Carrie Thiederman

April 7, 1962 – September 22, 2015

 

This piece, written by Carrie no less, was in the San Francisco Chronicle last Friday the 25^th. Wrap your head around this if you can…

“This is what she knows: that when you least feel like it, do something for someone else; that learning requires a willingness to be bad at something for a while, and that is okay;…if we had no winter, spring would not be as pleasant; that love must be outwardly shared and compassion acted upon; that people who deeply listen and closely observe radiate light from within and access their empathy…”

And she finished with this, “Smile when the people you cherish enter a room. Let them see your eyes light up. Again and again. And again.”

We spent this weekend at our season opening meet. We were surrounded by fellow coaches, swimmers, parents and officials. If Carrie had been any of those, she would have felt right at home.

Another Ken Masterpiece

Ken came up with this gem week. It took exactly 2 hours, has no fluff and everyone stayed engaged pretty much the whole way since the targets kept moving and were perceived as doable. We find that if we challenge them regularly while allowing for some measure of success, they respect that and lean into it. Make it so difficult that only one or two can succeed and bunches throw in the towel. Our training goal is to keep them on their game start to finish…we succeeded with this one for the most part.

Wmp 4x50/.50

Fins on...

9 x 200 3:00 (3 rounds of 3)

1. 4 and 8 non free – 1^st 200 laps 4 & 8 non-free

2. 4 and 8 hypoxic - 2nd 200 laps 4 & 8 one breath

3. IM

4 x 50 drill to swim... Choice drill... Get rid of the fin feel

Kick set

4 x 25 :40... Easy UWDK...15 meters – simply feel the underwater dolphin motion

8 x 25 :40...UWDK at effort ....15 m – race the person next to you 15 mtrs under

4 x 25 :40... Easy UWDK...15 meters – as above

8 x 25 :35...UWDK at effort ....15 m – as above

4 x 25 :40... Easy UWDK...15 meters – as above

8 x 25 :30...UWDK at effort ....15 m – as above

4 x 25 :40... Easy UWDK...15 meters – as above

8 x 25 :25...UWDK at effort ....15 m – as above

28 minutes

Swim an easy 400... 3 dolphin kicks off each wall

4 x 50/.50 swim as beautifully as possible... Count strokes

Main set – crank the 100’s fast, the 50’s are recovery and put your stroke back together

4 x 50 :50 easy

1 x 100 fast 1:20

4 x 50 :50 easy

2 x 100 fast 1:20

4 x 50 :50 easy

3 x 100 fast 1:20

4 x 50 :50 easy

4 x 100 fast 1:20

4 x 50 :50 easy

4 x 100 fast 1:20

4 x 50 :50 easy

3 x 100 fast 1:20

4 x 50 :50 easy

2 x 100 fast 1:20

4 x 50 :50 easy

1 x 100 fast 1:20

Set takes 53:20 to do... 26:40 easy and 26:40 at effort

On this set we had many of the stroke specialists swim the last lap of each 100 on the way up at stroke. On the way down the 100’s were free fast with the last 100 all stroke. The buy-in was enormous. Group energy was very high, lots of encouragement in the lanes. For the most part everyone was focused and very present.

7600 yards

The Jarred Hayne Experiment

“This whole journey was never about making a roster or being on a team,” Hayne said after learning he’d made the cut. “It was about giving myself an opportunity. I wanted to take a risk, put myself out there and put my faith in action. Faith without action is dead. This whole journey, I’ve never felt so alive.”

This quote is from Scott Ostler’s story in theSF Chronicle 9/6/15. It is about the great Australian rugby player who has made the 53 man roster for the NFL SF 49ers. He can run back kicks and runs, especially in the open field very dynamically.

As we begin our fall season and talk about goals with our team we will share the “faith without action” comment.

We had a great summer season of racing. We expect to bounce off of that into an even better fall season. We are asking our swimmers answer 3 questions for us.

1 – What are you willing to do to make your goal happen?

2 – What sacrifices will you make?

3 – How many training sessions will you miss?

We think holding swimmers accountable for their progress helps set them in a position to put their faith into action.

Words of Wisdom

We were going through some old notes today and found this from a weekend that Ken and Rick DeMont had in Tucson. It is about 5+ plus years old and to our way of thinking is still very relevant today…and so we share.

5-24•10 more from ken/rick

Never ASSUME that any great swimmer knows anything." Re-teach all the time.

"Athletes both Learn and Forget."

"Keep in mind the Power you have to instill the Dream."

"One at my goals is to get a smile out of each swimmer at each practice."

"There are three phases that swimmers will go through Please the Parent, Please the Coach, and Please Themselves. The last is the goal we all should seek."

"You need to have a lot of good swims before you have a Great Swim."

"I love to set up my practices so we have a lot of eyeball to eyeball racing."

"One of my key questions is, "How Important is the success of the Team to you? If it is, then everyone's individual success is important to you." I ask this when I have one swimmer who has a breakthrough and changes the pecking order in training status."

"Who does trash talking in practice help'"

"Sometimes you need to be stern with someone in practice. If you are, come back later and make sure to explain it to them."

"YOU have to challenge your swimmers with specifics on each set."

"The pain you feel now is similar to the pain you will feel in a race. To each race, there will come a point where you either defeat the pain, or you give in to it. Practice is your time to practice defeating that pain."

"Pull someone aside each day and spend time talking to them about life, their progress, and how they are feeling about things."

"Everyone on the team can develop more leadership capabilities."

"Discipline, through structure, is one of the most valuable things we give to the athlete in our sport."

^"Logbooks might be the single thing that can improve a swimmer. They should put in the key sets; not the whole session, stroke corrections that they were given by the coach, and develop a major list of all the ways to improve that the coach has given them. In meets, they should record race splits, race tactics, and comments from the coach."

"Ask "where was I in this meet one year ago?" Taking the long view can change the perspective on a "plateau"."

"Every Team Needs Its Olympic Games. Make one meet that meet. Emphasize that Great Athletes perform their best at the Big Meet."

"Meets are the most important part of training".

"Things I have observed that American Swimmers need to work on more...

1.     Streamlining. (Vertical jumps to streamline off the bottom of the pool.)

2.     Film those vertical Jumps and SHOW them good streamlining.

3.     Learning to avoid looking at the wall on flip turns.

4.     Tighter flip turns. (Especially when wearing the long suits.)

5.     Proper breathing mechanics in all four strokes.

6.     Ankle flexibility and improved kicking. (The future in all strokes looks leg dominated.)

7.     Finishing the race without lifting the head early. Face in until you stop the touch pad. The race goes to s/he who STOPS THE CLOCK first, not who touches the wall first.

Good Swimming!

But Wait, There Is Enough Time

It is the beginning of the new swim cycle…or the last quadrant of this particular “quad” swim season. Either way it is time to reflect upon what we learned just recently and how that knowledge will shape our next 11 months.

At some point, sooner or later, the lament “I never have enough time” will be heard. It is a constant in our universe. So to put things in perspective we “borrowed” (it’s never plagiarized when credit is given?!) this from Steve Morsilli.

There are 168 hours in each week. if you go to school 5 days a week for 7 hours that uses up 35 of the 168. Moving right along we sleep 56 hours a week. We also could do 28 hours a week of homework – at least there is enough time for that. Figure on 30 minutes per meal and that’s another 10.5 hours.  Finally we include 15 hours of training and 3.5 hours of driving time. All this adds up to 148 hours. So there is still 20 hours of wiggle room, free time, call it what you will.

The message here is very simple. There is enough time to do what you want so long as you are organized and have your priorities set to match your goals.

That is up to you…which is very powerful. There are no “victims” – “I never have enough time” - among the successful.

See you poolside in no time at all!

Thanks again Steve…

Keeping Things in Perspective

When a swimmer (or parent) says, “I’ve been working so hard to reach my goal. I came to every practice this summer, passed up trips with friends and still fell short”. The “woe is me” attitude comes to mind. We just looked at the calendar and our summer training and racing here in northern California is a mere 7 weeks long. Yes, 7 weeks is a nice block to put your all into it…but really? You expect some sort of “magic” to happen after 7 weeks?

 

And you freshman going to college are going to work diligently – harder perhaps than you ever have – and you are going to get upset if December comes around and you aren’t any faster? Really?

Consider if You Will – Shawn Lemon

(thanks to Eric Branch!)

Shortly after the Steelers released him in late July, Shawn Lemon began attacking his iPhone with intensity.

He had compiled contacts for the personnel departments of all 32 NFL teams and the well-traveled, often-rejected outside linebacker was, again, unemployed and undaunted.

Some teams responded to Lemon’s “Will you give me a job?” request with a question: Why isn’t your agent making this call for you?

They obviously didn’t know that resourcefulness was part of Lemon’s resume. After all, Lemon had convinced his agent, David Canter, to represent him in 2012 by making a phone call. So back to those conversations with NFL teams …

“I said ‘My agent’s working as well,’” Lemon said. “I mean, I was going to do everything within my power to help myself. No one will work for you like you will work for you. People might think you’re crazy, but if you want something that bad in life, you’ll do whatever you have to do to get it.”

Lemon, 26, who was signed by the 49ers last week, has endured plenty to improbably reach this stage: On Saturday, one trade, three leagues, five teams, five releases and eight teams after he left the University of Akron, he finally could play an NFL snap when the 49ers visit Houston in their preseason opener.

Considering his three-province, four-state odyssey, his NFL debut will be a feel-good moment. But more rejection is certainly in store. Lemon was signed to fill the roster spot created when the 49ers released Aldon Smith, but the outside-linebacker corps is still well-stocked with Ahmad Brooks and three recent draft picks: rookie Eli Harold, Aaron Lynch and Corey Lemonier.

On Thursday, Lemon was told no one expected him to survive the summer. No one thinks he’ll make the 53-man roster. He smiled.

“And no one — besides my parents — expected me to get a Division I scholarship,” Lemon said. “No one expected me to be in professional football. I’ve been told I couldn’t do something my whole life. I embrace that.”

Evidently.

Consider his first 12 months in professional football when Lemon was routinely told he couldn’t play. It began in 2011 when he signed with the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 18.

He was released July 21.

What happened? “That was the weirdest thing ever,” Lemon said. “They signed me, but then they decided they wanted an older player. So after they brought me up, they just released me.”

And so it began. Lemon spent five weeks with Saskatchewan (released) before sliding a rung down football’s food chain to the $500-a-week Arena Football League. He spent five weeks with the SaberCats (traded) and three weeks with the Orlando Predators (released) before, again, moving even further from the NFL: He left Orlando and signed with the Sioux Falls Storm of the Indoor Football League.

In three games with the Storm, he had 10 tackles (seven solo) and two sacks. He sent a video to the Edmonton Eskimos and his play inspired a contact offer.

Lemon, 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, arrived for his second CFL stint with more weight and less selfishness. He admits his lone goal in previous stops was to get glory.

“I didn’t have a big-scheme mind-set,” Lemon said. “I didn’t understand that every play is not designed for you to get a sack. It was about learning to play within a scheme and growing as a player.”

After a six-sack season in 2012, Lemon was released, but finally found a home in Calgary. He was limited by a hamstring injury in 2013 before thriving with the Stampeders last year. Lemon had 14 sacks and tied a CFL record with eight forced fumbles to lead Calgary to the Grey Cup title.

His breakthrough brought long-awaited attention. He visited 14 NFL teams before signing in January with Pittsburgh, where the good times lasted six months: The Steelers released him July 28, partly because a strained Achilles tendon sidelined him for the start of training camp.

Lemon insists he has been allergic to discouragement during his career, but acknowledged that his release from the Steelers made him wonder if he’d get another chance. On Aug. 1, a few days after he returned home to Maryland, he made an 80-minute solo drive to see Washington’s training-camp practice in Richmond, Va.

“It was a sick feeling being on the other side of that fence,” Lemon said. “I wasn’t in the NFL and now I’m a fan. It felt so bad for a moment, but then I felt motivated. It was like ‘No, I’ve got to get back.’”

Lemon is back in the game, but it’s certainly possible this will be the end of the road for an NFL rookie who will turn 27 on Aug. 25. Not surprisingly, the man who already has beaten long odds on an improbable journey is undeterred.

“If there’s something you want in life, put your all into it,” he said. “No matter how many doors close — kick open the next one.”

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch

You Actually Earn It

There are all sorts of “spots” up for grabs at this time of year. We can think of two in particular that define the concept of “earning” your way moving forward. The first is application and acceptance into a college of your choice. The second is application and acceptance into the training group of your choice.

The fall season is one of change. Summer has given us what it has in the pool. Spring has given us what it has in terms of scholastic pursuits. Now the fall is upon us and we are sorting out our options, our spots if you will.

And in our mind this is where the concept of “earning it” comes into play.

If you are a senior this fall you are most likely in the application process for college. The colleges you are applying to want to know what you have done thus far academically as well as extracurricular (swimming accomplishments). They look at your transcripts and test scores and using those along with the subjective references of letters from community leaders (and swim coaches) who sing your praises determine if you are “worthy” of admission to their school. It is a somewhat arrogant posture we think but nonetheless it is the process as it stands today.

Let’s say you have a 3.75 GPA and test scores to match. The college says you need to have 4.0 and test scores to match. Therefore, you fall short and are not admitted. You are disappointed but rally with the familiar cry, “But if you give me a slot I’ll show you that I deserve it by raising my grades to the standard you want”. They say, sorry but no go.

In the pool let’s say you want to move into a group that is more demanding on the training side. You have the same 3.75 swimming GPA and promise to bring it up to the required 4.0 standard if you are given the chance. A program based upon sound principles will not let that happen. The coach will say, “Show me by earning the right to be in the next more demanding group.” If you are fortunate the coach will have a set of requirements that outline the expectations so you will know what is necessary to move.

Again, you need to have the attitude that “I will earn my spot” and if I do then I will get it. It doesn’t happen the other way around…”Give me the spot and I will earn it”.

If you get a job and they say be at the front door at 6:00AM ready to go and you show up at 6:02 not quite ready then you will be asked to leave. Standards that are clearly defined help each of us know what is expected and how to “Earn” a spot.

It is a fine life lesson…earning our way gives us complete control over our future. Who would want it any other way?

Coaches Translation

 

By Gabriel July 23, 2015

All our coaches use certain phrases when talking to the swimmers during the season. If you're an 8 and under, an 11-12, on the senior team or an NBA alumni, you'll have heard some of these familiar statements over the years.

What I've found is that "It's usually what isn't said, that is the real story."

- Linda Park from the FLASH

So I've put together a "coach’s translation" to decode the true meaning behind their words:

For example: when Ken says:  “Just remember, Good race move on; bad race move on…” He really means: Yeah, that really sucked dude…

When Mean Mike says: “Ok guys, if you break 40 in the 50 free I'll buy you a candy bar!”…He really means: Those 8 and unders will do anything for candy.

When Don mutters: “Alright gang, now this main set is going to take physical toughness, mental toughness and emotional toughness.”…He means: You're all about to die and I’m going to be enjoying every single minute of it.

When Nice Mike yells: “Bring on the thunder!!”…He’s really thinking:  Wow, thunder! I sounded just like Thor.  Cool.

When Don says: “During that last race you weren't in the mental state of flow.”…He’s really thinking: And… There goes another reckless flurry of splashing and flailing.

And when Greg says: “Hi Laddy!”…He’s trying to say: I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.

When Lee Anne hollers: “Let's get ready to kick some boo-tay!!!”…She really means: They’re still motivated by butts…Unbelievable.

And when Mean Mike ends an email with something like: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”   Mark Twain…He’s really saying: Ha! I’ve never even read Mark Twain…Mike MacDonald - National Merit Scholar 

And when Ken says to me:  “Gabe, stop messing with your hair before practice.”…He’s really thinking: Oh, if I only had hair like that!!

And FINALLY when all the coaches throw out things like:

DON’T HANG ON THE LANELINES!!

REDO THE SET

GET IN THE POOL OR GO HOME

They’re really saying: We love you guys!

“Be Quick but Don’t Be in a Hurry”

This message is from John Wooden. Wooden is regarded as fine a coach that ever lived. Some of you know him personally if you hung out at UCLA in the last century. Many of you know about him through coaching investigations…as in who was the greatest coach ever type of thing. Basketball was his specialty but teaching wisdom was his chosen path to greatness. He is to coaching basketball as Doc Councilman and Peter Daland and Jack Nelson are to swimming.

He was counseling his players to be quick but never be in a hurry. When you hurry you rush. When you rush you give up something. When you give up something you put yourself in a tough spot that almost certainly you cannot recover from.

When you think about how to approach a race, first things first – HAVE A PLAN. 

You cannot win a race in the first 25 but you can lose a race in the first 25. If you are in a hurry you will “spin your wheels” using too much energy. This, combined with a loss of stroke efficiency, will put you in a tough spot that will manifest itself late in your race.

Said euphemistically, you will crash and burn; you will “die”.

So yes, be quick. Get in the race. No, do not be in a hurry. This sweet spot, this delicate balance is exactly what makes racing so darned interesting and ultimately so very compelling.

Have fun…you are in the next heat! Yikes! Be quick…you will be fine…really…

How Does Taper Work Anyway

There are three basic ingredients each swimmer has getting ready for their big meet, the end of season last chance to post some times.

Oops, focusing on “posting some times” would be a mistake. Why? ; Because not much good happens when you focus on results. Lots of good things happen when you focus on process. So figure out what worked for you in the past when you got yourself ready for a big meet and write those items down and work on them. Sure, we all know what we are after…a personal best and perhaps a cut to the next level of meets but when you work on that side of the game you only create anxiety and doubt.

What you want is a ready calmness and confidence. The calmness comes from knowing you have done everything you can up to this point in time. You cannot get in better shape – too late for that. You can develop more speed – there is time for that. (It comes from resting) And as your workout speed improves your confidence goes up. But here is the dilemma. In workout if you focus on the speed – times posted – you drive yourself crazy. It is far more important to work on the swimming well, stroke technique etc. so that the faster workout times will come…and then the confidence and speed build together.

The three ingredients are 1- Rest – the most important by far; 2 – wearing a tech suit; they really help compress your body and shed some water; 3 – shaving; and this depends upon how much “fur” you carry. It doesn’t matter if you have a little or a lot, you will feel so much slipperier in the water…which boosts your confidence.

Confidence is king. Have some of that and you will wear the “crown”.

It takes much more courage to rest than it does to work. So take a deep breath from your belly and relax as you exhale. Now go and rest…you’ll be fine, really

Make It Look Easy

Last weekend we were at a local Junior Olympic meet. These meets are fun for us since we get to work with some of the younger swimmers on our team. May Ling is 12 and having fun with her swimming, and she loves to compete so we are all over that for the obvious reasons.

She was getting ready for her 200 meter breaststroke final and asked (don’t they always?!), “So how do I swim this race?” We thought we’d keep the instructions to a minimum so we asked her a question. “When you see someone do their “thing” what is your reaction to it? When Curry shoots a 3 pointer, or your favorite swimmer races or your favorite musician plays or sings, what does it look like to you?”

Of course setting her up like this she responded, “They make it look so easy.” So we said why don’t you swim your race so that all of these people watching you will be saying, “Wow, she makes it look easy.” We told her that it wouldn’t be easy at all. In fact, it will be everything but easy but when you make it look easy you will be staying smooth and evenly paced and all that other “coaching speak”.

It turned out to be a really exciting close race with 4 girls all pretty evenly matched. May Ling touched 2^nd .09 out of first. Her splits were 39.0 – 43.8 – 43.9 – 42.8…and she made it look easy. Mission accomplished.

Learning from Buffett

In his book, “Think, Act, and Invest like Warren Buffett”, Larry Swedroe quotes Buffett as saying, “Investing is simple, but not easy.” The following passage in the book resonated:

“While it is simple to invest more like Buffett – you just need a well-designed plan and have the discipline to stick to it – it is not easy. Emotions, such as fear and panic in bear markets and greed and envy in bull markets, cause even well-developed plans to end up in the trash heap. The stomach takes over from the head…and stomachs do not make good decisions.

If you want to invest more like Buffett, you are going to have to learn to control your emotions. The best way of preventing your stomach from taking over is to stop paying attention to forecasters and so-called experts.”

In our sport of competitive swimming it is simple to swim fast, but not easy.

You need to have a plan in place and then be willing to work the plan. The willingness to work the plan keeps the emotions in check. When you have a down turn, understand why. When you are running on a good streak, understand why. The understanding keeps the emotions in check.

Remember, the saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” isn’t true very often.

How long can a swimmer go without hitting some best times? The answer depends on so many factors that we won’t even attempt a general answer here. We will offer this however.

If a swimmer intuits that s/he is making progress using several of many measurable benchmarks then you can safely say you are “invested” properly. When you have no progress with any measurable quantifiers then you need to look at your plan.

The fact that there are so many different ways to say, make the Olympic Team, in terms of training styles and coaching methodologies, leads us to believe that you can boil down progress to several basic items. Most of these are well documented:

Technique, diligent training, lifting and stretching, rest, nutrition…most of these is well known. The challenging part is being 100% honest with yourself in assessing your commitment to them. Most swimmers train really well occasionally; some do so 80% or more of the time; very few can say “I gave it my all every time.” Same goes for lifting and stretching, rest, nutrition etc.

So, make a plan and then stay with it. No need to listen to every form of feedback. Watch the important signposts and you will know if you are on track or actually need a new plan.