July 2016 News
Hi all
Please take a look at a number of updates and news for the next month.
A big congratulations for the swimmers who have been getting ready to train promptly before sessions. The new standard talked about at the start of the season with older squads about getting ready to swim 5 minutes before the session has really been taken on board. This has allowed coaches to start sessions earlier and gives the swimmers more valuable water time. If you are interested in the standards for squads we are working on please have a look at the website page Swim Training.
Monday Public Holiday
Please note Monday is a public holiday and there are no sessions on.
Upcoming events
18-19th June, Mountains and Plains Swimming Carnival (Orange)
2nd-3rd July, Country Championships (SOPAC)
Working on technique
Since the beginning of winter the senior squads have been focusing on a number of technique areas. Though this has decreased the volume done in a number of sessions the coaches are using winter to target technique over sheer volume. Technique focuses include:
Improving streamlines to 8 kicks of every wall
Improving distance per stroke for efficiency
Building kick endurance and core stability so swimmers can move smoother through the water.
Lifting the body higher on the water in backstroke
Getting longer and reducing resistance in breaststroke
Finding out stroke counts and working on maintaining these at higher intensities.
As always every warmup revolves around focusing on technique which sets up every swimmer for the rest of the session.
It has been great to see a number of swimmers taking responsibility for their technique and working hard to make changes. A few weeks ago swimmers were asked to complete the technique goals form on the website. This form gives swimmers and coaches access to technique goals at training and swimming carnivals and is a valuable resource. Could any swimmers that haven’t yet completed it please log into the portal and fill one out soon. Please note that the technique goals form is aimed at Silver and Performance squad levels though will still be useful for bronze squad swimmers as well. The form can be found at the page here.
If any swimmers would like some individual technique work one on one with the coach rather than with a squad group, Mountain Swim also offers private lessons for this. Please use the private lesson form available on the website to book this.
Brochures
You may have noticed the new brochures and squad information at the front desks of the leisure centres. These brochures were added to help provide info about the squads and what we do. If you know someone that might be interested in doing squads please let them know about the brochure or ask them to contact me directly by email or phone. Additionally the Mountain Swim website has lots of information and new stuff is being added regularly.
Swimming at club night
Competing at club night is a great way to gain race practice and bring down your times. Club night operate every 2 weeks on Thursday nights. If you are interested in seeing how they run please go in and have a look. Links to the Swimming club websites can be found here.
Gear and equipment
It is important for swimmers to have the correct gear and equipment for training. A list of the equipment needed is on the website here. There are some new pieces of equipment that will be useful for older swimmers including therapy bands and rollers.
Swimmers should also think about wearing warm clothing to training. Shoes and headwear alongside warm jackets are important.
Mountain Swim Portal
The Mountain Swim portal has access to resources for swimmers. More things are being added throughout the winter. Please register soon if you haven’t already done so. Access it here.
New coaches
Three new coaches have started working with Mountain Swim this winter season.
Anne Yabsley is the Katoomba senior coach and is working alongside Gillian to run an exciting new Katoomba program. Jacquie Cabban is also working with the adult squads at Katoomba and junior squads at Springwood. If you see the new coaches around please feel free to say hello and get to know them after the session!
Registration for winter
Most swimmers (and parents J) have completed the new winter registration form for 2016. This form gives all coaches updated email and emergency contacts so is quite important. If you haven’t yet completed the form (it’s quite short) could you please take a look as soon as possible. The form can be accessed here.
Any problems/queries or concerns
If you have any problems, concerns or queries about your children’s swimming or would just like to chat in general about swimming news please contact us anytime.
Please take a look at a number of updates and news for the next month.
A big congratulations for the swimmers who have been getting ready to train promptly before sessions. The new standard talked about at the start of the season with older squads about getting ready to swim 5 minutes before the session has really been taken on board. This has allowed coaches to start sessions earlier and gives the swimmers more valuable water time. If you are interested in the standards for squads we are working on please have a look at the website page Swim Training.
Monday Public Holiday
Please note Monday is a public holiday and there are no sessions on.
Upcoming events
18-19th June, Mountains and Plains Swimming Carnival (Orange)
2nd-3rd July, Country Championships (SOPAC)
Working on technique
Since the beginning of winter the senior squads have been focusing on a number of technique areas. Though this has decreased the volume done in a number of sessions the coaches are using winter to target technique over sheer volume. Technique focuses include:
Improving streamlines to 8 kicks of every wall
Improving distance per stroke for efficiency
Building kick endurance and core stability so swimmers can move smoother through the water.
Lifting the body higher on the water in backstroke
Getting longer and reducing resistance in breaststroke
Finding out stroke counts and working on maintaining these at higher intensities.
As always every warmup revolves around focusing on technique which sets up every swimmer for the rest of the session.
It has been great to see a number of swimmers taking responsibility for their technique and working hard to make changes. A few weeks ago swimmers were asked to complete the technique goals form on the website. This form gives swimmers and coaches access to technique goals at training and swimming carnivals and is a valuable resource. Could any swimmers that haven’t yet completed it please log into the portal and fill one out soon. Please note that the technique goals form is aimed at Silver and Performance squad levels though will still be useful for bronze squad swimmers as well. The form can be found at the page here.
If any swimmers would like some individual technique work one on one with the coach rather than with a squad group, Mountain Swim also offers private lessons for this. Please use the private lesson form available on the website to book this.
Brochures
You may have noticed the new brochures and squad information at the front desks of the leisure centres. These brochures were added to help provide info about the squads and what we do. If you know someone that might be interested in doing squads please let them know about the brochure or ask them to contact me directly by email or phone. Additionally the Mountain Swim website has lots of information and new stuff is being added regularly.
Swimming at club night
Competing at club night is a great way to gain race practice and bring down your times. Club night operate every 2 weeks on Thursday nights. If you are interested in seeing how they run please go in and have a look. Links to the Swimming club websites can be found here.
Gear and equipment
It is important for swimmers to have the correct gear and equipment for training. A list of the equipment needed is on the website here. There are some new pieces of equipment that will be useful for older swimmers including therapy bands and rollers.
Swimmers should also think about wearing warm clothing to training. Shoes and headwear alongside warm jackets are important.
Mountain Swim Portal
The Mountain Swim portal has access to resources for swimmers. More things are being added throughout the winter. Please register soon if you haven’t already done so. Access it here.
New coaches
Three new coaches have started working with Mountain Swim this winter season.
Anne Yabsley is the Katoomba senior coach and is working alongside Gillian to run an exciting new Katoomba program. Jacquie Cabban is also working with the adult squads at Katoomba and junior squads at Springwood. If you see the new coaches around please feel free to say hello and get to know them after the session!
Registration for winter
Most swimmers (and parents J) have completed the new winter registration form for 2016. This form gives all coaches updated email and emergency contacts so is quite important. If you haven’t yet completed the form (it’s quite short) could you please take a look as soon as possible. The form can be accessed here.
Any problems/queries or concerns
If you have any problems, concerns or queries about your children’s swimming or would just like to chat in general about swimming news please contact us anytime.
Coaches Corner
Posture
This article on posture and swimming was sourced from swimsmooth. A link is provided below.
Computer work is very bad for your posture and that can impact on your swimming.
Many of us have office jobs and spend our days itching to break free from the PC and head out the door to train. But it gets worse. The posture that you adopt in an office job in front of the computer can really hurt your swimming technique. Unless you are very careful, computer work and other desk jobs cause you to develop a slouched posture with hunched forward shoulders and a bent forwards spine and neck.
You probably remember growing up and your parents or teachers telling you "...don't slouch - shoulders back and chest forward". This is actually excellent advice for your swimming too.
We are taught to think of core stability as being purely about the area around your abdominal and lower back, whereas in fact core stability concerns a much larger area. Your whole core comprises your abdominals, lower back, glutes (i.e. your bum / butt) and your upper back / shoulder region.
As a swimmer, you should be concerned about your level of core stability, especially when it comes to the upper back and shoulder region. Having hunched or rounded shoulders from the way you sit at the office leads to a swinging arm recovery technique, coming wide around the side rather than over the top of the body. A wide arm recovery causes cross overs, ruins the catch and is one of the leading causes of shoulder injury.
Poor posture leads to poor body roll which causes cross-overs. =(
By sitting slouched at your desk, you are inadvertently shortening the muscles at the front of the shoulder and chest (the pectorals or 'pecs') and elongating those at the back (mid and lower trapezius muscles or 'traps' and the rhomboids). Over a prolonged period of time, this posture becomes ingrained.
So sit-up! Shoulders back and chest forward! Let’s remedy this whilst you read.
Working to strengthen the muscles at the back of the shoulder and stretch those at the front will pay real dividends when it comes to your stroke technique. It will help develop a range of motion around the shoulder joint and through the upper back, and in doing so help prevent cross-overs.
Read more: http://www.swimsmooth.com/core.html#ixzz4BLVb7NiA
This article on posture and swimming was sourced from swimsmooth. A link is provided below.
Computer work is very bad for your posture and that can impact on your swimming.
Many of us have office jobs and spend our days itching to break free from the PC and head out the door to train. But it gets worse. The posture that you adopt in an office job in front of the computer can really hurt your swimming technique. Unless you are very careful, computer work and other desk jobs cause you to develop a slouched posture with hunched forward shoulders and a bent forwards spine and neck.
You probably remember growing up and your parents or teachers telling you "...don't slouch - shoulders back and chest forward". This is actually excellent advice for your swimming too.
We are taught to think of core stability as being purely about the area around your abdominal and lower back, whereas in fact core stability concerns a much larger area. Your whole core comprises your abdominals, lower back, glutes (i.e. your bum / butt) and your upper back / shoulder region.
As a swimmer, you should be concerned about your level of core stability, especially when it comes to the upper back and shoulder region. Having hunched or rounded shoulders from the way you sit at the office leads to a swinging arm recovery technique, coming wide around the side rather than over the top of the body. A wide arm recovery causes cross overs, ruins the catch and is one of the leading causes of shoulder injury.
Poor posture leads to poor body roll which causes cross-overs. =(
By sitting slouched at your desk, you are inadvertently shortening the muscles at the front of the shoulder and chest (the pectorals or 'pecs') and elongating those at the back (mid and lower trapezius muscles or 'traps' and the rhomboids). Over a prolonged period of time, this posture becomes ingrained.
So sit-up! Shoulders back and chest forward! Let’s remedy this whilst you read.
Working to strengthen the muscles at the back of the shoulder and stretch those at the front will pay real dividends when it comes to your stroke technique. It will help develop a range of motion around the shoulder joint and through the upper back, and in doing so help prevent cross-overs.
Read more: http://www.swimsmooth.com/core.html#ixzz4BLVb7NiA