SWIMMING GOLD

By popular demand — let’s talk about speed.There’s a lot written about it. A lot talked about it. And a lot of confusion about how to actually develop it.Here are my five fundamentals of going fast, fast, fast:1. Forget “throw your arms”I’m not a fan of that old drill where kids get on their back and just throw their arms as fast as possible. Some call it overspeed training.I don’t buy it — physiologically, biomechanically or from a skill learning perspective.It doesn’t teach anything except throwing your arms really fast.And our sport isn’t just about moving your arms quickly. It’s about moving your arms quickly with great technique and good skill — under fatigue, under pressure, in competition.All of those things together.Just thrashing your arms isn’t speed development. It’s just thrashing.2. Speed is relaxationHere’s a core principle I believe in deeply:The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be.So how does a coach apply this day to day?When you’re at the end of the pool about to send them off for a fast 50 — watch your language.Don’t say: “50 metres hard.”Don’t say: “All out effort.”Why? Because we want speed to feel effortless. Easy. Smooth.Try this instead:“This one — as fast as you can go, but easy, smooth and relaxed.”“Maximum speed, no effort, totally relaxed.”You’re marrying two concepts: maximum speed and maximum relaxation.Look at anything that moves fast in the animal kingdom. Look at track and field sprinters. The ones who move really quickly are loose, relaxed, smooth.You can’t swim faster by trying harder.Swimming isn’t an effort sport. It’s a technique sport. A skill sport. A relaxation sport.3. Speed is speed is speedJust because you’re doing 25s or 50s doesn’t mean you’re doing a speed workout.It’s all about the rest. And the intensity.A real speed set might look like:* 8 x 25 on 3:00 - longer rest if needed.* 6 x 50 on 3:30 - longer rest if needed.Complete rest. Easy, relaxed recovery — static or dynamic, your choice.Short distances. Maximum speed. Lots of rest.Speed is speed is speed.Yes, there’s a case for doing speed work at the end of a session when they’re tired — technique under fatigue. That’s real. That’s what heats and finals feel like.But if you’re trying to develop genuine speed — short distances, long rest, not too many of them, great speed.4. Fast + Long = BestWhen kids are starting out, we think about moving arms quickly. Fine.But as they develop, we need them to move their arms quickly with maximum distance per stroke.It’s no good if they can thrash their arms really fast but they’re taking 30 strokes per 50.We’re looking for the combination: fast and long.Fast is good. Long is good. Fast and long is best.Long strokes at maximum speed. Pressure on the water throughout the stroke. Maintaining length while moving quickly.That’s what we’re chasing.5. Speed work all year roundThis might be the most important one.I see coaches around the world obsessed with what I call exclusion blocks. The first seven weeks of the season — endurance only. Then pre-competition — a bit of speed, lots of threshold. Then they throw speed in at the end and hope it comes back.I totally disagree.Speed is the most precious thing in our sport.Nobody lies in bed at night dreaming of doing 40 x 100. Kids are lying in bed thinking: how do I go faster?Olympic gold medals. World records. PBs. Qualifying for the next level.This whole sport is about going faster.It makes no sense to kill speed off for months with huge volumes of training and then hope it magically returns.Wishing, hoping and prayer do not represent a solid strategy.Do speed work at least two or three times a week. All year round. Even in the middle of your so-called endurance block.More and more coaches around the world are moving away from exclusion blocks toward holistic, balanced programs that include deliberate speed work throughout the year.The One-Second TestHere’s my rule of thumb:Swimmers should never be more than one second slower than their PB 50 time — at any point in the year.Middle of an endurance block? They should still be able to touch speed.If you kill it off and just hope it comes back — chances are, one day it won’t.Speed is the most precious thing in this sport. Protect it.Over to youWhat are your favourite speed sessions?How do you talk to your swimmers about going fast?How do you generate real speed in your workouts?I’d love to hear from you. Drop a comment below.Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe

By Wayne GoldsmithCoaches and parents often ask me: “How do I help my swimmer develop confidence?”Here’s the equation I use:Confidence = Belief × EvidenceThink of confidence as a can — the Confidence Can.Our job as coaches — and as swimmers — is to fill that can with experiences. Evidence that proves “I CAN do this.”Every quality training session. Every race where they held their technique under pressure. Every time they got back on the blocks after a disappointing swim. Every early morning they showed up when they didn’t feel like it.That’s evidence. And evidence fills the ‘can.But here’s what most people miss: evidence alone isn’t enough.The other half of the equation — Belief — is what parents bring.Your unconditional love. Your complete acceptance of your child, win or lose, PB or DQ. Your child needs to know — with absolute certainty — that they are loved for who they are, not for what they achieve in the pool.Belief × Evidence.When coaches and swimmers fill the Confidence Can with great experiences, consistent training, quality recovery and healthy habits — AND parents provide that most powerful gift of all, unconditional love — something magical happens.Your swimmer stands behind the blocks, in any pool, at any meet, and thinks:I can. I can. I can.Know a swim coach or swimming parent who'd find this useful? Share this post or send them to swimminggold.substack.comWayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe

By Wayne GoldsmithNo matter what stroke.No matter the age of the squad swimmer.From “Minis to Masters” - there’s 7 Technique Tips that I guarantee will improve the swimming technique of every swimmer you coach.* Soft hands;* Loose feet;* Head and hips relationship;* Breathing;* Slow to fast;* Relax Relax Relax;* Feel - Connect - Pull.I promise you - these Magnificent 7 work every time!Wayne GoldsmithP.S. Paid subscribers will get a much longer and more detailed video on the “Magnificent 7” next week. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe

What would you do if you had ONE session with a team you don’t know, in a place you’ve never been, sometimes in a language you don’t speak, in a culture you don’t understand?I have the best job in the world. I get to travel around the globe spending time with swimming coaches, swimmers and swimming families everywhere.When I travel, coaches will often ask me to come and visit their pool and spend some time with their swim team. Sometimes they ask me to take a session. Other times it’s a talk on pool deck about attitude, motivation, team work or choosing to be exceptional. Or sometimes the coach will ask me to just walk up and down the pool with them talking about coaching, technique, skills and training.But no matter what they ask me to do, I challenge myself around this one question: What can I do in two hours that can make a real and lasting impact on their swimming careers? Here’s my answer: I make them feel good about themselves.I can’t improve their physiology in one session — so I don’t try.I can’t fix their technique in a single workout — so I don’t waste their time or mine.What I CAN do is inspire them to believe in themselves — just a little. Be a spark in their hearts that could change everything.I coach the Power of Choice.Coaches — our job, above all else, is to inspire people to believe in themselves and that anything is possible.Yes, we coach technique, tactics, speed, strength. But the effectiveness of our coaching comes down to one thing: our ability to inspire everyone we coach to believe in themselves — and in us.Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe

By Wayne GoldsmithI’ve been to over 1000 swimming pools.Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Fiji Islands, USA, South Korea, Zimbabwe, South Africa, England, The Isle of Man, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Greece and Italy - and a few more places I’ve probably forgotten.And the “default” version of coaching swimming is the same in 90% of the places I visit: Coaches standing at the end of the pool yelling numbers and orders at kids!“1:20, 1:23, 1:21”….“Take your marks GO, Take your marks GO, Take your marks GO”…..“44 strokes, 39 strokes, 41 strokes”….“Finish on the wall, don’t breathe inside the flags, stop pulling on the lane ropes”….It’s like we’ve decided that there’s only one way to coach swimming and it’s replicated over and over and over all around the world.Coaches - here’s the great news: You don’t have to do it this way.You don’t have to be just another “telling and yelling” coach standing at the end of the pool screaming numbers at kids and calling it coaching.What is it the coaches do?WE COACH!And what is coaching?It’s connecting with, engaging with and inspiring the hearts and minds of everyone we coach.In this video I talk about how you can coach more effectively, more engagingly and have a lot more fun - and success in the process.Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe

I was in Zimbabwe doing a swimming clinic in 1996 for WORLD AQUATICS - FINA as it was.The hosts took me to a local swimming program. Run down pool, no lane ropes, no backstroke flags, no starting blocks. Cold water. The sides of the pool had green scum on them. One of the kids told me they were toad eggs and they had to be careful not to swallow them. Coach - a very good guy - was a butcher - very limited high level swimming coaching knowledge but a very decent, hard working, dedicated coach.Overall pretty terrible environment.In one lane however was an 11 year old skinny little blonde kid. She just plowed up and down the pool relentlessly. She swam like she was angry at the water: she just worked and worked and worked. In between repeats she smiled, laughed, joked with her friends - then boom - back into it - lap after lap after lap to a standard that would have seen her fit in nicely to any age group program in Australia, USA, UK - anywhere.At the end of the session the coach introduced her to me and me to her. “Coach Wayne. I’d like you to meet Kirsty Coventry”.That’s Kirsty “First Woman IOC President, 7 medals (2 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze) across five Olympics (2000-2016)” Coventry.Environment doesn’t make champions. Character does.Toad eggs, green scum, no lane ropes. Seven Olympic medals. Tell me again that being great at sport is all about facilities.Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe

There are two types of swimmers: Pacers and Racers.Alex Popov — multiple Olympic Gold medalist, world record holder — told me this years ago. It stuck.Pacers train to hit a time. They race to a plan, trying to control the controllables.Racers learn competitive skills that equip them to meet any challenge. They change pace, adjust technique, adapt to whatever the race demands.If you’re training athletes to WIN when it matters, train them to be Racers.Which are you coaching?Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe

By Wayne GoldsmithOne of the most confusing parts of learning about swimming coaching is training zones. When you attend your first ever swimming coaching course or when you open a swimming coaching textbook for the first time, you’ll see a table full of words like “alactic” and “aerobic” and “anaerobic” and percentages, sample heart rates and effort ratings.Often there will be six, seven or even more different training zones listed on those tables and the course presenter will tell you that it’s important you learn the training zones and apply them in your training programs precisely to help your swimmers develop specific physiological adaptations like speed, endurance, VO2 max etc.The current models of training zones are impractical, overly complex and most importantly not workable for the majority of age group coaching programs where one or two coaches are coaching 10, 20, 30 or more swimmers at any one time.Coaches - it is unrealistic - bordering on impossible - that you, me or any coach - can know for certain what training zone 30 kids are working in at any one time with any degree of accuracy or precision.When I teach training zones to swimming coaches, I start with big, simple, easy to coach zones e.g.* EASY, RELAXED, WARM UP PACE* AEROBIC PACE* RACE PACE* SPEED DEVELOPMENT / MAX SPEED PACEI then encourage coaches to “play” with the precision of the zones and add training zones if / where they need to make the training paces and workloads more accurate. In this video - a must watch for all swimming coaches - I suggest an alternate way of applying a common sense approach to training zones in your coaching programs.Wayne GoldsmithCOPYRIGHT WAYNE GOLDSMITH - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe