SwimEd

SwimEd

Welcome to SwimEd, education for coaches, athletes and parents. This is a podcast dedicated to examining the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. Through our candid and unscripted discussions, we share our views along with advice and applications that can help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. read less
SportsSports
SwimmingSwimming

Episodes

Episode 12 - Interview With Justine Schluntz
4d ago
Episode 12 - Interview With Justine Schluntz
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 12 – Justine Schluntz Interview Today we interview Justine Schluntz. She is a Hall of Fame Athlete at the University of Arizona for swimming. She is a five-time NCAA national champion and part of the 2008 National Championship team. Additionally, she won the PAC-10 Woman of the Year and NCAA Woman of the Year and beat out Tim Tebow for COSIDA/ESPN Academic All-American of the Year for 2010. Oh, and she’s a Rhodes Scholar in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. In short, she’s better than us in so many ways! In this episode, we will talk with Dr. Schluntz about her swimming career from swimming in Albuquerque, NM, the University of Arizona and her academic journey. I’m excited to talk to another academic – sorry if it gets nerdy – and her experience in our sport. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 11 - Six Energy Systems and Sets
Jun 6 2024
Episode 11 - Six Energy Systems and Sets
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 11 – Six Energy Systems and Sets Today we will discuss swim sets and energy systems. Yes, this is a more technical podcast. But a basic understanding of these two aspects of a swim practice and weekly schedule can change how well coaches prepare, swimmers practice and parents understand all that goes into what seems simple – a normal swim practice. In this episode, we will discuss the six energy systems that should be included in a weekly schedule or microcycles. We will share a favorite set or two that use different energy systems so that how we use sets are more recognizable and help swimmers know what they need to do to be their best. It’s going to be technical, but it will also be a fun day of talking about the nitty-gritty of swimming. Jenn’s Sprint Set 100 focus 4x (1 free, 2 prime no free 3 free, 4 Choice or IMO) 2x25@ :25 (front 50/2=pace) 1x50@ :50 moderate 1x150/100@ 1:45/2:00/2:15 Descend 50’s 4x25@ :30 Goal is stay within 1sec of first 2x25s 1x100Ez Jenn’s Distance Set 3 to 5 x 500 (note your split at the 400) 400, swum faster than the 400 from above (note your split at the 300) 300, swum faster than the 300 from above (note your split at the 200) 200, swum faster than the 200 from above (note your split at the 100) 1-5×100, swum faster than the 100 from above Matt’s Sprint Set SET 2 - GREEN Off The Blocks (OTB) 2x 2x200 Broken IM@8:00 25@:20 - OTB 25@:25 25@:25 25@:30 25@:30 25@:35 25@:35 25 FINISH/REST 2x150 Broken PRO-IM@6:00 25@:20 - OTB 25@:25 25@:25 25@:30 25@:30 25 FINISH/REST 2x100 BROKE IM@4:00 25@:20 - OTB 25@:25 25@:25 25@:30 :25@30 25 FINISH/REST Matt’s Distance Set 12x100 PURPLE GREEN—>PINK 50 FLY (or any stroke)/50 FR@1:05–>2:00 or 1:15–>2:10 This set can also progress from all one stroke to a different stroke like this: 12x100 PURPLE GREEN—>PINK FR—>BK@1:00–>1:55 or 1:10–>2:05 Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 10 - Macro & Micro Cycles
May 29 2024
Episode 10 - Macro & Micro Cycles
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 10 – Macro and Microcycles Creating a practice plan and writing workouts is one of the major jobs of a coach and staff. This takes a significant amount of time and the execution of these plans should lead to success. This should be one of, if not the most important task of the year and an expectation for athletes and parents. In this episode, we will talk about how we plan our seasons and weekly schedules, known as macrocycles and microcycles. We will discuss our process, important keys to success and critique each other’s plan. In short, this is what we do as coaches and we hope it will give some ideas to coaches, help swimmers understand the behind the scenes work and give parents a way to trust in their coaches. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
SwimEd Episode 9 - Practice Preparation
May 24 2024
SwimEd Episode 9 - Practice Preparation
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 9 - Preparation Preparation for practice is an essential. Coaches write the workouts according to the weekly and seasonal plans to help swimmers prepare for their end-of-season or championship meet. Athletes often overlook the importance of being totally ready to practice. Most swimmers think about swimming as they walk on the deck, when they hit the water or after warm up. In this episode, we will talk about preparations for practices, mainly from an athlete’s perspective. We will talk about various ways to get mentally, physically, emotionally and socially ready for practice. As always, we discuss how coaches and parents can help athletes learn these skills that increase performance. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Swimed Episode 8 - Feedback
May 16 2024
Swimed Episode 8 - Feedback
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 8 – Feedback Feedback is one of the most important ways coaches help athletes improve performance. The corrections given with feedback might address technique, effort, attitude, behaviors and so much more. Further, the type of feedback given to athletes in practice should be a lot different than the feedback at a competition. In fact, feedback changes based on so many factors that a “one-size-fits-all” approach will not work. In this episode, we will explore feedback from a lot of angles. We will discuss the best form, tricks that help with communicating feedback, how feedback should change based on the swimmer and environment, how swimmers should use self-feedback, what parents should say when giving feedback and so much more. For a topic that seems so easy, there is a lot to discuss for coaches, athletes and parents to use feedback the best. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
SwimEd Episode 7 - Sampling Vs. Early Specialization
May 2 2024
SwimEd Episode 7 - Sampling Vs. Early Specialization
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 7 - Sampling vs Early Specialization Today we focus on early specialization and what we see as the opposite and better solution: the sampling stage of athlete development. Whether you’re a parent, athlete or coach, knowing the differences between these key concepts will help you be more effective with younger athletes or realize what you should have experienced in your first years in sports. In this episode, we will define both early specialization and the sampling stage, compare and contrast these concepts in order to help coaches, athletes and parents make decisions that help lead their athletes toward healthier choices for future athletic development. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 6: Interview With An Assistant Coach (Josh Harrell)
Apr 18 2024
Episode 6: Interview With An Assistant Coach (Josh Harrell)
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 6 – Josh Harrell – Beginning Coach Story Today we focus on how what it’s like for brand new coaches just starting out on their coaching journey. Normally, a new coach is a former swimmer who planned on coaching after their swimming ends or sees a need of a team and fills it based on what they knew from their swimming career. In this episode, we are interviewing Coach Josh Harrell, who started his coaching career under me and is currently a local high school head swim coach. Our aim is to show the valuable interplay between a new coach and head coach and his learning about swim coaching, athlete instruction and parent interactions. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 5 Restart -- Part 4 of Starting a New Season
Apr 11 2024
Episode 5 Restart -- Part 4 of Starting a New Season
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 5 -- Restart: Part 4 of Starting of New Season This episode is the fourth of a four-part series discussing the four R’s of starting a new season: Recovery, Review, Reset and Restart. Following a time of recovery from the stress of last season, reviewing strengths and weaknesses, creating a reset plan for how to improve, restarting a new season should be a time of creativity and excitement. In this episode, we will discuss different ways that coaches, athletes and parents can restart the season. For coaches, it’s time to set the tone. Athletes, it’s time to begin focusing and changing the behaviors for greater success. And parents it's your chance to have conversations about how you can support your swimmer better. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 4: Reset -- Part 3 of Starting a New Season
Apr 4 2024
Episode 4: Reset -- Part 3 of Starting a New Season
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 4: Reset -- Part 3 of Starting of New Season This episode is the third of a four-part series discussing the four R’s of starting a new season: Recovery, Review, Reset and Restart. Many times, coaches and athletes reset their goals – end of the season times or meet qualifications – as sufficient for a successful season. Instead of stopping there, a valuable reset should look more like a new year’s resolution where you take stock of your habits, preparations, practices, consistency and motivation and make changes to become a better athlete throughout the season. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 3: Review -- Part 2 of Starting of a New Season
Mar 28 2024
Episode 3: Review -- Part 2 of Starting of a New Season
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 3: Review -- Part 2 of Starting of New Season This episode is the second of a four-part series discussing the four R’s of starting a new season: Recovery, Review, Reset and Restart. It seems natural to review a past season once it’s over, but a lot of coaches, athletes and parents do not take the time to look back before looking forward. However, all the various factors affecting performance needs to be examined in order to realistically look ahead. In this episode, we discuss this process and provide examples and advice for a post-season review. Key points:  Coaches:  - Review how you coached and seek mentors or advice to be better at your craft.  - Review what you could do differently with the team and individual swimmers for their success. This could mean changing up your microcycles, allowing breaks or other decisions for the good of your athletes. Athletes:  - Review the all aspects of your swimming beyond goal times. For older swimmers, this includes effort, momentum, sleep and nutrition. For younger swimmers, hitting the milestones of “first” might be more important than times. - Journaling daily allows you to look back to review how you felt throughout the season. Parents:  - Talk with your coach (maybe with your athlete) to find out how you can be more supportive for your athlete(s). - Come to this conversation seeking a solution, not having an agenda, to be success for your athlete, your family and yourself. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 2: Recovery -- Part 1 of Starting a New Season
Mar 21 2024
Episode 2: Recovery -- Part 1 of Starting a New Season
Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 2: Recovery -- Part 1 of Starting of New Season This episode is the first of a four-part series discussing the four R’s of starting a new season: Recovery, Review, Reset and Restart. Recovery is a process can be completed in a short timeframe for year-round sports or over an off season for sports that have longer breaks. Athletes – heck all of us – need a break from time to time, especially after a time of high emotion and physical exertion. But what does a “break” look like and how should athlete recover before the start of a new season? These questions and more will be discussed today. Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com. Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Episode 1: Competition-Day Routines
Mar 16 2024
Episode 1: Competition-Day Routines
Welcome to SwimEd: education for coaches, athletes and parents. Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents. In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports. Episode 1: Routines In this episode, we will be talking about routines. We all have routines in our lives, whether planned or unplanned, that helps us be successful. For athletes, what they do on the day of competition – their competition day routine – has a huge effect on their success. In fact, the use of routines can also be extended to practices and how we live our everyday lives as coaches, athletes or parents. For more information, check out these resources: Competition-Day Routine Article #1 Competition-Day Routine Article #2 Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast. Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com Subscribe and Rate/Review to help others find our podcast and to make sure you don't miss another episode. Leave a review to let us know what you think! Join us weekly on SwimEd: education for coaches, athletes and parents.