25 (distance per stroke)

Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach whose Collegiate School (Richmond, Va.) teams won nine state high school championships. A member of that school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he is also a recipient of NISCA’s Outstanding Service Award.

SW: In general how do you feel about delegating teaching duties to others? SH: With my senior staff, I am 100% comfortable.

SW: To what do you attribute to your sustained and extraordinary success over the past two decades? SH: I go to work every day.

SW: You remain a Top 10 Masters breaststroker and IMer. What do you do for your own personal fitness? And how do you find time for it all? SH: My schedule pre-COVID—and for many years before—was swimming 3,000 yards on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 7-8 a.m., and Saturday, 8-9 a.m. On Tuesdays, I teach TRX. Thursdays was a variety day; pre-COVID, it was boxing. It’s easy to fit these six hours of exercise a week around my work schedule because all my exercise is done at OCC. Sunday is a day off or a hike.

SW: If you weren’t a swim teacher, what would you be doing? SH: Physical therapist or U.S. history professor.

SW: Athletic variety for pre-teens. Yes or no, and why? SH: Yes. I think all kids, if they wish, should participate in a variety of sports and activities. You never know what they may have a special talent for. Most of my swimmers are doing at least one other sport, some swimmers quite a few. I believe it makes them stronger and more athletic. The swimmers who participate in dance or gymnastics are often incredibly flexible, and it benefits their swimming. Also, when a young swimmer continues to senior swimming, we do not want them to regret specializing in swimming too early. 

Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach whose Collegiate School (Richmond, Va.) teams won nine state high school championships. A member of that school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he is also a recipient of NISCA’s Outstanding Service Award.

SW TOTAL ACCESS

TOTAL ACCESS MEMBERS CLICK HERE FOR MORE Q&A WITH COACH STEVE HAUFLER. NOT A TOTAL ACCESS MEMBER? YOU’RE JUST A CLICK AWAY: SWIMMINGWORLD.COM/VAULT > Charlotte Shamia is the featured swimmer of this month’s “How They Train” (page 42). In 2018, Charlotte (pictured next to her coach, Steve Haufler, right) was presented the high-point award for 9-10 girls by Coach Dave Durden (left) of Cal at the Contra Costa County Swim Championships.