1:1 Swim Stroke Correction
As my most popular service, the Stroke Correction & Video Analysis needed its own page. A lot of people coming to Triathlon from single sports such as running and cycling, have never trained specifically for swimming. In addition, some athletes who reach [ahem, cough] ‘a certain age’ have been swimming for years with less-than-ideal form, but have no idea how inefficient they are until they attempt to complete a triathlon or swim squad session!
It’s incredibly easy to keep swimming with bad habits that have taken years – sometimes decades – to imprint, with zero awareness until someone points out what you’re actually doing – the camera never lies! That means it is often very hard to re-programme, so these sessions are designed to give athletes the tools with which to improve – no-one can be fixed in one hour. If the client does their drills diligently – just like doing scales on the piano – we can catch up every 6 to 8 weeks in an effort to add more challenging drills and ideally end up working only on the “one percenters”.
As you can see below, the GoPro allows me to gather footage of the swimmer from both in the water and out. A typical hour Stroke Correction Session is spent – first and foremost – recording the athlete swimming “naturally” i.e. before I have given any guidance at all on form, position, timing etc. From there, we discuss and carry out various drills that aim to correct anything that needs honing. A follow-up email can then be sent to the athlete with a list of drills and short video clips showing how they were done on the day. The GoPro footage is also included, together with commentary from me on what to look out for, but more importantly what to FEEL.
The biggest topics for improvement are my Four Ps:
- Position
- Pivot
- Purchase
- Propulsion
Position beats everything! so most people can make some huge improvements simply by repeating some key drills that address the shape they make when trying to slice through the water.
These sessions are held at MSAC (location below) in Albert Park. Once payment is made, I will contact the athlete to arrange for a suitable time and date – this depends on MSAC availability; the sooner you contact me the better, so we can set the time slot around the various squads, schools and race events happening at the pools.
