Swimming Dynamics [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Cecil M. Colwin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Hall of Fame coach Cecil M. Colwin as been involved in competitive swimming for more than fifty years. In Swimming Dynamics: Winning Techniques and Strategies he covers every aspect of the sport. From improving team morale to improving stroke mechanics, Colwin offers a variety of approaches that give new insights into honing skills and handling the many challenges facing swimmers and coaches today. He also profiles some of the most influential swimmers of the past and present, tracing the history of swimming's development into a competitive sport. One of the swimming world's outstanding thinkers, Colwin has written an essential reference that will inform, instruct, and enlighten everyone interested in competitive swimming. A competitive swimming coach since 1945, Colwin has long been known for his work on the technical aspects and history of swimming. He has written more than one hundred articles and papers for a variety of periodicals and is the author of several books about the sport, including Swimming into the 21st Century. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1993.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570282064
• ISBN-13: 978-1570282065
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,227,747 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swimming Dynamics is a "must read" for ALL swimming coaches., September 2, 1999

By A Customer

This is a book that should be provided to every young coach today. As swimming-world wide-becomes more centralized, young coaches are exposed to progressively less and less intellectual diversity. Coach Colwin has laid it all out for them; all the key ORIGINAL thinking on all aspects of our sport. It will help young coaches put their learning into context and make them better questioners. For us "more experienced" coaches, it brings us back to our roots. It reminds us of what we have forgotten or left behind, and perhaps desperately need to return to.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "... brings the past & present into unison like no other.."., August 30, 1999

By A Customer

Swimming Dynamics is an aptly named book that provides a historical perspective on the ever-changing aspects of competitive swimming. After reading this important work, every swim enthusiast, coach or athlete should feel as if he or she is a part of the sport's evolution.

The first chapter of the book talks about some of the intangible aspects of swimming - aspects like intuitive coaching; team dynamics; experimentation and the need to challenge ideas; criticizing helpfully and not spitefully; and the importance of individualized coaching. Cecil does not attempt to tell the reader what is right or wrong in the sport, he simply lays it out for the reader to form his or her own conclusion based on past and present experiences.

Swimming technique is thoroughly discussed early in the book, but Cecil goes one step beyond by talking about how swimming styles change. He refers to "The Bandwagon Effect" to explain how the winning style of one swimmer can effect an entire generation of swimmers.

Chapter three stands as a documentary collection of pictorial artifacts and historical stories about swimming's evolution. This, along with an entire chapter devoted to the pioneers of women's swimming, causes the reader to reflect on where the sport came from and how we got to where we are today. These chronicled perspectives are a "must read" for every swimming enthusiast.

The book goes on to relate conversations with the great distance coaches to reveal how they trained their swimmers. Joe Bernal, Mike Burton, Sherman Chavoor, Mark Schubert and Don Talbot all share their perspectives. Other leading figures such as Doc Counsilman, Forbes Carlile, Arthur Cusack, Peter Daland, Donna de Varona, John Devitt, Ray Essick, Don Gambril, George Haines, Jim Montrella, Walt Schluter, Jonty Skinner, Gus Stager, Karen Moe Thornton, Stan Tinkham and Gennadi Touretski also relate their coaching experiences.

Swimming Dynamics does not preach or advocate one style of coaching or method of swimming over another. It simply shows the facts as they appeared in time. Every reader should come away with an energetic and renewed passion for the sport after reading Swimming Dynamics., by Cecil M. Colwin.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a milestone historical treatise of speed swimming., September 6, 1999

By A Customer

Colwin's lifetime of exposure to competitive swimming is encapsulated in this truly marvelous compendium of facts. The book will be a milestone in the history of the sport, a book that is highly recommended by this reviewer. Cecil Colwin's attention to accurate detail is unparalelled in this comprehensive treatise. This is one book all swimming aficionados should have in their libraries for ready reference and browsing. In addition, it is a good read, full of humour and enlighting anecdotes.