Every year brings fresh swimming faces, fresh parents, and sometimes dreams of athletic stardom. And every year, I post a blog like this to dial things down, and make sure that parents are a helpful partner in this wonderful process of sports. (If you follow my blog you'll have seen a version of this post… Continue reading 6 Rules (and a Vision) For Becoming a Better Swim Parent
Tag: Tritons
My Thoughts on Australian Swimming
Before I get into this, I want to make it clear that I'm writing this because of my love for Australian swimming. Ever since I swam in Canada in the 70s, I've been impressed with the brash way that such a small population base could take on the US swimming juggernaut, and often win. In… Continue reading My Thoughts on Australian Swimming
My Take On Why American Men Dominate Backstroke
I was watching the US World Championship Trials on TV, and was struck by a comment during one of the men's backstroke events. The commentator noted the long history of US men dominating backstroke events, and this is certainly true. The last time the US men lost an Olympic backstroke event was back in 1992. … Continue reading My Take On Why American Men Dominate Backstroke
A Curious Look at 2017 Short Course – Long Course Conversion Rates, And How The US Is So Different From Everyone Else
In 2014 I started getting upset with the standard 2% Short Course to Long Course conversion rates mandated by Swim Ontario. As most coaches already knew, 2% was convenient but horribly inaccurate conversion rate. And it created problems for kids swimming in LC meets when they couldn't meet their 2% converted SC time, even if… Continue reading A Curious Look at 2017 Short Course – Long Course Conversion Rates, And How The US Is So Different From Everyone Else
How To Tell If You Qualify For a Meet
This question comes up all the time from swimmers and parents. How do I know if I (or my child) has qualified for a meet or a race? And in my never-ending quest to have people figure out stuff without asking me, I'm providing this primer. I understand that swimmers and parents can feel helpless… Continue reading How To Tell If You Qualify For a Meet
Racing When Sick
Training and sickness are unfortunately a well known combination. Extremely hard training programs can leave athletes more susceptible to the many illnesses present around us, especially from schools. And sickness can often hit at the best of times. Luckily, there's been plenty of research on the issue of how much and how hard to train… Continue reading Racing When Sick
Inclusive or Exclusive: The Surprising Ways Countries Handle National Championships/Trials
When I started this post, it had a completely different focus. Four times I tried to address various aspects of Short Course vs Long Course swimming from the point of view of swimmers and national swimming organizations. And every time I ended up in the same place - that different countries handle Long Course in… Continue reading Inclusive or Exclusive: The Surprising Ways Countries Handle National Championships/Trials
Age Problem in Canadian Swimming
Back in November, Swimming World published my article on the Age Problem in Canadian Swimming in their subscription-based Swimming Technique magazine, with the agreement that my article would eventually appear on their free Swimming World site. My intent was and always has been to get the widest possible audience concerning this important subject. Soon after… Continue reading Age Problem in Canadian Swimming
Why We’re Not Going To The U.S. This Year For Our Annual Swim Team Trip
For the past few years we've joined a small but growing number of teams from the Toronto area who have boycotted the overcrowded meets here in late June/early July, and happily headed south to outdoor 50m meets in the US. It's not hard to find meets that are perfect for our team, and the welcome… Continue reading Why We’re Not Going To The U.S. This Year For Our Annual Swim Team Trip
A Really Big Problem With A Really Big Meet
Something needs to be done about the Central Region Championships in Ontario, Canada. Swimming does not seem to be the priority. We just finished Central Region "B Championship" meet held at the Etobicoke Olympium on the weekend: basically the big meet for the first half of the year for those who didn't quite… Continue reading A Really Big Problem With A Really Big Meet
Coach Rick - Mighty Tritons Swimming 