JACKSONVILLE, Florida, September 24. ONE of the most exciting places to hang out at the American Swim Coaches Association\u2019s world clinic is the \u201cCounsilman Creative Coaching\u201d table. That\u2019s where coaches from around the world submit their ideas for innovative ways to make workouts more fun for athletes or work on various aspects of technique in interesting ways.<\/p>\n
Each year, the top four ideas get a cash prize and their inventors recognized at the awards banquet. This year, Russ Kasl of SwimMAC Carolina won $400 for what he called \u201cAlphabet IMs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The set, designed in collaboration with fellow coach Larry Lee, is 26 x 100 IMs on an interval set for a particular ability. Each 100 IM has a letter of the alphabet attached to it, corresponding to a skill to be worked on during that repeat. For example, the letter for the first 100 IM is \u201cA\u201d for \u201cAlmond Joy.\u201d Like the candy bar, the goal is \u201cgo nuts in the middle,\u201d according to Kasl.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool for the swimmers because it changes every time and coaches know that they can have them do a fairly long set where the skill\/focus intention is specific while being conditioned,\u201d Kasl wrote in an email.<\/p>\n
Watch Kasl and the other three winners accept their awards in the exclusive video below! After the video, Kasl and Lee pose with the photo of Counsilman that comes with submitting the best idea, and a chart of the set\u2019s progression.<\/p>\n