What I have Learnt and
Implemented from Bill Sweetenham
Brian Rodriquez
High Performance Director Lane 4 Aquatics
Two Main Areas
• Physical coaching
– Strokes, Training Cycles, Programming etc.
• “Everything else”
– Leadership, Business and Learn to Swim.
Coaching
• 3 Training Speeds 2 Energy Systems – every session.
• Implemented in 2009 at Kings, 2011 in Mount Isa.
• Was based on quality speed, and lactate training sessions.
• Results: increased speed and adaptation of my athletes.
• Kings Club Top 10 at State Championships.
• Mt Isa – significant improvement.
Example
300s/300k/200s/200k/100s/100k/50s/50k kick is HARD
10x50 band .60 PB+8 300 200
100
1st two sets on 1.20 last set on 1.30 (last 25 Form) 24x25 .50 Odds MAX, Evens MOD
Turns to finish
Mini Max Values
• Mini-Max: Time + Stroke Count
– Eg 50m freestyle in 30 sec in 30 strokes
• Add Heat Rate to distances over 100m
= efficiency based + speed + fitness
• When in session to apply this. Start, Middle, End? Depends on what you want.
Implementing
• Efficiency, speed and fitness.
– Together, separately or both?
• Most coaches are coaching between stroke development to national age.
• Basis for much of our success and measurable.
Testing/Measuring
Measurable:
– Recovery – Fatigue – Sleep – Stress
– Flexibility
– % of total volume of “race pace swimming”
- % kick, pull etc The list goes on…
Challenge
• Bill is never satisfied and is always challenging me and my thinking.
• Can your least talented athlete become your highest skilled? Measure your ability to coach by your ability to teach.
• Based on this question/answer how good of a teacher and coach are you?
On Your Terms
• Can you coach at a level superior to your most successful athlete?
• Swimmers must come into our world. Prepare at our level of expectation.
• Your buy in power for all those around you must be attractive and believable.
• Clear communication is also vital to the continued success of the process.
Your Situation
• “Social involvement will not increase
performance driven membership within a club.” – Kings.
• Cultural differences, parental management and swimmer management.
• Adapt to your situation and implement what you believe will be successful in the situation you are in. Slowly, Slowly – Mount Isa.
Sporting and Corporate World
• 20% are the people who are "CAN DO" people in "CAN'T DO"
situations. They give 100% more than 95% of the time.
• 40% are "CAN DO" people in "CAN DO" situations. These are people who give 95% 100% of the time but are reliant on the motives, needs and behaviours offered to them by superior leadership.
• 40% are "CAN'T DO" people in "CAN DO" situations. These are the people who lack motivation, do not understand or
appreciate the needs, motives and behaviours and desires required to have the repeatable excellence of the top 20%, or even the above group of 40%.
Correspondence
• Of all the emails I receive 1-2 are based on training programs.
• Invaluable in developing my planning skills
especially in a middle distance IM based program.
• The rest of my correspondence is a much broader spectrum of sport in general and the corporate sector.
The Art of Possibility
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGAJ7hVh1 0&feature=related
This sums up Bill’s effect on me…
The Conductor
• “The conductor depends on his power to
make other people powerful.” Is this not what coaches must do? We are the conductor of
our programs.
• Bill has rarely given me a direct answer to a swimming specific question. He relies on me finding the answer based on how he inspires me to be more than I am.
Question
• Are we coaches who have knowledge of swimming which we apply to our jobs?
Or
• Are we teachers that teach, leaders that lead, inspire and motivate those around us then
apply our sport specific knowledge and coach?
Great Coaches
• Can apply themselves to any field of endeavour
• The three essentials of the world's best coaches in any sport are;
• their ability to coach,
• ability to teach and
• ability to lead.
Application of Lessons
• Greatest lesson that I have applied to my
coaching since knowing Bill is to constantly ask myself
• Am I a good teacher?
• Am I a good leader?
• Does my knowledge and coaching ability exceed that of my athletes?
Continued…
• Do I inspire greatness in my
– Athletes?
– Assistant coaches?
– Coaches around me?
– Parents?
– Committees/Employer?
• Do I make those listed above have a “sparkle in their eyes?”
Leadership and Teaching
• Both these skills are vital to me as a coach and as a business owner.
• Bill has always stressed the importance of
teaching as the premise for becoming a good coach.
Continued…
• I always teach throughout every level of our LTS program as well as the squads.
• As a leader it is my job to make sure the other people around me (teachers, LTS students,
squad swimmers and parents) “buy in” and follow these processes.
Summing up
• He has helped me better understand training specific skills and knowledge but has also given me the opportunity to go beyond the simple facts of planning and implementing a training program.
• He has given me all the knowledge I can get out of him and then left it up to me to learn and build my coaching based on my philosophies. I have no doubt he will continue to educate and develop me as a coach, a businessman and as a person.
He is a great sharer of knowledge.