Parents and Athletes,
This post is geared towards our athletes working towards short course elite status, and those who think they may want to participate in the USAT Junior Elite Series when they get older.
One of the things I love about Playtri is that we are constantly experimenting with new things, which means we stay on the cutting edge of coaching strategies as the sport develops. One area that we are particularly interested is how open water swimming differs from pool swimming, and I personally am focused in on how we can be most effective in the swim for short course draft-legal races.
Right after I finished the following article (which I would also consider a taste of what we'll be teaching at our Holiday Training Camp in December, for those who are interested) I saw a very similar piece written by former short course pro and elite coach Sara McLarty that was published earlier this week (though in contrast to her opinion, I think the kick becomes more important in this particular race style). This just tells me we aren't the only ones to be taking a step back and re-evaluating the value of a traditional pool swim technique in our sport, and athletes who are trained only in the pool swim technique will eventually be left behind by those who embrace a more sport-specific approach.
Draft-Legal Triathlon Swimming Technique
I hope this makes you think, and gives you some insight on why we do things the way we do on Team Playtri!
Have a happy Friday, and a Safe and Happy Halloween Tomorrow,
Coach Morgan