-Olivier Poirier-Leroy Via SwimSwam One of the most frequent mental hang-ups of swimmers I trained with over the years was a low sense of self-confidence. And oddly, this lack of self-belief was common with the swimmers who were committed, who showed up every day, put in the work, and yet, still struggled to have the self-belief necessary to perform at their peak when competitions rolled around. There are things you can do. We are not pre-disposed with a certain type of self-confidence, and then tasked to deal with it for...

The log book is one of the most powerful allies in your battle to becoming a faster swimmer. Here are 5 less-talked-about benefits to writing out your swim practices. When it comes to achieving that one thing we all want in the water—becoming insanely fast—writing out your swim workouts is as simple, and as powerful as it gets. The reasons for doing so are well known among those who practice this simple and powerful way to max out performance: you have more consistent workouts, you stay motivated, and it gives...

- Oliver Poirier-Leroy via www.swimswam.com With championship season just around the corner swimmers from coast to coast are priming up for their big meets of the year. After months of investing all of those early mornings and seemingly impossible main sets, the opportunity to reap the benefits of all of your hard work is upon you. Here are 7 tips for making sure that you maximize all of your invested efforts going into meet time– 1. Pack like a boss. An extra suit, goggles and cap are obvious ones. Then there...

Motivational swimmer: Paralympic gold medalist on speaking tour before starting med school Andrew Sodergren , [email protected], 239-263-4731 4:10 p.m. ET Jan. 25, 2017     (Photo: File photo)  143CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN COMMENT EMAIL MORE Michelle Konkoly heads back to Pennsylvania in July to start medical school, but she’s keeping busy in the meantime with her latest passion – motivational speaking. The two-time gold medalist at the Paralympic Games has found speaking engagements around the country after her breakthrough success at Rio de Janeiro in September. Her latest appearance comes Saturday, Jan....

5 Tips For Parents On How To Encourage Your Swimmer: Courtesy of Elizabeth Wickham I was asked recently by a new swim parent on how to motivate your swimmer. The short answer is that you cannot motivate your child. Motivation comes from within. What we CAN do for our swimmers is encourage them. Try to inspire them. Hope that they love the sport and will stay motivated and focused themselves. Have you asked your swimmer why they swim? In my case, my kids learned to swim very young because we...

Prelims and Finals Meets  Written by Head Coach Ray Benecki, The FISH, Fairfax, VA Every so often we are presented with the tremendous opportunity to swim in a meet that has prelims and finals sessions. These meets are structured so as to present the fastest 8, or 16, or 24 swimmers from the morning or afternoon prelims sessions with another chance to swim again at finals in the evening. The number of swimmers advancing to finals in this fashion depends on the meet, their age group, and sometimes the events...

SWIM RESOLUTIONS         12/29/2016   BY MIKE WATKINS//CORRESPONDENT Each December (and sometimes early January), millions of people across the globe make New Year’s   Resolutions – goals or promises to themselves that they intend to keep to improve their lives.    Lose weight. Exercise more. Save money. Drink less. Stop smoking. You get the picture.   Rather than ask swimmers and coaches what their resolutions are for the upcoming year, USA Swimming asked them to offer resolutions for younger swimmers to help them improve in 2017 and beyond.   Here...

-By Olivier Poirier-Leroy via swimswam.com As the season starts to roll ahead, so with it comes those sets. You know, the ones that make you cringe a little bit in your Speedo. The ones where you cannot swim warm-up slowly enough. Where excuses and reasons to get out early tantalize and tease you– I have too much homework… My shoulder is starting to act up… My goggles are on the verge of snapping… But what do you do? You troop it out. You suffer through the pain and exhaustion because you know...

USA Swimming Successful Sports Parenting USA Swimming and the USA Ski and Snowboard Association present this document on Successful Sports Parenting.  Check it out for some great tips on connecting with your young athlete! Contents: 1 - Sport & Children Why Children Participate Why Children Drop Out What Children May Gain from Sport 2 - Parent Roles & Responsibilities What Parents May Gain from a Child’s Participation Parent Dos’ and Don’ts Part of the Team 3 - Parent Education Practical Tips 4 - Parent Etiquette Parent Code of Conduct 5...

USA Swimming Parent Welcome Kit  USA Swimming has a great page for Parents called the “Welcome Kit”.  Great for new and veteran swim parents, this page walks you through how to set up a “Deck Pass” Account, articles about understanding coaches, training, rules as well as some basic information about rules, equipment, and swimming lingo.                Click Here To Read More!