Flip the Switch
Many highly motivated and hard-working swimmers make the mistake of staying in practice mode right up to the day of competition. I believe they must “flip the switch” from training mode to competitive mode. That means identifying and sharpening their technical racing skills (TRS) a week (or two) before the meet.
You may wonder how TRS differs from your traditional practice skills, so allow me to provide a few examples.
- Are your current streamlines in practice race quality?
- Are your current “breakout angles” in practice race quality?
- Are you maintaining the kicking quality in practice that you plan to use in competition?
- Are you “hitting your turns” in practice, and are you driving into the “finish wall”?
My list is incomplete as there are dozens of racing skills you’ll need to sharpen before race day. Your mission is to pick three events and identify what you believe to be the critical racing elements for each. When complete, your challenge is to incorporate them into next week’s practices even if you don’t have a competition the following weekend.