Tuesday's Swim Tip - "S-Squared" Lead

First, let me thank all of you for your nomination, your support and your faith in me for Team Clementine's swim coach. It's been a tough journey (the last two weeks have just killed me!) to get to this position, but well worth it. I was told by one of our executive assistants that representatives from each of Sports Illustrated and Triathlete Magazine showed up our Ernst & Young office to interview me, but due to our client confidentiality (aka, bullshit) rules, they were turned away. I'm just hoping they didn't find a copy of that picture of me and Phelps smoking the bushazay (pronounced "boo' shaw zway").

On a less serious note, welcome to 'Tuesday's Swim Tip' with Coach K. My goal is to provide a weekly tip to help improve your swimming and efficiency of your stroke. Let me disclaim that you will not turn into Michael Phelps or Natalie Coughlin nor Amanda Beard (or hell, Jonathan Minton), but if you picture these tips in your swimming and drills, I do think it will help you become a better swimmer.

This week's mental tip...the shoulder shrug lead, or what I've named it, "S-Squared" Lead. I call it the Lead because it begins the recovery phase of your stroke.

The other day I was swimming with the Excel Triathlete group and Coach Ashley Whitney (I wonder if Sports Illustrated has showed up at her door yet?) yelled out to me, "Brett! Shrug your shoulder." Huh? Shrug my shoulder?

The S-Squared Lead happens during the recovery phase of your stroke (after the pull). Some of you may have practiced the "zipper drill", which is the recovery phase of your stroke before your hand enters the water. You practice the zipper drill to stay in a streamlined body position. If you prefer the "wave your hands in the air...and wave like you just don't care!" stroke, then by all means, go for it. But a streamlined recovery will make you more efficient in the water.

I like to picture "shrugging" my shoulder to my ear to start my recovery (i.e., start the zipper) rather than picturing myself "zipping" my side.

Practice set:

Go to the pool and swim 25 (or 50) meters with the mental picture of using your "hand" to zip your side during your recovery. DO NOT THINK ABOUT YOUR SHOULDER. Rest 30 seconds. Then swim the same distance with the mental picture of shrugging your shoulder and letting your hand and elbow follow the shrug up the side of your body during the the recovery. This is not a weight-lifting shrug, but rather a continuous fluid motion. This mental picture has really helped me during our swim workouts.

Try it out and let me know your comments.

- Coach K