{"id":534651,"date":"2023-08-03T05:16:54","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T12:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=534651"},"modified":"2023-08-03T05:44:16","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T12:44:16","slug":"why-coaches-change-training-some-of-the-best-weigh-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/why-coaches-change-training-some-of-the-best-weigh-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Coaches Change Training: Some of the Best Weigh In"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Coaches Change Training: Some of the Best Weigh In<\/strong><\/p>\n

Home Improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a seven-time Olympic coach with 15 NCAA men\u2019s titles at the University of Texas<\/a>, Eddie Reese<\/strong> knows something about getting better. And early in his career, he learned it from an unlikely source: \u201cBack in the days when the Russians were winning all the weightlifting contests, their motto was \u2018When you go into the weight room and do the same thing every day, the body adjusts and you don\u2019t get the benefit. So you must upgrade from there.\u2019 I agree with that,\u201d says Reese.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the discussions arose that brain wave patterns, not muscle memory, accounted for significant change, we began doing race-pace\u2014or close to race-pace\u2014training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It remains a staple of our training. Before, we had not done anything like that; we just worked hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese days, any changes we make will depend on who it is and what we are doing. I always try to stretch \u2019em. For our 50 and 100 freestyle men, we have a test\u2014a 300 straight. The COVID year, we didn\u2019t go to the NCAAs, but we had five guys go 2:32 or better. That was probably my best team,\u201d he says wishfully.<\/p>\n

ANOTHER VOICE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jason Weber\u2019s<\/strong> University of Chicago men and women finished third and seventh, respectively, at this year\u2019s NCAA D-III Championships. \u201cIt was a very successful and exciting year for both teams,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking to make training changes, even after successful years. Our goal is to become more efficient with our time, create a more manageable schedule\/training plan for our student-athletes, and improve in areas where we were lacking the previous season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always open to feedback from our coaches and athletes to making adjustments and finding new ways to improve. I don\u2019t think what we do is the best way, but I\u2019m also trying to find what will work best for our program,\u201d he says. \u201cThe schedule and training we did when I first started is drastically different from what we do now. Any change has to be something that I believe in and can communicate effectively to the athletes so they understand what we\u2019re trying to do and will buy into those changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven during a season, we may make changes from week-to-week based upon how the team is performing in practice and competitions and what\u2019s going on in school and their lives. We have an overall training plan for the season and each week, but we may have to make changes to get the most out of the team at any particular moment. Any changes we make are always in the best interest of the team, but we try to individualize training as much as we can as well. This can be difficult with a team of 70+ athletes and a small coaching staff. Still, our main priority is to make sure the student-athletes are enjoying their experiences and getting the most they can out of training and competitions.<\/p>\n

AN ENGINEERING APPROACH<\/strong><\/p>\n

As in Chicago, change in training is a way of life with MIT head coach Meg Sisson French<\/strong> and her Engineers, whose men finished in a tie for fifth and women eighth at this year\u2019s D-III Championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always trying to mix up our training and get better and faster every year,\u201d says French. \u201cAt the end of every season, our coaching staff takes a long time to process the ups and downs of the year. We ask ourselves:<\/p>\n