A Video Analysis Primer for Swim Coaches
Here are the steps I took to
incorporate video analysis into my YMCA competitive swimming programs in 2006. It
explains briefly:
·
Equipment needed for video analysis
·
Organizational details and “best practices” of
clinics and camps I have participated in
·
Results of my programs
·
Thoughts and tips learned from other coaches and the
hard way.
Video analysis is now an important
part of many clinic and camp programs. It is affordable for any size team or individual.
If you are a part time coach of a Masters, recreational or YMCA team, this
information may help, you decide to acquire and use video analysis in your programs.
Any individual with swimmers in the
family and a camera could use this material. Once you read and see what the
experts say to do, it is easy to compare their thoughts with your swimmer’s
actions. Good coaches do not see any more than we do. They pick up the faults
faster and know how to get swimmers to change. Anyone can improve his or her
coaching skills in these areas with practice.
A key to stroke
improvement for swimmers is to see what they do instead of thinking what they
do. After seeing, they are motivated to change. The coach goes from seller of
change to facilitator.
A Video Analysis Primer for Swim Coaches..................................................................................................... 1
A Little History................................................................................................................................................ 1
Video Technology............................................................................................................................................ 2
Preparation...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Where and What I Learned.......................................................................................................................... 3
Best Practices.............................................................................................................................................. 4
Charles River YMCA Video Programs............................................................................................................ 5
The Results to Date...................................................................................................................................... 6
Thoughts on How to Do a Video Session the Right Way............................................................................... 7
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................................ 11
About the author............................................................................................................................................ 11
Appendix A Sample Video............................................................................................................................ 12
Appendix A Sample Video............................................................................................................................ 12
Appendix B Agenda and timeline for my first clinic.......................................................................................... 13
Appendix C................................................................................................................................................... 14
Appendix D Sample Agenda for 1/week 2hr/day clinics.................................................................................. 15
Appendix E Thoughts for Masters Programs................................................................................................... 19
A Little History
As Aquatic Director and swim team
coach at the Charles River YMCA in
My swim team parents asked me what I
wanted for Christmas in 2005. My first reply was an expensive new book on how
to coach. They said they wanted to give me something bigger. Then I replied, “I
would like an underwater video camera”. Santa delivered. This is the story of
selecting a system and learning to use it.
Video Technology
This is a quick introduction to the
various components needed to record, replay and analyze a swimmer’s stroke. I
will mention specific products I use or know of. There are alternatives to
these. Just use an Internet search engine or visit an electronics store.
You
need the three pieces of equipment above and a swimmer to do video analysis.
- For cameras, there are two choices. First,
there are VHS or DVD camera recorders. Some of these have an underwater
case that allows you to sit on the bottom of the pool and play camera
operator. Otherwise, you buy a color circuit-board video camera in a waterproof housing. AQUACAM is
the product name of my circuit board camera. The camera provides input to
a video recorder. Other vendors include Snooper Systems from D'Zign
Technologies, Sea View SM-50 from Water Fitness
Store, CoachCam from Underwater Camera Company of
- Video recorders take video input from either
an internal or an external camera to record to VHS, DVD or store the
images on a digital medium. Removable recording media is either VHS tape
or DVD disks. VHS devices are a dated technology. The tapes hold many
minutes of video and are reusable. DVD is newer and has a number of
advantages over tape. A digital video recorder (DVR) records video to an internal digital
storage medium. The term includes stand-alone set-top boxes and PC software.
TVIO is a special type of DVR tied to a commercial input signal. TVIO
devices may not work with a non-commercial signal. A DVR has all the
advantages of a DVD player plus the ability to record more information. It
allows playbacks to a monitor while recording additional information.
- Viewing monitors take input from recorders or cameras. The monitor
should be of a size that allows everyone viewing the video to see the
details. Monitor price and weight increase with screen size. A monitor is
simply a TV with input ports for video games. Many monitors have build in
VCR or DVD players. The one I use has a VCR player/recorder.
- Editing tools are available on some
recorders and computers. They allow the removal of “dead time” or goofs
prior to finalizing the video. From the finalized video, you can produce
individual CDs or DVDs for your swimmers. Use the images in technical
articles if you aspire to be a writer. When purchasing a DVD recorder this
software should be included. The cameras attach via a fire wire or USB
port. I use the software that came with my HANDYCAM. Dartfish software for
video analysis from Dartfish
Attaching
all these devices to each other is easy. The ports and camera RCA cable plugs
are all color-coded. There are only three wires. Specialized interfaces on recorders
and PCs have unique attachment cable plugs and ports for each interface.
Preparation
A camp or clinic is a full season of
stroke training compressed into a short time period. The principles for success
are the same. I wanted to understand and apply these principles to my program. Two
years ago, I started hosting clinics at my pool and serving in summer swim
camps as an instructor. My goals were simple: learn how to be a better coach
and have my swimmers learn from the experts. These experiences allowed me to
understand how to organize instruction and improve my stroke analysis skills. I
became a better coach and gained the technical knowledge to start my own
program.
Concurrent with these activities I
produced a series of thirty minute TV shows, Swimming Rules, for
Where and What I Learned
My first clinic experience was
hosting Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen and her husband Eric’s Fabulous Freestyle Clinic
for Master’s swimmers. They run this clinic at sites throughout the country. The
New England Masters put me in touch with them. This experience got me hooked on
the value of clinics. Next came a week as a lane coach at a North Shore YMCA in
Beverly, Massachusetts Summer Swim Camp where I met Paul Bennett, the WPI
college coach. I hosted two clinics with Paul for my age group and high school swim
teams last October. Karlyn and Eric came
back again this spring. This summer I was a lane coach at the Technique Swim
Camp.
The clinics were single four-hour
sessions. The North Shore YMCA Camp and Technique Swim Camp (sometimes called
the Harvard Swim Camp) where I served under Northeastern University head coach
Roy Coates do day sessions in their one week camps. These sessions are similar
to the clinics in organization. The time spent shooting video varied in the
programs.
The instruction portions of the
clinics and camp sessions have five parts. They are:
·
out of the water stroke overview
·
in the water swimming and shooting video
·
out of the water video critique and lecture
·
in the water practicing corrections
·
a wrap-up video swim and critique
All start with the lead coach providing
instruction. Some show a video of a famous swimmer doing the session stroke. Next
is swimming and camera work. The most important part is analysis of the
individual swimmers. Analysis takes time so it overlaps with pool time and
instruction by lane coaches. Swimmers are in groups to reduce wait time. For
the day camps, there will be a lecture segment on such topics as goal setting
or national level swimming experience. The shorter clinics will do a brief
training, motivation or nutrition presentation. Next lane coaches conduct pool
instruction and drills. This is everyday coaching. The lane coaches must have
experience working with the age groups in the clinic and teaching the
techniques the lead coach is using. The parts may not be in this order and some
programs do not do a video wrap-up.
To the right is Roy Coates doing the technical analysis for
swimmers at a Technique Swim Camp. The monitor connects to a DVR device. The
DVR stores images from a circuit board camera mounted underwater in a lane.
While
The Neilsen clinics start with a
combination lecture and in the water demonstration by Karlyn. The objective is
to change attendee’s stroke to her method of swimming. Swimmers do a series of
drills and full stroke swims to implement this stroke. They shoot a video during
the first instructional swim. Half the swimmers leave the water for analysis
and lecture. The others continue to swim. Then the second group goes for analysis
and lecture. First group comes back and swims. When everyone is back in the
pool, there is individual stroke correction and another video. The session ends
with a final analysis, lecture and a period of questions and answers.
Clinics with Paul Bennett were
different. The two clinics each covered all four strokes in four hours. The
first was for younger age group swimmers. The second was for high school
swimmers. The clinics had one object, get an outstanding college coach to
analyze our swimmers needs. At the high school session, the Needham Channel shot
a segment for the station’s sports show. With the TV camera, we shot swimmers
swimming towards our camera. Paul’s monitor showing their underwater stroke was
visible on the right side of the screen. What a sequence! We captured both the
underwater and surface images side by side. Paul had both the underwater and surface
images on separate DVDs. He used these for his analysis. I am now working on
directing the underwater camera to a monitor capturing the session on a VHS
tape. I will use my DVD camera to do both the surface filming of the swimmer
and the underwater monitor. Now I will have a digital capturing of both the surface
and underwater action and can view these frame by frame. When done, I will be
able to determine if I have enough image resolution to do effective analysis. I
am getting ahead of myself.
Best Practices
The four hour “out of town expert”
clinic by Karlyn and Eric is a great model for this type of event. They teach a
very specific freestyle method, front quadrant
technique with a wide entry. There is no wasted time during the
session. All the demonstrations, explanations and drills are on message. They
provide appropriate handouts and have Karlyn’s Go.Swim DVD available for
attendees to buy.
Here is Eric Neilsen doing stroke
analysis for one group of swimmers at a Charles River YMCA clinic. The video input is from a Sony VHS HANDYCAM
into a 25-inch TV monitor. There are before and after video segments during
these clinics. Attendees are split into groups so much of the in water
instruction and video analysis is overlapped. Attendance is limited to the
number of swimmers that can be served in the clinic time.
The Technique Swim Camps have a very
effective daily program for individual strokes. The week I taught there were 24
swimmers. We had four lanes for swimming. Two lanes were for underwater video
filming and analysis. In both lanes were DVR recorders. Video capture and
analysis went on concurrently. Roy Coates, the lead coach and Bob Tyler,
They also have their underwater
camera configured to mount on a weighted board on the pool bottom. This is much
better than the pole for applications like their camp program or when using DVR
recorders. We used my pole mounted underwater camera in the second lane. The
Technique camp at
The North Shore YMCA camp’s practice
of providing swimmers with a DVD showing swims with audio comments is great.
Brian Cameron spends considerable time generating these DVDs. He uploads the
captured video to a PC then edits and creates individual mini DVDs from the
data. Swimmers can review what to work on. The North Shore YMCA has a large and
very successful
The Nielsen’s clinic and the
Technique Camp shoot both before and after swims for each swimmer. This part of
the program must run quickly. Make sure to identify each swimmer in the water. Technique
camps use caps with names on them. Karlyn numbers each swimmer on the shoulder.
I have a “20 swimmers for 4 hours rule in four lanes” rule to project clinic capacity.
It accounts for the time to video record and analyze each swimmer. The first
rule in video production is “don’t underestimate the shooting time!” For
Masters the swimming time is less but the critique takes longer. The reverse is
true for children. Try not to have more than eight preteens at a time watching
the videos. They quickly lose interest. The next factor to consider is the
number of swimmers a lane coach can work with. The YMCA limit for competitive
swimmers is eight per lane. The number is too high for adults and accomplished
high school swimmers. They need more room to swim. My pool has four narrow
lanes. With a larger pool and individual lane coaches, the number of swimmers
may be higher.
All the clinics except for the
Neilsens’ have at least one coach per lane. The Neilsens’ had three on deck for
the primary instructional period and two while half the class was watching
their videos. I spent two days swimming with Karlyn before the first clinic.
She taught me her method of swimming and I was the third coach. My experiences
at the two swim camps were similar. Each camp had a lane coach for every eight
to ten swimmers. The North Shore YMCA camp had over 30 swimmers. It used six or
more of eight lanes. Each lane coach had one or two assistants. The assistants
were outstanding high school or college swimmers and current or former members
of the YMCA’s team. They knew most of the attendees and served in previous
camps. The Technique’s lane coaches were experienced in that program as well and
included Julie Norton, the Northeastern assistant coach. Both camps have
“guest” lane coaches. As a guest, I learned from and shared my experiences with
the regular staff. It was nice to give the other coaches the opportunity to see
and evaluate my favorite drills and teaching techniques.
Charles River YMCA Video Programs
The YMCA swim team’s parents donated
an underwater camera and video recorder to the team, “my Christmas present”.
The clinics I ran plus encouraging them to send their children to local swim
camps made this an easy investment for them to make in our program. Effective
use of this generous gift will improve our team’s competitive results and add to
the YMCA’s image of being committed to quality swimming programs.
I selected the underwater camera and
DVD recorder package from AQUACAM in
The underwater camera selection is the easy part. As
mentioned before AQUACAM is one of a number of companies offering cameras. The AQUACAM
attachment to the camera allows placing the camera at the end of a pole so it
is portable. Cameras use rechargeable batteries. For long sessions have extra
batteries and to attend to recharging duties. A pluggable power source would be
better especially when feeding images to a DVR. The camera plugs into any
television monitor that will take videogame input. After my son broke his TV’s
antenna connection, I rescued it and added it to my video tool collection. It
has a built-in VCR. The camera provides only video input. The audio port may
work with a hand held microphone. This is another test to do. Now I can record
from the camera with DVDs or VHS tapes.
Since acquiring this equipment, I
have been slowly introducing video analysis into classes. First, I used the
combination of my HANDYCAM taking input from the underwater camera in a class
for adult triathlon swimmers. Next, I shot swims with the HANDYCAM from the
pool deck. In the following class, we reviewed the output by plugging the
HANDYCAM, acting as a DVD player, into the rescued TV. Swims by my son and I were added to the DVD. Finally
came uploading to my PC the unedited images to make a movie. The results are in
Appendix A. Next, I did a session with two nationally ranked synchronized
swimmers. They are using the DVD to perfect their routines for national
competition. I am currently doing a series of clinics composed of five daily one-hour
classes. In these clinics, I capture the underwater video on VHS using the
TV/VCR. The DVD HANDYCAM is only for surface filming. My goal is to have simultaneous
surface and under water coverage of a swim. This reduces the time to record
swims and allows for more instruction.
The Results to Date
My time spent learning from the
experts was a great investment. I allowed the proper amounts of time for both
shooting video and doing the analysis in my classes. A Masters swimmer now
swims repeat 100s ten seconds faster after seeing a major flaw in his
underwater pull. With both my age group and adult swimmers, I could see some
immediate improvement in very basis techniques such as body position and pull
patterns. Complex movement patterns do not lend themselves to easy correction.
The good news is the attempts at improvement in this area were evident at all
levels.
On the negative side, I am a bad cinematographer
and disregarded all I learned from Marc Mandel, Executive Director of the
Needham Channel, while making my TV programs. Professional level camera work adds
quality to the images. Poor camera work is a distraction to students. It wastes
time. The students to lose focus. I was all over the place. Here is a list of
what to do:
- Anchor the underwater
camera securely. Do not allow it to move. Sight it in and secure it before
the actual filming. My efforts to move the camera were not successful. I
could not keep the camera level. The result was like watching a TV where
someone is tilting it from side to side.
- Use a tripod for surface
filming. Again, sight in the camera and leave it. Tilt the camera forward
as the swimmer moves down the lane. Avoid climbing on and off the starting
blocks. It wastes film and the camera cannot swim.
- Do not try to cover
more than one lane. Sight in the cameras and do not expect to get more
than about 10 yards of good images. Remember you need only one complete stroke
cycle. If you try to zoom in and out, switch too often between swimmers or
switch between wide angle and tight shots the video will be very choppy
and distracting. Younger students quickly lose focus if the occurs when
watching.
In spite of bad camera work, I had
at least one good stroke cycle of every swimmer to do an effective stroke analysis.
This is because of the stop and slow motion capabilities of a recorder/player.
Moving the video image to a computer gives even more options to improve the analytical
process. You will see this by watching the short video in Appendix A. The appendix’s
still shots from the video point out specific flaws in my stroke.
The use of VHS underwater capture for
my age group clinics was a good idea on a number of levels. It allowed me to
collect a great deal of film on the TV’s VCR. For young children you will be able to correct
only one or two faults in a session. Therefore, I collected what I needed to
impart age appropriate recommendations. This also demonstrates the flexibility
of the underwater cameras to feed a variety of devices. Thanks to my son, I can
collect above and below images simultaneously. I used the DVD camera to collect surface images.
The time to collect data was short. I needed that to cover all bases in an hour
session. The surface DVD is where I needed the remote control of the slow
motion and stop functions to point out flaws in body alignment, hand entry, pull
patterns and kicking. The HANDYCAM has a remote controller.
Technique camp video was from
underwater cameras. The North Shore YMCA used a surface camera. Either can be
very effective. Having both is best. It minimizes filming and allows a more
complete analysis. You can never have too much information.
Thoughts on How to Do a Video Session
the Right Way
Preparation is necessary. There is a
great deal of down time for the swimmers without organized and parallel
activities. These include filming in one lane, instructional swimming in other
lanes or dry land instruction. When doing surface video capture there should
not be too much noise. The recorder allows audio comments while filming.
Again, lane coaches must teach the
same techniques as the head coach. For a Masters program or a recreational
team, consider this when staffing. I use teenagers who have been working with
me for a long time. They know the children from the YMCA team and the town’s
programs. Teenagers communicate well with the younger children. They are very
good at one on one instruction. The head coach must be on deck to oversee
instruction and make sure the individual instruction is correct. This way the
coach is improving the skills of both the instructors and students.
Training sessions dedicated to
stroke correction need in the water drills. You cannot learn to swim on dry land
or watching a movie. The bad habits of swimmers are usually well established. I
explain why to change on a conceptual basis in simple terms. Next, explain or
have a lane coach demonstrate the correct movements. Once students know and
accept the theory understanding how to execute is easier. Do short distance
swims and break the practice portion into parts of one hour or less. This gives
everyone a rest from both the work and concentration. The break allows you to
see which corrections are remembered when they return to the water. Try a fast
swim in the opening part of the second water session to point out forgotten
changes. All clinics and camps use this method. The second session repeats the
first but reduces the number of drills and adds full stroke swims. Throw in
late arrivals, bathroom breaks and movement to and from dry land activities. Hours
pass very quickly.
Four hours are the minimum amount of
time to spend on a single stroke. In the WPI clinics where we did four strokes,
the objective was different. Paul Bennett is a very successful and experienced
coach. Few of the children on my team and the high school team had previous
exposure to such good coaching. For the younger children it was the first time
they were part of a clinic/camp experience. Many had never been on a swim team
before. We were looking to give them a good conceptual foundation and
correcting one or two major problems. Parents also attended the critiques so
they were educated. The high school clinic with underwater video was to find
and correct the one or two errors that only a highly qualified coach such as
Paul could identify and correct. The clinics were very successful. When trying
to improve the swimming culture of a community, exposure to superior coaching
is necessary. People will invest in what they believe in. Children will
participate in the sports that offer the best coaching and opportunities for
success. The sport should be swimming!
Try to have groups with swimmers of
equal ability and age. Adults and advanced teenagers can absorb much more
information than preteens. For preteens, dispensing too much information will
be like having them drink from a fire hose. Limit the commenting on to only one
or two points per swim. Make positive comments. They do not count as analyzing
points. The critiques are to encourage and not to scold.
There must be follow up. A spring
clinic for a swimmer who will not see the water again for two months is a waste
of time in terms of stroke improvement. Detached clinic attendance can be valuable
on a conceptual level if it is introducing new concepts or training techniques.
Swimmers should come away from these with some written information to study or
a video of the material. Many swimmers at clinics I have attended quickly
revert to old habits if not watched closely. Watching your swim movie moment is
only a nice wakeup call. The video stroke analysis becomes a long-term program
by both the coach and swimmer to be effective. Video analysis is a costly tool
to use in terms of time. Do not use it too often. Stroke changes need time to
become rote. It takes more than simply completing a clinic or camp. Incorporating
my new tools and knowledge into the upcoming winter season will be a key
challenge. I have to do more than one video session without compromising the
time for on deck demonstrations and regular workouts.
If you plan to show commercial videos
by top coaches or swimmers to age group swimmers use material with current superstars.
The kids do not know any one from more than one Olympics ago. They want to see
the stars they know.
Find free education to improve your
coaching skills. Hosting clinics or being a lane coach for a week at a swim
camp is a way to do this. It is also a great way to meet people with the same
professional interests. I like and learned from everyone I met. Consider this a
benefit that goes with the job. We work in a very friendly sports community.
Create the opportunity to have a
college coach and team members come in to do a clinic for age group swimmers.
The younger kids really enjoy instruction by such good swimmers. High school
swimmers quickly see that these college swimmers are not that much better than
they are. They realize that they will be able to swim in college as well.
Everyone benefits. Paul Bennett’s WPI team uses their fee to help finance a
Christmas training trip. It gives college coaches exposure in communities where
they would like to recruit. Posting at your site the fact that you are running
clinics with this caliber of instructors will reflect well on your entire
program. Lesson parents visualize their children participating in a few years.
Understand the video filming laws of
your state or country. You cannot film and use the material without consent
especially where children are involved. I believe if the published write up of
a program you are running clearly states that video is for instructional
purposes you do not need explicit consent. This is implied consent. You can
only use these videos in the context of the program. You should check this
point with a lawyer. In my movie in the appendix, I only use images of family
members. The same goes for written articles get the proper permissions before
you publish.
I have not mentioned simply using a
digital camera with a large memory capacity to do the data capture. Because of
the need to upload the pictures this would not work in a clinic setting. It
would provide a great series of pictures to critique from or use in an article.
My son uses this technique to make short and very interesting videos of
skateboarders. This is not a resource that to be overlooked when doing video
capture. Envision a line of parents on the pool deck with cameras in hand
waiting for their children to swim. Let the show begin!
It is also a great tool for a stroke
coach to use during a practice. Just shoot a quick stroke sequence and show it
immediately to the swimmer at practice. Print it later or just delete it.
I Have Left
the Best Advice for Last.
How do you learn to analyze
someone’s stroke from a video? It is the same as watching from the pool deck
with an instant replay button in hand. There is no magic in this process.
·
Know what is right and how to describe it.
·
Watch the same video repeatedly.
·
Become adept at using the remote control stop, start,
slow motion and rewind buttons.
·
Know what you want to see and how to look for it.
·
Have good
camera work.
·
See the stroke from different angles.
Soon
you will think about winning an Oscar. Just like watching a great movie, do not
expect to see all the details the first time. Try to work in from major flaws
to minor ones. Fix body position, pull
patterns, rotations, undulations, kicks and on down the list. Make a check order
list and follow it. Know your audience. The critique needs to be in terms they
understand. With high school and older swimmers be prepared for objections and
have standard phrases to handle them. “Yes there are other styles of
breaststroke” or “Discuss what you have seen with your regular coach”. Have fun
and enjoy the work.
How do you decide to run a camp or
clinic? You do not! Your facility space availability, pool schedule and
business objectives do. They control the resources. Clinics and camps need
space for dry land activities. Without this, options are limited. Pool
schedules dictate when swims will be available. An all day camp requires at
least four hours of pool time between 9 am to 4 pm. Call your program a camp
and you have a whole host of state regulations to implement. Camps are serious
business. This leaves clinics as the only option unless you are a school, YMCA
or other organization with the resources to be in the camping business.
There are two options for clinics. “Out of
town expert” run or do it yourself. Clinics are nice revenue generators when
done correctly. They are also a good way to sell your programs to prospective
swimmers. The pool schedule once again plays a dominate role. The best time to
run a clinic for adults is weekday evenings or on a Saturday. These are whole
pool events for anything smaller than a fifty-meter pool. For children weekend
days are best.
Have a plan that covers the three
factors. For example, I can make a business case to run week clinics of one or
two hour sessions at my site in the summers. This is because my YMCA will not
use the pool for afternoon camp swims. My vision is to attract swimmers from
the surrounding town and club teams. These teams have over 150 swimmers. They
practice in the mornings. I have unused pool time during summer afternoons. I
know many of the summer teams’ families. It is easy to announce a program in
the town for these teams. I want to do four camps and expect at least ten or
more swimmers in each. I have to pay two staff members as assistants. My price
will be $80 per swimmer. I can compare that price to other programs in the
area. It is a marketing and revenue opportunity.
Again this year I will look for “out of town expert” opportunities.
These are not gold mines. Do not expect to get many
As coaches, we all have much to
learn about using video analysis at practices. There is so much technology
available at an affordable price even the smallest programs can use it. A
picture can save a thousand words. You do not have to worry about the words
being misunderstood or not coming out the way you wanted. Video will be an important part of our
coaching future.
Acknowledgements
I have mentioned a number of
individuals and a company whose product I use. I want to thank the individuals
for all they taught me and for taking time to review this material. They have
also kindly given me permission to use the pictures included in this article
AQUACAM at
International: 207-439-5458 sells packaged solutions with circuit board
cameras and a video recorders or a digital video recorder. Greg Cronauer is the contact and is eager to
explain his product and how to use it. The Aquacam picture is used with his
permission.
Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen and Eric
Neilsen
at www.aquaticedge.org web site.77-6479
Technique Swim Camp info at techswimcamp.com. Tel - (617)
484-0550 holds swim camps at Harvard and
Paul Bennett Head Coach, WPI Swimming & Diving and Director of Aquatics
1-508-831-5625 pbennett at wpi.edu
Brian Cameron Head Coach,
Marc Mandel Executive Director of The
About
the author
Robert
Boder is
the Aquatics Director for Competitive Programs at the Charles River YMCA in
Appendix A Sample Video
This is my first
attempt at movie making from a HANDYCAM DVD file. It will not win any prizes and
is very short. After viewing it, you will be able to give me a good stroke
critique. Click on the blue screen and the video will play. You can control the
playing as if it was a DVD.
© Robert Boder
This video
and the below images may only be used within the context of this article.
Below
is a frame from the above video. You can now do your own analysis of what is
wrong with my stroke at this point. Ideally, I would have better form and this
would show my chin coming forward. I would not be coming so high out of the
water. As I have completed taking a breath my face will be in the water as the
arms continue forward for the recovery.
© Robert Boder
This
is the frame of my arms entering the water. My head is down but there is still
a minor problem.
© Robert Boder
Appendix B Agenda and timeline for my first clinic
The agenda
and time line of my first one-week clinic follows. This clinic was five days of
1-hour sessions. We had five swimmers of ages 10 to 11. All were experienced and
successful YMCA competitors. Assisting me were two
Session 1
was filming and stroke instruction in freestyle and backstroke. Session 2 was
watching some backstroke video followed by video analysis of the session 1
swimming. After the analysis, the swimmers were back in the water to reinforce
the critique comments. Sessions 3 and 4 were of the same format for the
butterfly and breaststroke. We watched a butterfly video. Session 5 was for
starts and turns.
Each swim
and film day followed the same time line. First, we film two 25-yard swims of
each of the day’s strokes with both the above and under water camera running.
This takes under 15 minutes. It is followed by 45 minutes of verbal stroke
instruction, stroke drills and full stroke swims. The 45 minutes is evenly
divided between the strokes. We do drills for body position, pull movements,
and kick. After each area is addressed, we do full stroke swims. No drill or
swim is for more than 50 yards. The final 15 minutes or what is left of our
hour is devoted to under and surface filming of the day’s strokes.
During the
days of watching videos we only watch experts in one stroke a day. Backstroke
and butterfly were selected because they do not always get the attention they
need. Their complexities are better absorbed from video images. Video viewing
was limited to 30 minutes. Ten minutes of this was watching the experts. This
allowed 30 minutes of pool time and each swimmer receives some stroke reference
material at the end of each video day.
In classes
with more swimmers, the time to film would increase. Again using the concept of
it needing only one complete stroke cycle to analyze, swimmers at spaced at a
half of the pool interval. Film one lane and have them swim back in another.
Our first
clinic went relatively smoothly. One hour a day to complete everything we would
like to teach is difficult. Because of the YMCA pool schedule we were not be
able to get more pool time per day. All the swimmers enrolled in this program
are 12 or younger. Our goal was to make two corrections per stroke for each
swimmer and get across the independent basics of head/body position, core
control and streamlining. Four of the five swimmers will attend the one week
Technique Swim Camp at Harvard later in the summer. I think we have prepared
them for this experience. The fifth swimmer saw her strokes for the first time
and did not like what she saw. She is a gifted athlete and returns to her
summer team knowing what to focus on. I will also have her swim for me in the
fall.
In future,
clinics I will prepare a specific sequence of drills and full stroke swims to
use on days one and three. With this will be a glossary of terms to use when
doing the instruction. My two teenage assistants come from different age group
programs. This will insure we stay on message and keep to our time schedule.
Next year we will change the clinics to two strokes in five days and may go to two-hour
sessions. We need more time to insure the younger swimmers understand the
changes to make. An outline of the two-hour sessions with specific drill and
lecture notes is being prepared. I also want the teenagers to do more of the
basic overview verbal instruction. This will help them improve their own
swimming and give them a sense of ownership in the program. We are also
preparing a small handout covering the strokes, rules and a glossary to give to
each attendee. It will contain a section to write notes and major stroke
changes to make. Again, the assistants
are part of the development process.
Appendix C Needham
Here is
information courtesy of the Needham Channel. First is the procedure to buy a
copy of the Swimming Rules episode 2 covering competitive strokes and rules for
age group swimmers. This is followed by a series of tips on camera work by Marc
Mandel, the station’s Executive Director.
If
you would like a copy of any program seen on the Needham Channel, you can place
your request by mailing us your request with a blank VHS Cassette or DVD-R,
a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope, a check for payment and your phone
number. We will phone to notify you that the program has been mailed. Our
address is:
The
Note:
The Needham Channel is not responsible for items lost in the mail. If you
prefer to have your tape sent certified or insured, please enclose the
appropriate payment for those extra services.
Please note that all programs are copyrighted to their producers, the Needham
Channel, and/or other licensing agencies. The tapes produced at the Needham
Channel are intended for private home-use only. Additional duplication without
permission of the Needham Channel is prohibited.
To
have another public access station acquire a copy of the program, they should
contact the Executive Director at the above address.
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Tech
Tip: Focus! |
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Tech
Tip: The Human Tripod |
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Appendix D Sample Agenda for 1/week 2hr/day Clinics
Two Hour per Day Clinic Agenda Long
Axis Strokes
Day
1 Freestyle Time
Greeting and overview 5
min
Welcome
Introduce staff
Objective
Improve your
strokes
Go away with
two changes to work on
Have some
fun while learning
What we teach 10
min
Body Balance
and streamline
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Fast with
form
Stroke and Drill Demo 5
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Drills 30
min
Balance and body
position – float
Body position and kick
Vertical kick
Pull Pattern
Standing drill – bend over in waist
deep water hand, wrist & elbow enter through one hole in the water. Next,
make this a moving drill. Fingers enter in front of shoulder. Anchor hand and
walk past hand. Keep elbow high.
Face up and face down - Full
extension of arm & Hands in front of shoulder
Stroke counting during
swims
Break 10
min
Lecture on Motivation and goal
setting 10
min
Full Stroke Swims 20
min
Focus points - body and
head position
Core
rotation
Arm
and hand entry
Elbows
high
Video 20
min
Wrap up 10
min
Day
2 Freestyle
Watch DVD 15
min
Watch Clinic Video 15
min
Instructor takes notes
on each swimmer
Review what each swimmer
must work on 5 min
Drills 25
min
Full Swims 20
min
Break 10
min
Fast Swims plus critique 20
min
Wrap up 10
min
Day
3 Back stroke Time
What we teach 10
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Fast with
form
Stroke and Drill Demo 5
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Drills 30
min
Kick and rotation
One arm backstroke
alternate arms
Goggles on face
Break 10
min
Lecture Proper diet, rest and taper 10
min
Full Stroke Swims 20
min
Video 20
min
Wrap up 10
min
Day
4 Backstroke
Watch DVD 15
min
Watch Clinic Video 15
min
Instructor takes notes on
each swimmer
Review what each swimmer
must work on 5 min
Drills 20
min
Repeat day 3 Full Swims 20
min
Break 10
min
Fast Swims plus critique 20 min
Wrap up 10
min
Two Hour per Day Clinic Agenda Short
Axis strokes
Day
1 Butterfly Time
Greeting and overview 5
min
Welcome
Introduce staff
Objective
Improve your
strokes
Go away with
two changes to work on
Have some
fun while learning
What we teach 10
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Fast with
form
Stroke and Drill Demo 5
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Drills 30
min
Hips up and down
undulation movement
Kicking on front, back
and side
Vertical kicking
One arm butterfly
Break 10 min
Lecture on Motivation and goal
setting 10
min
One arm and Full Stroke Swims 20
min
Video 20
min
Wrap up 10
min
Day
2 Butterfly Time
Watch DVD 15
min
Watch Clinic Video 15
min
Instructor takes notes on
each swimmer
Review what each swimmer
must work on 5 min
Drills 20
min
Full Swims 20
min
Break 10
min
Fast Swims plus critique 20 min
Wrap up 10
min
Day
3 Breaststroke Time
What we teach 10
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Fast with
form
Stroke and Drill Demo 5
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Drills 30
min
Kick with noodle between
legs
Kick on back
Double kick to one arm
stroke
Hand paddle scull
Arms and fly kick
Break 10
min
Lecture on proper diet, rest and
taper 20
min
Full Stroke Swims 30
min
Video 20
min
Wrap up 10
min
Day
4 Breaststroke Time
Watch DVD 15
min
Watch Clinic Video 15
min
Instructor takes notes on
each swimmer
Review what each swimmer
must work on 5 min
Drills 20
min
Full Swims 20
min
Break 10
min
Fast Swims plus critique 25 min
Wrap up 10
min
Day
5 All clinics Time
Set pool up as 4 lanes
Turn general lecture 10
min
Rules
for clinic strokes
Stroke specific
techniques
Stroke 1 turn specifics and practice 15
min
Free and back – flips
Breaststroke - pullouts
Stroke 2 turn specifics and practice 10
min
Back – roll and flip
Butterfly
IM turns specifics and practice 10
min
Break 10
min
Starts 15
min
Lecture Race strategies 10
min
Stroke review 5
min
Drills 10
min
Full stroke swims – two strokes 10
min
Two focus areas –
students describe before swims
Fun stuff 15
min
Relay races
Starts long underwater
kicking against come up and swim contests
An optional drill is to remove lane
lines and do turns across the pool. For a four-lane pool, place a lane line in
the center. Push off before turn must go under the lane line before swimming.
Push off after turn must go under lane line. For older kids, place the lane
line between lanes 3 and 4 to extend the after turn underwater push off and
kick before swimming. I expect a lane line in the center of a 6 lane pool would
work for older swimmers.
To assist swimmers to flip at the
correct distance from the wall put a movable marker on the bottom and adjust
its position as swimmers execute turns. I use a yellow hand paddle with a
weight tied to it. It quickly helps young swimmer avoid turning too close to
the wall.
I recommend using GoSwim’s All
Strokes DVD of Kaitlin Sandeno and Erik Vendt if you plan to show examples of
championship form. It has great shots with just the right amount of talk so you
can interject your comments. This is especially good for younger swimmers. It
is easy to navigate to whatever stroke you want to show.
Handout
material
I have handout material that I will
use in my youth clinics. I am happy to share this with any individual or organization
that would like to use is on three conditions.
- I am given credit as
the author.
- It will not be sold.
- Suggestions for
changes will be sent to me for incorporation. I will give credit to anyone
making a major suggestion if I use the material.
Contact
me at the following email address: rboder
-at- Comcast.net if you want a
copy.
Appendix E Thoughts for Masters Programs
This section is to propose some
programming ideas that would appeal to Masters Swimmers. First, I have made
some assumptions that may or may not be true. They are:
·
Swimmers in practice groups coached by college level
coaches have little or no interest in technique clinics.
·
There are a significant number of master’s swimmers
in no formal training program. They would benefit from this type of coaching
help.
·
Access to a clinic must be easy in terms of location,
time and cost.
These are big hurdles to jump. So
what should we do? Make programs that appeal to the impulse or convenience
consumer. For example:
·
Shot and finalize videos as the North Shore YMCA does
with comments by a respected coach. This could include both surface and
underwater video. Produce a DVD for each swimmer to take home and study.
·
Set up an NEM clinic team for small practice groups
or be an additional resource to help conduct programs for larger groups. Have
more than one lane with cameras or skilled analyst.
·
Set up a program at meets. Have a lane to do video.
Offer to shoot and finalize a DVD to take home. Shoot the warm ups in a
specific lane and replay the video during a meet. Our meets need to kick the
excitement up a notch. This may help.
Set up a program for triathlon
participants. Improving their swimming skills is the best thing the majority
can do. We have the skills and facilities to help these people. It is a
marketing opportunity for our club.
Form partnerships with organizations
that can provide pool time. We need ease of access and convenient times. They
need programs to draw more swimmers and fill under used pool time.
Add a presentation on the value of a
Masters membership to the clinic agenda.
Appendix F Material not yet incorporated into the paper.
This includes ideas and concepts I have developed after the primary material was written.
A reply to Bill Ewan, a Masters swimmer and
coach in
I used both the underwater and above water cameras with the high school swim team on Weds. Night (Dec 27, 2006) There were just under 20 swimmers. We got through 3 sets of 25 yard swims of each stroke in under a half hour. Then we started to review the images. The high school coach went through the underwater video analysis in a half hour. We only had an hour of pool time. Getting the kids in and started took about 15 minutes. This is not a highly motivated team by any means. There are always a few late ones. By time we got them upstairs to watch video another 10 minutes went by. Bottom line is for 1/2 hr of video if you have both above and below water images to analyze you need 1 hour of time. My son felt we really need 1 swim of each stroke not 3. The 3 were good from my standpoint because I didn't start with a fresh DVD so I didn't have all the swims on 1 DVD. The VHS underwater images were a little harder to work with since we didn't have a remote control on the TV. The kids and the team coach really enjoyed the experience. This reinforced some of my ideas on sessions. First you really need a minimum of 2 hours to do anything more that just collect data. The data has to be on a media that you can stop/start, slow motion and freeze frame. Finally leaving the videos with the coach is important. For our sessions we should have at least 2 DVD recorders if possible. VHS is less desirable. The real answer to doing this on a frequent basis is to have a DVR (TVIO like recorder) especially if the recorder can produce DVD output of the session, so the coach can work with it over time.
This way you can record and play back on the pool deck at the same time. This is a technology I may get for my team. I have to do my homework on what is available in the market place.
As a coach I have a hard time setting up staged sessions to do this stuff. Much of that is the limited space environment I operate in. It would be nice to have on deck at all times the equipment to collect images of every practice and call out swimmers to review specific faults. For me it is easier to get qualified assistant coaches than it is to find space and setup team sessions. An assistant coach or myself one on one with a swimmer will lead to faster stroke corrections! I think this is the real key to future success with this technology for smaller programs such as YMCAs and Masters. Throw away the data you don't need. Use what you do need on an immediate basis. We now live in a visual world and the equipment to record it is inexpensive. We need to figure out how to do this. This is the next real opportunity to advance coaching.
As
I think about what you said when we met. This immediate use message is the most
powerful contribution to swimming we can make. I think this should be the base
of what we say to the workout groups and try to develop. With what technology
is available, even the smallest teams can collect and analyze data in any and
every setting they think is appropriate. The cheapest way to go is find a
family(s) with a camera and a TVIO and bring them to a practice or two.
Two Hour per Day Clinic Agenda for a
Single Stroke
Freestyle Time
Greeting and overview 5
min
Welcome
Introduce
staff
Objective
Improve your
strokes
Introduce
using video techniques
Go away with
two changes to work on
What we teach
Body Balance
and streamline
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Fast with
form
Shoot video of each swimmer 10
minutes
Analyze each swimmer 20
– 30 minutes
point out what to work on
swimmer needs to keep track of flaws
Only point out flaws and keep track
of flaws by swimmer. Use this to determine demo and drill agenda.
Group agreement on what to work on?
Stroke and Drill Demo or show DVD 5
min
Body Balance
Kick and
core rotation
Pull Pattern
Full stroke
Break 5
min
Drills 30
min
Mention individual swimmers and have
them try the correction in each of these areas.
Balance and body
position – float
Body position and kick
Body position and
breathing
Pull Pattern
Standing drill – bend over in waist
deep water hand, wrist & elbow enter through one hole in the water. Next,
make this a moving drill. Fingers enter in front of shoulder. Anchor hand and
walk past hand. Keep elbow high.
Face up and face down - Full
extension of arm & Hands in front of shoulder
Stroke counting during
swims
Full Stroke Swims 10
min
Focus points - body and
head position
Core
rotation
Arm
and hand entry
Elbows
high
Video to leave with coach 20
min
above water DVD-R finalized for showing
Wrap up 10
min
Material
to send in advance
Agenda
Video primer
Material
to leave
Reference articles and web sites
DVD