Coaching The Age-Group Swimmer [Paperback]

Lynn Hovde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1999

This 6 CD set is an abridged version of the text Coaching the Age-group Swimmer.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author Lynn Hovde draws on twenty-eights years of experience teaching and coaching both swimming and synchronized swimming, as well as a lifetime of involvement as a competitive swimmer (age-group, college, and master). She resides in Quilcene, WA with her husband Larry, and teaches and coaches swimming and synchronized swimming in both Port Townsend and Port Ludlow, WA, as well as is an active master swimmer and synchronized swimmer. Besides swimming, she teaches English for Peninsula College in Port Townsend, WA.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Style versus technique. To swim gracefully, a swimmer must make water his or her element, must spend long periods of time immersed, practicing techniques learned from teachers, adapting them to his or her particular body-in other words, developing a style. Once strokes are mastered per the different sizes and shapes of bodies moving through the water, what distinguishes one swimmer from another is style. Just as we all walk differently, we move differently in the water. We often teach technique as though there is only one right way, yet as one generation unfolds into another, ideas of what is right or best change. There will always be a swimmer who comes along with a technique that doesn't fit the mold, who will win. Therefore, coaches should teach stroke mechanics with the idea that all swimmers need to internalize what we reason to be the most efficient stroking, kicking, and breathing patterns; but we should also apply the standards of form to each individual's body and mind, and allow for the development of style. I am not talking about breaking a mold, but rather about enhancing each person's technique by considering differences. As for the swimmer, he or she needs to develop and mature before truly understand this concept, and thus it becomes the coach's responsibility to guide himor her to that point, not by creating a robot and closing off possibilities, but by making a swimmer adaptable to continual refinement. Thus, as the swimmer ages and becomes more and more responsible for his or her workout, the learning can continue. The art of swimming is the perfection of movement. Having a winning technique means fine-tuning the details of each stroke, which is definitely possible. This doesn't mean a swimmer is fast, but he or she has all the necessary components to be as fast as possible. The swimmer needs stroke efficiency first, and builds upon that, through training. It takes years to master a feeling for perfection. It takes consistent training to be "the best that you can be." A swimmer can only realize this if he or she puts heart and soul into the sport and allows for the time, energy, and work it takes to get there.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Blue Horizons Pub. (May 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966029704
• ISBN-13: 978-0966029703
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,450,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Pointers, August 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Coaching The Age-Group Swimmer (Paperback)

This is one of the few coaching books available and it teaches with words and good photos. Any coach would find it invaluable.

2.0 out of 5 stars Audio CDs, October 11, 2004

By 

kaipodoggy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coaching the Age-group Swimmer (Audio CD)

I bought these to listen to in my car during long drives, and while there is some good information contained in the CDs, the narrator didn't seem to be too particularly enthusiastic about the subject material. The CDs also did not come with any index whatsoever, so without creating your own (after listening to all 6), good luck finding a particular subject later on (such as the backstroke section for example.)

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A helping hand..., March 23, 2006

By 

Ceasr L. Dacruz Lopes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coaching The Age-Group Swimmer (Paperback)

According the pro who is going to use this book, it is a helpful tool, presented in a friendly way.