Jon Rudd presentation at International coaches seminar in Kaunas (LTU)

1. Youth Swimming
Development...
Smart Planning – Smart Content
Tarptautinis Plaukimo Trenerių
Seminaras 2013
Jon Rudd (GBR)
Head Coach – Plymouth Leander Swimming
Director of Swimming – Plymouth College
Performance Coach – ASA Plymouth Beacon Programme
www.jonrudd.org

2. What Have I Just Done…??

3. What Have We Just Done…??

4. Failing To Plan Is Planning To Fail...
• Coaching & Training Are Not The Same Thing
• Skill/Technique First – Speed Second – Endurance
Third (Garbage Yardage)
• An Efficient Swimmer Will Always Beat A Fit One
• It’s Not Always The Fastest Swimmer That
Wins…But The One Who Slows Down The Least
• Coaches Must Sing From The Same Hymn Sheet
• Reaching The Individual Within The Group
• Pool Programme & Land Programme Equal Value

5. Youth Athlete Coaching Principles...
• Underwater Fly Kick Is The ‘Fifth’ Stroke
• Counting Metres Makes You Obsessed With Metres!
• Swim Black Or White – And Is There A Place For Grey?
• SC & LC Both Bring Something To The Table
• Quality Of Rest As Important As Quality Of Training
• Educate The ‘Lifestyle’ & The Parents– 18+ Hours Per Day
They’re Not With Us
• Development of Self Reliant, Self Managed Individuals
• International Selection A Step Across Not A Step Up

6. High Performance Youth Athletes...
• How Much?
• How Often?
• How Hard – How Easy?
• When To Push?
• When To Back Off?
• How Smart?
• Success Now But Without Compromising The Future

7. A Youth Athlete Microcycle...
Day am Pool pm Pool pm Land
Monday LC
A2/Skills/Tech
SC
Quality
Tuesday LC
Kick
SC
A2/Skills/Tech (*)
Gym
Wednesday Rest
(Catch Up)
LC
Quality
Thursday LC
Kick
SC
Threshold (*)
Gym
Friday LC
A2/Skills/Tech
SC
Speed & Power
Gym
Saturday LC
Quality
Rest
Sunday Rest Rest

8. Early Season...
• Skill/Technical – Efficiency Will Always Beat Fitness
• Easy Speed – It Is Not The Fastest Swimmer Who
Wins…
• Low Level Hypoxic/Power Breathe
• Strong Kick
• Daily Endurance Based Land Programme (Circuits)

9. Generic Principles Males & Females…
• Females Can Work Harder For Longer
• Females Require Less Rest
• Females Are More Of An Aerobic Animal
• Chronological Age vs Biological Age
• Females Can (Truly) Compete In A Senior
Environment Much Sooner
• Females & Onset Of Menarche (Power Development)
• Female Drop Out (Key Education Periods)
• Female Weight Management (Nutrition & Running!)

10. Generic Session Structure…
• Dry Warm-Up & Pre-Habilitation/Activation/Dynamic
Stretching/Roller
• Pool Warm-Up
• Speed
• Prep Set
• Main Set
• Sub Set
• Pool Swim Down
• Dry Post-Pool Long Hold Stretching/Roller/Correctives
• In Taper….Massage/Ice Bath

11. After A 1:05 Heat Swim…The Lonely
Coach…

12. Speed & Power...
• Speed Is a Common Denominator In All Pool Swimming
Events
• Fatigue Free Timing – Within A Microcycle & Within A
Session
• If It Isn’t Fresh & It Isn’t Fast – It Isn’t Speed
• Land/Pool Crossovers – Educate The Muscle
• Basic/Raw Speed Developed Over Short Distance With
Longer Rest
• Change The Stimulus – Assisted & Resisted – Toys!
• Challenging, Fun & Competitive
• Coach The Process To Gain The Outcome!

13. ‘Quality’ Sets…
• 48 Hour Rule…Race Specific & Race Components – Pace,
SR, SC, RPE
• La Production – La Tolerance – La Removal
• VO2 Max – Heart Rate Based Repeats – Critical Speed –
Best Average/PB+7
• Kick (La Removal)
• Underwater Speed @ Points Of High Duress
• Critical Rest Intervals (Power Breathe)
• Psychological Development (Visualisation - Call Room
Simulation - Potentiation)
• Middle Distance – Distance – Sprint (Individual
Microcycle Combis) – 48 Hour Rule…

14. Kick…
• 20% - 25% Of Work Per Week – Back Up ‘Q’ Sets…
• How Does Kick Progress Within The Race?
• Technique – Speed – Production – Removal – U/W
• Resistance (Body Position/Sponge/Board)
• Assistance (Fins)
• Land To Pool – Create A Problem!
• Hypoxic Challenges Sub Sets
• Long Course!
• Aggregation Of Marginal Gains
• Construct The Set To Match The Race –
Specificity Is Key!

15. A1/A2…
• 50-70bbm – A2 Probably Not Relevant For Females
• Slow Swimming Should Be Technically Perfect
• Skills/Drills - Technique Development (SC vs LC)
• Intensity Can Hurt But Volume Does Not
• Hypoxic & Breath Control
• Stroke Efficiency (Time vs Stroke Count) & ICS
• Testosterone Free Environment – Muscle Memory
• Education As To The Value – Where World Swimming
Is At… And Where It’s Going…

16. Anaerobic Threshold…
• Here’s ‘The Grey’…
• I’m Not Even Sure That What I Call AT Is AT!!
• Is It Relevant – To Whom – And Why?
• Freestyle, Backstroke & IM Based
• Short Interval, Higher Intensity Repeats @ 20-30bbm
• Can Bring Psychological Boost And Sense of
Achievement
• Does The Psychological Benefit Outweigh The
Physiological Trauma & Glycogen Depletion?
• Main Set Up To 7km (Session Up To 10km)
• Glycogen Depletion/Recovery/Speed ‘Dulling’

17. A ‘Wet’ Week In The Life Of…
• Nine Pool Sessions Per Week (6 x LC & 3 x SC)
• Mon am LC – Soft/Aerobic/Setting Up The Week
• Mon pm SC – Race SR, SC/Race Speed/LA Removal
• Tue am LC – Strong K
• Wed pm LC – Race SR, SC/Race Speed/LA Removal
• Thu am LC – Strong K
• Thu pm SC – AT (Or What I Think That Might Be)
• Fri am LC – Recovery/Technical
• Fri pm SC – Speed & Power Development
• Sat am LC – Race SR, SC/Race Speed/La Removal

18. A ‘Dry’ Week In The Life Of…
• Three Gym Sessions, One Run & One Physio
Consultation Per Week…
• Plus Individual Pre-Hab/Corrective Work Each Day –
Prescribed As Part Of Functional Movement Screen
• Weighted Upper Body Work
• Unweighted Lower Body Work Due To Age & Control
Issues (No Loading Through The Spine)
• Pre-Pool Minimum Of 15 Mins Before
• Post Pool Minimum of 15 Mins After
• Liaison between Coach, S&C And Physio

19. Never To Be Forgotten…

20. Aciu!
Jon Rudd
Head Coach – Plymouth Leander Swimming
Director of Swimming - Plymouth College
Performance Coach – ASA Plymouth Beacon Programme
0044 7792 052703
swimming@plymouthcollege.com
www.plymouthleander.co.uk
www.plymouthcollege.com
www.jonrudd.org