Arizona State Coach Bob Bowman Addresses Tech Suits In Dual-Meet Competition; Opportunity For Growth

Arizona State Coach Bob Bowman Addresses Tech Suits In Dual-Meet Competition; Opportunity For Growth

Arizona State coach Bob Bowman, who has guided the Sun Devils to the No. 1 dual-meet ranking in the country as 2023 beckons, took to social media on Monday to challenge a longstanding thought process that is limiting to collegiate athletes.

On his Twitter account, Bowman wrote: “Pro and elite club swimmers wear tech suits for every race they swim. Why then, is it so frowned upon for college swimmers to wear tech suits in dual meets? Shouldn’t we rethink this? Asking for a friend.” 😈

Bowman’s commentary prompted an interesting and beneficial conversation that touched on several angles. For one, the legendary coach addressed the topic in which it has largely been considered taboo for a college team to “suit up” during dual-meet competition. Through Bowman’s eyes, why not allow the athletes to race at their fastest during the dual-meet season, or even in practice. Let them experience the benefits of technology and mimic the approach that will be used during the championship season.

When a handful of responses challenged Bowman’s thought process, suggesting cost as an impediment, the coach was ready with a rebuttal. Bowman, who mentored Michael Phelps to 28 Olympic medals, noted the opportunity to use the previous year’s tech suits for use in dual meets and practice. He also indicated there is a myth about the lifespan of tech suit, stating they endure for much longer than the swimwear companies want swimmers and coaches to believe.

The use of tech suits in dual meets obviously enables faster times, as opposed to practice suits which will limit optimum performance. As the sport looks for ways to grow itself, another plus of tech suits in dual meets is the opportunity to promote speed and peak performance. Fans want to see elite efforts, not neutralized showings.

ASU assistant coach Herbie Behm also weighed in on the topic with a key observation: “Removing suits lowers specificity by changing demands of the race. Task specificity should be considered in all exercises. Also, using meets as a “set-up” for future meets lowers cognitive specificity by shifting focus from ‘the now’ to a later date.”

Meanwhile, ASU assistant coach Rachel Stratton-Mills offered this analysis: “Very true that there is a monetary component to the use of these tech suits. However, a majority of collegiate teams’ operating budgets is team travel. Aren’t we devaluing the $$ these programs are already spending by asking the athlete to race in sub elite standard equipment?”

Pro and elite club swimmers wear tech suits for every race they swim. Why then, is it so frowned upon for college swimmers to wear tech suits in dual meets? Shouldn’t we rethink this? Asking for a friend. 😈

— Bob Bowman (@coach_bowman) December 26, 2022

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Bruce Temple

5 months ago

There should be NO difference in equipment between regular and championship events. Is this just another instance of the NCAA showing. how incompetent they are in administering collegiate non revenue sports?

dscott

5 months ago

All the comments by coaches in the article are rational. I would favor seeking agreement with opposing dual meet coaches but not requiring agreement. If there is not agreement, other transparency would be good, as coaches, athletes and –dare I include — fans analyze these results to make competitor comparisons. A marking on published results for suiting status either of full teams or even for individual athletes, would be useful for interested observers who are not on on-site on meet day.

The most consistent desire of coaches and athletes is to be at their fastest at their selected meets, usually a Championship of some sort. At that meet all technical and physiological and psychological choices support pursuit of the fastest available swimming. But even this choice is not uniform across programs. While it seems mostly apparent that this choice would be for the National Championship, some coaches/programs may adjust this choice slightly by concentrating instead on Conference or other meets, depending on their particular calendars. Even this concentration choice may be for different reasons, some going absolutely all in at conference as their traditional main goal, with only a few of those athletes looking to improve at the next meet (i.e. Ivy League). Others further down rosters may need to maximize performance in late season duals as they are otherwise not likely to be on the travel squad to Conference/NCAA meets.
Others may make the concious choice to do a “double taper,” hoping the first taper will maximize their chances to be “invited” for the next meet and creating comfort at a high performance level which they hope will increase their confidence in the chance of repeating or even improving bests at the next go around.

These are, and should be, coach/athlete decisions. Every squad, even every swimmer within a squad, may be seekng different objectives, which justify different decisions in each competition — including dual meets, which to me seems consistent with Coach Bowman’s comments.

My hope is for everyonoe to swim fast when it “suits” them! Good luck all!

Frank Wilson

5 months ago

The spectator aspect should be considered. Faster times in dual meets will mean more publicity and spectator interest in swimming. Swimming as a sport needs more spectators and more publicity in this modern sports environment.

Raymond Woods

5 months ago

Agree

Eva jaszczuk

5 months ago

Agree with coach bowman