Coach Lecture Summaries from Olympic Training Center

Caleb Hernday

Day 1 

Greetings from the Olympic Training Center!

I wanted to give a quick recap of what we discussed today because it pertains a lot to what we talk about not only with AG1/JR1, but with the whole Schroeder program.

The first talk was from the national team director regarding his observations with national team athletes. 

The best way to describe it, in my opinion, is: they experience everything 11-14 athletes go through, but they are just bigger haha! 

I offered to share our “To Be my Best” sheet with the National team director to help them out haha! 

Hopefully, the photo goes through, but here is a little summary slide! Looks pretty familiar!!

The second talk was about the American development model and 4 C’s (competence, character, confidence, and connection). We got into groups and talked about how we use these in our programs to build a strong and centralized culture.

I gave a talk on the Schroeder Way and how we use these everyday for practice, meets and outside of the pool. 

Overall, I was very thrilled to hear and see that we are setting up our athletes for success both short and long term. I have had several conversations with coaches regarding the Schroeder Way and how we implement talks of ownership, growth mindset, and leadership throughout the program. 

Day 2

The two major talks today were on Season Planning. The two biggest takeaways I had:

  1. First, we are so lucky to have two amazing facilities at our disposal. There was a lot of talk of changing pool times and losing pools altogether. Between our two facilities we are in a great position to have consistent training throughout the year. 

  2. Second, our coaching staff does an excellent job collaborating with each other and putting together great plans for our athletes and families. The common language (ie catechisms, parts of race, etc) and goals throughout the program is very unique. All our coaches are on the same page and moving forward together to provide the best possible experience for everyone on Schroeder!

The other major talk was on nutrition! There was a lot of information, but the two major pieces of advice I took away would be:

 After lunch at school, eat about every 2 hours after lunch before practice. They don’t have to be intense snacks or 5 course meals (she recommended 250-350 calorie snacks), but by doing so, you will have more energy available for practice. 

The other interesting piece was the idea of high salt/sodium sweaters and cramping. Essentially, you sweat more salt/sodium than normal which leads to more cramping. 

Water is always the best way to combat cramping, but if it continues to happen, there are some alternatives to try out! 

The first option she recommended is either gatorade zero or powerade zero. The other option is to have electrolyte tablets in normal water.

Pickle juice was another option, but the others seem a little more tasty haha! 

Day 3

The last day had talks that revolved around culture and character. Right up our alley haha! 

The first speaker was Chris Plumb who is the head coach at Carmel Swim Club in Indiana. 

 

The three major points from his talk were:

  1. Never try to be the “-est”, but try to be “-er”. Instead of trying to be the “fastest”, try to be “faster”. Instead of trying to be the “best”, strive to be “better”. 

 

  1. Growth begins when you leave ego at the door. No one knows it all and there will always be someone faster. Open yourself up to all outlets and you will learn and grow so much more than with a “know it all” mind.

 

  1. Always keep the end goal in mind. Not everyone is going to be an Olympian. There are only 52 selected out of over 1000 athletes with cuts at our Trials. However, all our athletes will be adults. What kind of adults do we want to be building? 

 

The other talk was on confidence. 

 

The two major affirmations from that talk:

  1. Confidence has a spectrum! It can look and sound strong, unstoppable and brave. It can also look and sound uncomfortable, nervous, and scary! 

 

  1. We talked about how having routines before races can help with confidence. I talked about the Battle Behind the Blocks and how it’s taught from our youngest ages all the way to our seniors. The speaker was a former YMCA coach and she confirmed it for the group! Every meet, every race, SSTY athletes are working on winning the Battle Behind the Blocks 

 

I just wanted to say thank you again to all our coaches and families! We have a tremendous staff and great families! This weekend really shed a light on how, I believe, we are prioritizing the right things both in life and in the water!