Swimming highs and lows
In the sport of swimming a swimmer can get incredibly hot and crush their times every time they swim. They are on a hot streak and that should be cherished. But what goes up will eventually balance out for a while or that dirty word that some coaches will never say plateau. Handling the ups for a coach is basically getting out of the way and allow the swimmer to take off. Handling the other part is a different issue.
First of all I am not afraid to say the word plateau it is a fact of athletics especially in developing athletics. I don’t lie to my swimmers (other than about jellyfish) so by not telling them that those are facts of the game I would be deceiving them. Plateaus are derived in the sport of swimming as an analogy to mountain climbing. When you climb mountains you will climb for a while and then rest and recover at a plateau of the accent. See if you are climbing a huge mountain you cannot only climb and climb and climb you must rest, recover and adjust to attitude. You will normally do this at a plateau of the mountain. See plateaus can be a good thing. We as coaches normally use a swimmers plateau as a time that we make adjustments to the swimmers stroke in order to get them ready for their next accent.
Swimmers handle plateaus in two different ways they either flat line for a while swimming just a touch better or add a couple of seconds here and there and come out of it after a few months (yes I said months not weeks). Or they panic and add a bunch of time for a really long time (months to years).
Reasons why a swimmer
might panic:
-They feel will never come out of this funk.
-They do not remember what it felt like to improve.
-Their parents are panicking so they feel that added pressure to improve.
-There is a big meet that is coming up and they want to do well at it.
-They are really close to a cut and want it really bad.
-Their closest competitor is on a hot streak and they feel they will never be able to go faster than them.
-Add your own here.
If you do not panic during a plateau it will only be just that a plateau. If you panic it will become a valley or a hole that you will only dig deeper. Almost like quicksand where the more you struggle the deeper you go.
Ways to handle a
plateau:
-DON’T PANIC!!!
-Work on the things in order to come out of it.
-Remember it will get better.
-Remember how good it felt on the way to this plateau and work for that feeling again.
-Don’t over analyze how those around you are doing (they are not you).
-Parents continue to encourage your children and show no worries be a cheerleader not a judge.
-Remember this is just a step on the way to your ultimate goal!
What if I have
already dug a hole, how do I get out (it is really deep)?
-Remember first of all you are going to have to begin to accent from the bottom of the hole not the plateau. The bottom of that hole is your plateau.
-From the bottom follow the ways to handle a plateau.
-Embrace the stroke and race corrections of your coaches.
-Stay positive remember your negativity got you down here.
-You will feel as if you are starting all over.
-Remember great many great swimmers have been down this deep and have climb on out.
-Have fun.
Probably the greatest example I can think of a good swimmer
that I saw in a hole was Amanda Beard.
Amanda was on top of the swimming world in 1996 winning Gold and Silver
as a young teenager in
I hope this little article helps as you get ready for your Championship meets. Good luck to all, and remember to relax and let it happen.