Winter Swimming

Congratulations to all Wilston Crocs swimmers and their parents for a great 09\10 summer swimming season. I would like to thank all of you especially the committee members for all the support I have received in my first summer as Head Coach. From day one I have been welcomed and encouraged. This has certainly played a big part in the success the club and its swimmers have enjoyed this past summer.  

As we all know time keeps moving on and it’s now time to turn our focus to the next six months of winter training and the all important lead up to the 2010/11 summer season. The days of swimming only being a summer sport are long gone. Swimmers wanting to be competitive into next summer need to stay swim fit and keep a “feel” for the water throughout the winter months. In saying this I still believe it is important for young swimmers to use the winter months to refresh physically and mentally if they have had a high training involvement during summer, (4 or more sessions per week). As always though, swimmers are all individual and some will continue to enjoy training at normal levels right throughout the year. 

Staying in touch with the water while increasing their skill base, training history and experience is very important in modern day swimming. I don’t recommend any swimmer take complete break from training during winter. The time lost during winter plus the time it takes to regain skills, fitness and speed means the first part of summer is spent trying to regain what has been lost over winter. I recommend a scaled back, but still consistent, training program during winter. For most swimmers this means 2 or 3 sessions per week during term 2 and then start to bring that number up as we get closer to term 4. As I have already said though all swimmers are different and have different expectations and goals from their training and what suits one may not suit another. If you have any questions about winter training please get in contact with me. You can find the squad timetable for term 2 on the web site or at the pool. 

We will have the pool nice and warm right through winter so I look forward to seeing you all on pool deck next term. Have a safe and happy Easter.