Thursday, 19th June 08

Well ok so not really but I could have done if I had the stamina - that and if nobody else wanted to use TriCentral’s never ending training pool!! TriCentral emailed the club about advertising to members. After looking at their website I thought I’d go and give it a try. It sounded like just the thing I was after to try and improve my technique. A never ending pool with four video feeds capturing your every move. You even get to keep the footage when you’ve finished.

I found the place without any problems and walked through the door, straight into a retail area. I was expected because the bloke at the desk sent me straight to the changing room to get ready! I wasn’t quite sure what I was meant to do after that. I sneaked a look around the door at the other side of the changing room thinking that may lead to the pool but all I found was the shower and toilet. It appeared I’d have to go back the way I came, into the shop area (if you’d like to retain your modesty then wrap your towel around you until at the pool!).

Gavin, my coach and critic for the next 45 minutes introduced himself and I followed him to the back of the shop area where the pool was located. It was straight into the pool while he explained what would happen. A quick swim to get used to the pool then we’d do some recording to see what my current technique was like. Swimming in the pool was much easier than I anticipated; just wait at the back of the pool for the flow to be strong enough then start swimming into it! The rate was set at about the pace that I’d do 100m freestyle, for me that’s around 1m25s - except it felt like I was swimming for about 3 minutes that first go. I was exhausted when Gavin stopped the water to look at the video footage and wondered if I was going to manage a whole 45 minutes at that pace!!! Now I never deluded myself that I have a perfect freestyle stroke … but I was surprised at what the footage showed. Not quite mortifying but certainly worse than I’d thought!

Gavin certainly got quite wet that first 3 minutes!! We watched the video and Gavin explained what aspects of my stroke were not quite right. He gave me some specific drills to try and to improve bits one at a time. I swam the drill, we watched the footage, we tweaked and added another aspect, swam some more, watched the footage and so on. It was really constructive and I could feel things improving as we progressed through the session. About 15 minutes in I suddenly realised there were two mirrors under the water, one on the floor and one at an angle in front of me. These proved very useful for watching what I was doing in real time. Fortunately the flow pace for the drills was slower than that first 3 minutes and I survived the whole session without any problems.

I went to shower and change while Gavin burned all my video footage to a DVD for me to take away. Having somebody point out where your stroke could be improved is useful, but there is nothing like being able to see yourself on video to really appreciate your shortcomings! I was so enthused at knowing where I was going wrong and what I had to do improve that I went straight to my gym and did some more drills. The session has actually focused me - something I’ve been rather lacking in with my swimming. I’m now planning to practise a lot and hopefully return at the end of August to see if there has been any improvement.

For anyone looking for detailed feedback on their stroke, I’d recommend going along to TriCentral to get yourself on film! Pick up a leaflet from the desk on a Tuesday or Sunday!

Mikey
Club Secretary