Core strength does NOT equal speed

I have an athlete I've been coaching, and they have incredible core strength. Years of swimming, and lots of core work, 5 times per week, up to an hour per session.

This athlete though is not happy with where their performance is. The first thing I am doing as the coach is cutting back the core strength. This sounds like blasphemy to some, as core strength is the "in" thing. But if core strength translated to speed, this athlete would be one of the fastest around. But they're not.

Strengthen your core, sure, but there comes a point where the effort you put into getting the extra few percentage points of improved core is wasted, as you could be putting that effort toward things that actually make you faster.

Coach Vance

Attitude Part 2

"If you have a bad start, you've got 99 meters to be pissed." - Carl Lewis, sprinter, 9-time Olympic Gold Medalist in track and field

This past weekend I took my TriJuniors athletes to Des Moines, Iowa for a major Elite Cup, which is one of the toughest events on the Junior Elite Series, to get athletes qualified for Nationals. I had 2 girls race who it was their first major event. They told me, "That swim was really rough". Nevermind the fact I told them to expect this for months leading into the race, they didn't have good starts and they dealt with the consequences. If you want to have a good start, it is all about attitude in swimming, being aggressive. So you can either have a great start and enjoy it, or have a bad one and be pissed about it. Make the choice.

Coach Vance

Attitude on the Start Line

The attitude you have on the start-line will be the biggest determinant of the race result.

So what attitude do I want you to have on the start line? "Who's getting 2nd?"!!! That's the attitude I want. But you have to believe it for it to be effective. If you don't do the work, you won't believe it. If you've done the work, BRING THAT ATTITUDE!!!

Coach Vance

Belief of Improvement

I see a number of athletes not sure they believe they can improve to a high level of performance. Funny how I look thru the careers of every top level athlete, age-group to elite, and there took a period of improvement and increase in belief they could reach a high level of performance. No one ever heard of Peter Sagan in cycling, now he is the biggest name in the sport since probably Lance. Look at any athlete who we talk about today, and you'll find they improved beyond what most of us expect of ourselves. I wonder if they believed they would improve so much. And if they did believe it would happen, how many of us limit ourselves simply in what believe the limit is of our own improvement potential?

So where are you? Do you believe you can improve? How much? If you believe, then don't get in your way, take some risk and go after it.

Coach Vance