Swimming World Presents “Event Specialization… When? Postponing Specialization in Favor of Well-Rounded Swimmers”

Swimming World January 2020 - Event Specialization - Josh Davis -YMCA of Greater New York - by Jennifer Hoffer
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Event Specialization… When?

By Michael J. Stott

Many coaches are postponing specialization in favor of creating well-rounded swimmers for what lies ahead, leaving preordination behind so that other coaches, human nature and physical development can take its course.

As an age grouper, a favorite set was 15 x 500 descend. As a college, Olympic and professional champion, his best events college, Olympic and professional champion, his best events were the 50 and 100 free.

Who knew? Probably not many, but that’s how Jay Benner, a veteran of 40,000-meter practice days, trained Nathan Adrian for life after age group. Did that aerobic preparation hurt Adrian’s career? Definitely not.

When trying to figure out the best time for swimmers to begin event specialization, most coaches agree it’s best to wait and see. First, build a foundation by having them learn all of the strokes and distances…and make sure they enjoy the sport.

To read more about when to start event specialization vs. postponing,
Check out the January issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!
Swimming World January 2020 Cover with Ryan Murphy

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FEATURES

016 THE TOP 5 STORIES OF 2019
by Dan D’Addona
From the debut of the International Swimming League to a worldwide youth movement, 2019 marked the start of a new era in swimming.

018 2019 ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
by Shoshanna Rutemiller, Dan D’Addona and Michael Randazzo
Diving: Shi Tingmao & Xie Siyi
Artistic: Svetlana Romashina &  Svetlana Kolesnichenko
Water Polo: Ashleigh Johnson & Francesco Di Fulvio
Disabled: Sophie Pascoe & Reece Dunn

020 EVENT SPECIALIZATION…WHEN?
by Michael J. Stott
Many coaches are postponing specialization in favor of creating well-rounded swimmers for what lies ahead, leaving preordination behind so that other coaches, human nature and physical development can take its course.

022 READY AND REFOCUSED
by David Rieder
At last year’s World Championships in Gwangju, Ryan Murphy came home with three silver medals, but his first individual long course World title still eluded him. With his focus now set on the 2020 Olympic summer, the 100 back world record holder and 2016 triple Olympic gold medalist is looking ahead to Tokyo with confidence.

026 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: THE BOYCOTT
by John Lohn
Years of hard work went unfulfilled. Dreams turned into nightmares. Sadness and anger abounded. The repercussions of the United States’ decision to boycott the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow were severe. This summer marks the 40th anniversary of a toxic mix of sports and politics.

030 2019 WORLD & AMERICAN RECORD PROGRESSION
by Taylor Brien

032 ISHOF: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
by Bruce Wigo
Dr. Kevin Dawson, who recently received the Harriet Tubman Prize for his book, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora, corrects and revises the history of swimming to include and recognize the contributions and accomplishments of Africans to aquatics.

036 MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH RYAN MURPHY
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COACHING

010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: RAY DAUGHTERS
by Michael J. Stott

014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: STRATEGIES TO ACCELERATE SKILL LEARNING
by Rod Havriluk
There are many different skill-learning approaches that can help a competitive swimmer improve his/her technique. For example, competitive swimming strokes “can be taught in their entirety or broken down into parts.” While both the “whole” and “part” approaches can help swimmers progress in all four strokes, selecting the most appropriate method can accelerate skill learning.

042 SPECIAL SETS: GETTING READY TO RACE
by Michael J. Stott
As college swimming rolls into its championship season in February and March, meet warm-ups take on even greater importance.

044 Q&A WITH COACH WENBO CHEN
by Michael J. Stott

045 HOW THEY TRAIN SARAH BACON
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

013 DRYSIDE TRAINING: TIME TO RESET—READY, SET GO!
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

047 UP & COMERS: RYAN HOGAN
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

009 BEYOND THE YARDS

025 THE OFFICIAL WORD

035 GUTTERTALK

048 PARTING SHOT

 

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IPBased Indiana
IPBased Indiana
4 years ago

Who does 40,000 meters a day? MVN’s animal lane in the 70s to early 80s maybe did 20,000 meters a day. That’s 5 hours of swimming a day (to go 20K in a practice setting) … who swims 10 hours a day?

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