Maybe I am the odd one out, but i personally like to see the breaststrokers doing distance freestyle. Breaststroke is sort of an odd duck stroke, but if you get it there is always room for a fast one. I think the distance freestylers get the good work ethics and when they get older they have a huge engine to work with. I also worry about ortho issues of being a breaststroker and only a breaststroker.
The kids are getting so damn fast these days it is hard to fathom how they do it. Congrats Bern on what sounds like a really good kid. Nothing better than a kid doing hard work.
Congrats Bern on what sounds like a really good kid. Nothing better than a kid doing hard work.
Thank you. He definitely makes me proud in all aspects of his life. He is a good kid.
Maybe I am the odd one out, but i personally like to see the breaststrokers doing distance freestyle. Breaststroke is sort of an odd duck stroke, but if you get it there is always room for a fast one. I think the distance freestylers get the good work ethics and when they get older they have a huge engine to work with.
His coach would agree. The coach is mediocre (and I think he might agree) in terms of a stroke and technique coach. He has produced a couple of college swimmers in his days as the girls coach. In fact, one of them, who is a freshman in college this year, is the top-ranked D2 swimmer in the breaststroke and the IM. He is amazing as a coach in the way he plans and works the season. He does a lot of testing and keeps track of how the kids respond to it. He is almost artistic in the way he pushes some kids through a plateau and the way he will rest others when the plateau. This year he started working all of the guys on distance free with the thought that the endurance gained would pay off in all strokes. As a result, the team had 6 of the top 20 swimmers in the 500 free swimming in the conference championships…out of 24 teams. Interestingly we also had 4 breaststrokers in the same meet.
Bernie
**virtual high five to you and your son **
Thanks. But give all the props to him. I’m just the dude who drives him to early morning practices!
**Last chance meets can be freaky like that. **
I didn’t think he would hit it. I figured that since he had already be tapered he might be done for the season. Lucky him that I was wrong!
Bernie
What division is that Bernie? If he didn’t make the state cut for the 500 in division III he was awfully close for division I or II. It seems like it would have been worth swimming the 500 again too.
Thom
congrats on your son’s success. That is awesome!
What division is that Bernie? If he didn’t make the state cut for the 500 in division III he was awfully close for division I or II. It seems like it would have been worth swimming the 500 again too.
Howell is a Division I high school. The D-II and D-III are slower. The D-I state cut for the 500 Free is 5:00.79 and the D-II is 5:02.79, so he would have had to drop about 9 seconds which is a pretty big drop. Who knows though? I probably shouldn’t dismiss his capability. The coach is really the one who made the decision. Probably for the best.
At this meet there were 3 opportunities to hit the 100 breaststroke state time. He swam the 100 Free (you can do any stroke and count it), the 100 breaststroke, and the lead swimmer on the 400 freestyle relay. He was registered in all 3 events, so that may have been the limiting factor why he wasn’t trying for the 500. He would have had to give up at least 1 of his shots at the breaststroke time.
Bernie
Thank you so much.
Bernie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at8KxjGfMG4&feature=channel_page
I don’t know if anyone would be interested, but I put the video of the swim on youtube. (complete with his weird victory dance!)
I’m sorry, I know I’m gushing, I just can’t help myself.
Bernie
My son is a freshman on the Div 3 team for Hamilton. I’ve really enjoyed following MI high school swimming this year, primarily because Hamilton is a top D3 school. We swam against the #2 D1 school (Grandville) and the #1 D2 school (Zeeland) so I’ve had a chance to see some very good high school swimmers. They simlply amaze me. Best of luck to your son next weekend.
Thom
Thank you, Thom. Watching these kids is a lot of fun. We hosted a really cool invitational this year for underclassmen. We set it up so that it would be a fresh./soph. championship. It worked out really well.
Thanks for the well-wishes. If your son is doing any post-season swimming good luck to him too.
Bernie
Gushing, LOL - I think I must’ve told you at some point my brother was a really good breaststroker in high school (now he just rock and ice climbs :P) and I loved nothing better than watching him race. It’s like you hold your breath for them - suspending everything in you for that single minute while they race.
**It’s like you hold your breath for them - suspending everything in you for that single minute while they race. **
Actually, I am one of those idiot parents screaming like a drill sergeant even though there is no way that he is hearing me. I started video taping some of the meets and I don’t scream near as much with the recorder in my hands.
Bernie
That’s freakin’ awesome, man. Congrats!
He gets his strength, speed and rhythm from his mother, doesn’t he?
It was a long shot for my son because technically he had tapered for last week.
Never underestimate what a good taper can do. From my years of swim coaching, talking with many swimmers and some coaches, many swimmers are not tapered enough given the volumes they put in. That extra week of specific work without huge amounts of volume is when they truly hit their peak.
Congrats to him for ripping up his previous PB!
**He gets his strength, speed and rhythm from his mother, doesn’t he? **
I would say that he gets his balance, flexibility (except in his shoulders), and his dance moves from his mother. His strength is entirely from me. His speed is all his own!
Bernie
Never underestimate what a good taper can do. From my years of swim coaching, talking with many swimmers and some coaches, many swimmers are not tapered enough given the volumes they put in. That extra week of specific work without huge amounts of volume is when they truly hit their peak.
Congrats to him for ripping up his previous PB!
Thanks. That is a very interesting perspective to me. I suspect that he is also benefitting because he was tapered down for the distance free moreso that the breaststroke. So he was still putting in some decent mileage up until the conference championships. Last week was his first week of more intensive stroke work (if that makes sense) rather than endurance work. Hopefully he can hold onto it for one more week for State’s on Friday and Saturday!
Bernie
Khai,
Thanks, man. I’ll pass it on.
Bernie
x2. I was scrolling through to see if anyone had said this.
I know a number of people who have had similar experiences leading them / their coaches to know that they need a longer or easier taper to perform at their best. Some people freshen up in a matter of days, some people take a number of weeks. You only learn by trial and error. Your son is obviously still learning and he’s just learnt a great lesson about race prep and swum an awesome time. Lessons can just as easily be learnt by swimming a really bad time so what a good deal 
Congratulations and enjoy states.
Don’t sprinters tend to need longer tapers than distance swimmers? Or have I got that backward?
slight thread hijack 