Issues & Advice

“I feel a lot of the best hitters, whenever they practice or whenever they hit their best bullet, it’s a ball that’s on a line and a ball that has backspin.” Five-time All-Star and 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto was asked about his top, absolute best baseball hitting tips for youth, and this is how Votto […]

“Whether I’m successful in completing the swim or not, it doesn’t matter,” Mandel said. “I’m trying to create awareness for Parkinson’s Disease by doing this swim, and I believe I’ll be successful in that.” Though he’s no longer a competitive swimmer, Michigan alum Alon Mandel (2007-10) is still seeking out challenges. His next one is the biggest […]

Goalies need to be incredibly mobile, they have a different conditioning need, they need to be very explosive, and their reaction time needs to be at an elite level every time they step on the ice. In the beginning of the HockeyTraining.com days, it was really simple – all that was available was an off-season training […]

Did resistance training change the swim performance directly? No. Did it give the athlete a greater platform to perform? YES! I opened my email on Saturday and noticed an email from our technique coach, Abbie Fish. The email included a blog post about the effectiveness of resistance training on swim performance.  Dr. Mullen does an […]

If you’re focusing too much on the end result and not enjoying the path it takes to get there, you’re going to miss the best part of being an athlete. If you watched any of this year’s Winter Olympics, the name Adam Rippon probably sounds familiar. His fun, contagious, quirky personality swiftly stole the hearts […]

Recent research has shown that static stretching can reduce the force and power the muscle can generate and that this impaired function can last for over one hour. If you have been to sport science presentation lately, it is likely that you have heard some information about dynamic warm-up and flexibility training. This is an […]

If a team’s budget is dependent upon hosting meets, then it’s essential everyone helps out. Swimming has more parent involvement than many other sports — especially if you have a team that relies on hosting meets for some of its budget. How do teams encourage parents to volunteer and make sure it’s not the same […]

But in the end, you want to know you did everything you could to be successful. If you’re going to fail, fail doing your best. In my last post, I talked about the need for players to take personal responsibility when it comes to playing time. The idea is to control things you can control, like your […]

Right hand to left hand and remember to finish each side equally. Don’t let your form slip. It is the best skill for swimming straight. “It is only with the heart one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye” – The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery Your nemeses . . […]