Instruction For Goalies

Every water polo goalie knows, “Goalies are Special!”. At water polo training, coaches will give extra attention to these specialists. They will instruct goalies with material specifically designed to help water polo goalies reach their highest potential.

Good and dedicated goalie coaches understand the unique skills and techniques that you’ll need to stop shots cold and trigger your teams counter attack. Here are some of the special goalie skills you’ll be exposed to and practice in the pool:
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Who said butterfly is just for kids? Why can’t Masters and fitness swimmers experience the exhilaration and feeling of freedom of the fly (short for butterfly) in their workouts? Why shouldn’t we add variety, challenge and extra conditioning benefits to our swim routines?

It’s true that many adult swimmers are intimidated by the butterfly. For most people, fly is the most challenging of all the strokes. Upper body and back strength are necessary, and both flexibility and good stroke coordination are vital.

But most fitness and Masters swimmers have the ability to learn to swim butterfly. Don’t be shy about the fly. Begin training with water exercise drills to add strength and develop stroke technique and coordination.

Continue reading Basic Butterfly Technique for Kids

With arguably the world’s top two backstrokers, Aaron Peirsol and Lenny Krayzelburg, likely to be training together at Irvine Novaquatics a couple of years ago, Coach Dave Salo was excited about what should be an exceptional summer leading up to the Olympics.

Dave Salo was the first to tell you that that summer was different from all the rest. Let’s rephrase that: “It will be an exceptional summer,” Salo said from his office at Soka University in Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Salo, who coaches the Irvine Novaquatics swim team, will be in high gear this summer as he prepares his swimmers for Olympic Trials in July at Long Beach. Not that Salo is a stranger to the routine. He’s been placing athletes on the Olympic team since Barcelona in 1992, including medalists Amanda Beard, Jason Lezak and Aaron Peirsol. This time, however, ah, there’s the rub.
It was Salo who coached backstroker and world record holder Peirsol in his high school and age group years and is one of the big reasons why he won a silver medal in the 200 meter backstroke in the 2000 Olympics in Australia.
Continue reading Swimming Technique – top two backstrokers routine

Do you remember this funny video where 5th-grade boys team “showcased” their synchronized swimming skills?

It was a nice joke, in practice, however, synchronized swimming means a lot of work. It starts by creating a routine.

Usually, when you begin to think of ideas for the first time, you have young girls in your team who are enthusiastic and supported by their parents. Maybe they are about around 10 years old or less.

So, here are some ideas for that age group. There is a theme for these group and you will always find in any competition girls swimming to Disney music.  What is famous now, has been or what are the classics?  If ever in doubt I would use Mambo from Perez Prado, the swimmers find it funny and refreshing. Continue reading Synchronized swimming for 5th graders

Although not widely used in previous years, the recent wave of sprinters using straight-arm freestyle has triggered a philosophical rethinking of the technique.
In the early 19th century, the British swam in a very polite and peaceful manner. Civilized swimmers entered the pool carefully, without getting their heads wet, and glided gracefully along with their heads above the water. This style of swimming was also preferred in the British competitive swimming leagues, although the early competitors swam with a slightly greater sense of urgency.

In 1844, Native Americans, Flying Gull, and Tobacco, rocked the British swimming empire during a demonstration in London. According to legend, Flying Gull swam 130 feet in 30 seconds to defeat Tobacco and win a medal. Their stroke was described as a “thrashing” style in which the arms moved “like a windmill” and the legs moved in an “up-and-down” motion.
Almost a century-and-a-half later, a spry youngster named Janet Evans rocked the swimming world and obliterated world records in the distance freestyle events using a windmill, straight-arm freestyle recovery. It seemed all at once impossible, yet strangely familiar.
Continue reading Swimming Technique: Windmill Revolution