SPONSORED BY
DIGGORY DILLINGHAM
how they train
BY MICHAEL J. STOTT [PHOTO BY STRAUSS STUDIOS]
“He is very powerful mentally, extremely stubborn, and he can focus like a hot laser when it’s time to race. Milt Nelms once said that I was the most intuitive racer he’d ever met. Diggory is far more impressive than I ever was. The boy can dial it in like no one I’ve ever seen. “We had a very special moment when he made his winter junior cut a year ago. His entry time was a 21.7. I had him sprint the first 50 of the 200 free to get him ready for his 50 free later. He went 20.87. An hour later, he won his heat by a full second, going 20.77. That night, he went 20.67 against the ‘big boys.’ That’s when I knew this kid could do whatever he decided to do,” she says.
PROGRESSION OF TIMES SCY
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
50 Free
25.44
21.71
20.67
20.28
100 Free
58.17
49.14
45.85
45.42
1:07.54
1:00.08
52.13
51.31
100 Fly
O
h, to be young—and talented. Diggory Dillingham, son of SwimMAC coach Megan Oesting, is on a roll. He was the fastest 14-year-old 50 yard freestyler in the country (20.67) for the 2019-20 season, and as of January, he was the swiftest 15-year-old (20.28) for 2020-21. A year ago February, he helped his Iowa City West High School team to the Iowa high school state championship, garnering three NISCA All-America finishes: 50 free, 20.67 (63rd), 200 free relay, 1:24.00/20.98 leadoff (28th) and 400 free relay, 3:05.45/45.85 leadoff (37th). Now in North Carolina, he is the state’s No. 1 college recruit (30th nationally) for the Class of 2023. Two months ago, he won the NCHSAA 4A 100 yard free championship in 45.42 and finished second in the 50 free (20.53, NISCA A-A). “He was a water bug in childhood,” says his mother. Dillingham’s early aquatic exploits included being a water aerobics mascot as a preschooler, a summer leaguer who learned butterfly in just one week at age 5—but only an on-and-off competitive swimmer after that. Instead, flag football, basketball, track, Taekwondo, wrestling, art classes and fencing commanded his attention. When Mom took over Eastern Iowa Swimming Federation and Diggory was 11, he began swimming more frequently. “He was always a borderline state qualifier,” says Oesting, “which in Iowa is the equivalent to a little faster than BB times. His birthday was right before the state meet, so as an age grouper, he mostly went to a non-qualifiers meet. As he got faster, Dilllingham got more serious. “He’s not the most well-rounded swimmer,” says Oesting, “and I think people sometimes judge my values as a coach based on his performances. I don’t think that’s fair at all. As a coach, I love the 400 IM, the mile, the 200s of stroke and anything a kid is willing to go after. Diggory is his own guy, and we never talked about swimming at home because that was the only time I had to just cuddle him.
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SAMPLE DILLINGHAM SETS “For about 15 minutes, we do various activities for :08 seconds on and :32 off. It doesn’t matter how far you get— we’re just looking at quick traction and full ignition,” says Coach Oesting: • Head-high free from a “water polo start” (head up also) •
Stretch cord belt wrapped tight (very little give) for streamlined bouncing push-offs
•
From a float with paddles and fins (:08s FAST)
•
From vertical streamline pencil float (stabilize before you hit it), then :08 FAST, get UP on top of the water as fast as you can.
“For 20 minutes, we spend the first 10 minutes doing feel work, then 10 minutes of assisted or resisted cords depending on the time of the season.” Sample feel work includes: •
Hold paddles so they become extensions out front. Look to control water as far out as possible, hollow the armpit out, keep the elbow high to start the impulse and then control it through the pull
•
Fingertip directionality and pathway through the stroke where there is more sensitivity and pressure; work to maximize that sensation throughout
•
Immediate elbow lift as soon as you touch the water, as far away from your head as possible; have your “claw/ meat hook” ready to go
•
Long, high neck, being pulled toward the opposite side of the pool, flatten back belly into spine and hydroplane across the water; keep tight hips as in a boxing drill
•
Kayak freestyle with broomstick and snorkel.
“Diggory’s favorite is called the ‘Death Set.’ We had a 20yard section of pool, and he had to hit a certain time on the watch. If he missed it, we added :05 to the sendoff and kept going. We repeated that until he couldn’t make the speed under any circumstances. We started on :25 per 20-yard sprint, and I didn’t give him his hit time until about 7 or 8 in, so I knew what his fast was going to be around for that session. v 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.
