Friday, April 27, 2012

Apologies on behalf of the pool

Dear Swimmers

Sincere apologies on behalf of Claremont Pool to those of you who turned up this morning for the 530am session to find that the pool was closed.

I was down at the pool all ready and raring as usual but couldn't let anyone in. This was very frustrating as you can imagine!!!

Thanks to the 20 of you who stayed around to swim and got to start at 605am - you were rewarded with a free session of course and sincere thanks to the 630am crew for sympathizing with the situation and allowing the 530am crew to finish their set whilst you warmed up as normal.

I believe a few of you have wrote to the council regarding this issue. Frustrating for everyone but I'm assured it won't happen again.

Cheers

Paul

Kind regards

Paul

P.S great 1pm session planned for tomorrow if you can make it - ideal for Busso HIM athletes in particular!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Do you know someone in desperate need of tuning up their stroke? If so, we want to help, for FREE!


Dear Swimmers

Some of you have requested seeing some of the photos that I took at Ceinwen's wedding last weekend at Cave's House in Yallingup. With Ceinwen's kind permission she has said it's OK for you to view this selection - enjoy:

http://gallery.me.com/swimsmooth/101057 (username = andy , password = 2012)

The ANZAC Day Challenge - can you help us find someone to help with their swimming for FREE??

Here is a great challenge for you this ANZAC day...next Tuesday 1st May (12pm to 4pm) and Thursday 3rd May (9am to 3pm) we hope to conduct a series of mini 1-2-1 stroke correction sessions at Claremont Pool and Challenge Stadium respectively...do you have a friend in desperate need of tuning up their swimming who would benefit from this entirely FREE mini session?

Each session will last ~30-45 minutes and will be filmed above and below the water with the swimmer receiving a copy of this footage to take away with them. Adam will actually film me delivering the session to the swimmer as we will use this footage to share with other swimmers and coaches around the world on how to fix the most common stroke flaws - as such consent to use the video footage is essential. The swimmer will be shown how to correct the biggest single thing holding them back in the water, and to this extent we are hoping to film a variety of swimmers who have had limited coaching experience in the past (although anyone is welcome to apply...even you guys in the squad!).

Swimmers will need to be available during these two periods but will be notified by Friday 5pm this week on whether they have a) been selected for the challenge and b) what time slot we will allocate them.

This will be of massive help to us and whilst the filming will be done primarily for the benefit of others seeing how to address these common issues, of course the swimmer going through the session will see how our unique processes work to simply correct things holding them back. It will be a lot of fun and very insightful! Each swimmer will also go away with a complimentary copy of the most appropriate www.swimtype.com guide for their stroke, worth $20.00.

So, can you help? Can you nominate a friend or do you think you fit the bill yourself? If so, please ask your friend or yourself to complete the questions below as fully as possible and we'll take the selection process from there. 

We cannot guarantee that every swimmer will get selected as we only have a limited number of slots available and are looking for some very specific aspects to work on, however, we do of course have our highly regarded 1-2-1 Video Analysis Session available as per http://www.swimsmooth.com/perth_videoanalysis.html should someone wish to consider these down the line (currently fully booked till the third week in July for your reference).

This could be an excellent chance for a last minute tweak for someone prior to the Busselton Half Ironman...??!!

Questions to answer (in full):

  • Name:
  • Email Address:
  • Phone Number:
  • Age:
  • Occupation:
  • Number of years swimming:
  • Are you available for both days?
  • What is your time for 400m?
  • What do YOU think is the biggest single thing holding you back with your swimming (be as detailed here as you see necessary)?
  • Are you faster or slower with a pull buoy?
  • How often do you swim per week and what do you do in your sessions?
  • How would you rate your enjoyment of swimming (1 = a necessary evil, 10 =  can't get enough of it!)?
  • What are your swimming aspirations (be as detailed here as you see necessary)?
  • Have you ever been filmed before and if so, what did you see as the most obvious flaw within your stroke?
  • Have you ever suffered any shoulder soreness, pain or injury?
  • How do you fare in the open water compared with the pool?

...responses to be received by no later than midday on Friday 27th April 2012.

Cheers

Paul


Monday, April 23, 2012

ANZAC DAY

Dear Swimmers

Hope you've had a great weekend - we had an awesome time down in Yallingup attending Ceinwen and Andy's wedding - the couple looked very happy together and we wish them well!

Just quickly, there will be no Wednesday 5.30am session this week due to the ANZAC day public holiday. The pool does not open until 7am. We will however, still be running the 9.30am session (Fresh and Fruity) if you'd care to attend. No other squad sessions are affected this week.

I'd highly recommend swimming in the open water and doing a ~4km wetsuit swim for those who would normally swim on Wednesday morning (early) and whom are doing the Busselton Half Ironman next week.

Thanks and have a great week!

Paul

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Your chance to be famous!

Dear Swimmers

Hope you're all doing well! Just a quick note this week:

1. I will personally be away from the squad this Friday and Saturday and then back on Monday. Sally will cover the Friday 5.30am and 6.30am sessions as well as the Saturday 1pm session and Francene will be back on the pool deck on Friday at 9.30am after giving birth to her beautiful daughter Sabine last month. I will be heading down to Yallingup to photograph one of my best friend's wedding's and Rottnest / English Channel queen, Ceinwen Williams as she marries Andy this Saturday at Caves House Hotel - can't wait!

2. Want to be famous?! Adam is back tonight and on Thursday we will commence six weeks of a heavy filming schedule at Challenge Stadium for an amazing new series of videos that we're compiling for a VERY special project later this year. We need some volunteers (2) for filming at Challenge Stadium this Thursday 19/4) morning between 9am and 12pm. This week we'll be filming how to improve your exhalation in the water with some great tips on how viewers can do this...we're seeking two swimmers (one a natural 'floater' and one a 'leg sinker') to help out in this mini-project...if you're keen just email back to this Blog. Thanks!

Cheers

Paul




Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Welcome Back!

Dear Swimmers

Just a quick note to welcome you back to training after the Easter break - hope you had a good one!

If there's anyone else who didn't get re-tested for their 400m/200m Time Trials last week but were keen to, please reply back to this email and we'll get you testing this week on either Wednesday 5.30am or 9.30am / Friday 5.30am or 6.30am - it'd be really good to see a few more of you re-test to complete our little experiment and see how you've done. No pressure of course if not.

Cheers and have a great week!

Paul


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Best time of year for swim coaching at Claremont?

Dear Swimmers

Hope you're having a great week!

This is just a quick note to remind you that there will be no swimming sessions on this Friday (Good Friday), Saturday (7th April) and Monday (9th April). All sessions will resume as normal on Tuesday 10th April when we get fully back into the swing of things.

If anyone did want to swim this weekend (note that the pool is totally closed on Good Friday), may I suggest my favourite Fresh 'n' Fruity session, the "Goldilocks Set" - see: http://www.feelforthewater.com/2010/03/goldilocks-set.html - for those who normally swim on a Monday, may I suggest this session of Contrasts: http://www.feelforthewater.com/2009/12/discover-flaws-in-your-stroke-with.html

9.30am session swimmers will also be pleased to know that we'll now be back permanently at the Claremont Pool and in our favoured lanes of 6, 7 and 8 in the 50m pool as of tomorrow. Sincere thanks for your support and patience during March with all the venue changes and the scheduled beach sessions when the pool was busy with carnivals. Claremont Pool do their very best to accommodate us at this busy time but I do appreciate that these changes can throw a spanner in the works to your weekly schedule. The nice thing is now though that the pool is quiet and free from both carnivals and the busy school programs, so it's a great time to venture back down and get back into a routine. 

I would have to say that April is by far my favourite month of the year for coaching and despite the drizzly weather this morning, we still had a good showing at the 5.30am and 6.30am sessions. If anyone missed this morning's session there's obviously the option of attending the 6.30pm session tonight (you don't need to book) - it's a good one and enjoyed by all it seemed!

OK everyone, I'll see some of you tomorrow at the 5.30am and 9.30am sessions and then others next week when we get fully back into the swing of things!

Cheers and Happy Easter...we're off for a 2-night break in Toodjay, can't wait!

Paul

P.S here's a couple of funny photos from our trip to Adventure World last weekend with the kids...Jackson is now 101cm tall and most of the rides require him to be 102cm - teaching him how to stand tall and proud to 'sneak' through was very funny indeed...he was very much the Big Boy and even got to meet his first koala! On the go-karts I'm not sure who is having the most fun though - him or me?!