Early September 2012, not too long after the closure of the London Olympics, I received a ‘cold’ email from one of the worlds most respected triathlon coaches, Darren Smith. Darren asked if I would like to send him some Palm Paddles for his D-Squad whilst at their training camp in Sedona as he liked them better than others he had been using. Not the kind of request you can turn down really!

Backtracking a couple of months, and whilst still trying to promote the Palm Paddles, I’d been in touch with Fraser Cartmell who had been using them since Paul Newsome, Head Coach of Swim Smooth had left him a pair.

Fraser went out to Sedona to train with Darren and took the Palm Paddles with him, which led to the email….

As well as Fraser, Darren had many of the world’s top triathletes with him; all training for various races so sending some to Darren for his assessment was not a hard decision.

For background: Darren Smith has been coaching for 20 years and has developed a series of elite triathletes, as part of what has become known as the D-Squad, with sessions based in Davos, Switzerland and Sedona, USA. Darren has an enviable reputation for working with triathletes over a long term to develop their performance; in particular their technical ability, so that they can fully benefit from the demands of performance training. This was clearly successful with six of Darren’s triathletes qualifying for and participating in the London 2012 Olympics.

I sent out 5 pairs of Palm Paddles to Sedona and awaited Darren’s feedback which can be found below in a question and answer format:

Thank you for your time, especially now at the beginning of a new year and with a new Squad being gathered and the organisation and logistics that must go with it. Your first encounter of the Palm Paddle came whilst you were in Sedona with the D-Squad in mid-2012.

Q. Could you explain how you became aware of the Palm Paddles and why you thought they were worth trying?

A. They were a lighter version of other types we’d used and I thought the effect would be similar but lighter design easier to manage wrt travel weight limitations.

Q. Who did you have training with you and how did they take to the Palm Paddle when they were first given them to use? Were they given the paddles “generically” or specifically aimed at individuals with a need to develop a part of their stroke?

A. Specific individuals were asked to use the paddles in part to prove a point…i.e. one athlete who only used his hand to swim with had to do some band only swimming with the paddles! And nearly drowned. For others the paddles are used more regularly.

Q. How did you incorporate the paddles into swim sets?

A. As a ‘reminder’ to the person not to just rely on the hand as a ‘paddle’ for swimming

Q. What kind of training sessions did you introduce the  Palm Paddle into – warm up, drills, build main set, warm down, ….?

A. Mostly warm ups and preparation for main sets…

Q. I gather several of your athletes were given the Palm Paddles to take home for their off-season – was this to help them work on specific development areas?

A. Yes, so they have different ‘tools’ at their disposal in their training bag.

Q. What feedback did you get from the users on the palm paddles? (I’ve already been contacted by D’Ann Arthur saying how much she likes them and wanting more info).

A. Some athletes hate them, which is encouraging, because they are the ones with stroke problems. Others use them to good effect.

Q. Whilst you work with some of the world’s top triathletes, how do you think the Palm Paddle can help a typical Age Group triathlete?

A. Self-awareness of what part of the arm is used in propulsion…or is not used!

Q. How do you (hopefully!) plan to use the Palm Paddle in future Squad sessions?

A. We’ll use them as a ‘reminder’ tool mostly.

Q. How did you find the Palm Paddle compared to the other paddles that are available that are aimed at a providing a similar effect?

A. Practically speaking they are lighter, but otherwise, not too dissimilar.

Q. I read that you have developed ‘paddles’ specifically to correct swimmers stroke – do the Palm Paddles help in any areas you have previously developed these models, and are there any features that you would like to see in a paddle that is currently not available?

A. Yes, they complement some other paddles we’ve designed in respect of ‘reminding’ athletes what to use for propulsion in swimming.

Thank you for your time, and best wishes for you and your squad of triathlete for 2013 and the next Olympic cycle

From my point of view whilst triathlon swim coaching, I always pick up poor technique, no matter the aim of the session.

However, after meeting numerous triathletes – and swimmers – who are interested in improving their technique and attend a video analysis session, I’m finding that many triathlon club coached swim sessions do NOT address technique. Many swim at coached club sessions but feel they have reached a point where their swimming is not progressing and in some cases is getting worse.

Quotes such as: “we don’t get shown how to do the …….. drill”

“I never get picked up on what I’m doing”

are typical, and some drills that the swimmers are being asked to perform are not executed (demonstrated?) correctly.

Many triathlon clubs now have coached swim sessions, and whilst the coach may be competent, I’m not sure that they are all attentive and actually coach their swimmers; instead they turn up to a session, tell the swimmers how far to swim and let them get on with it – focussing more on their pace than their ability to swim at that pace. Almost anyone can do this – simply copying a session from any of the numerous books, magazines or websites that are available is easy.

There are an increasing number of people wanting to join the growth in triathlon by becoming a coach – which is obviously a good thing – but simply copying sessions and re-presenting is not coaching.

If you feel you are not improving, ask your coach what it is that you are / are not doing; question why you are doing what you are doing. If you are not sure how to do a part of the swim stroke, or a how to correctly do a drill, ask your coach. She/he should be able to guide you through it with clear descriptons and demonstrations, and there should always be a reason for doing it!

Think about your coached swim sessions (or any other for that matter) and ask yourself: Are you being coached or just provided with a session to work through?

The training camp was a huge success, with a little help from the weather and location – see here for a brief review of the week. The sea conditions were almost pool-like which provided idela conditions to coach open-water skills without the distraction of any waves; this also helped relax some new-comers to open-water swimming (so much so that his first open-water race the week after the camp went really well, albeit in slightly cooler UK!)

Although set-up before the training camp, I started a new swim session in Street on my return – with a waiting list already so I’m looking for more lane time now to try to accommodate those wanting to start up.

Finally, the first of the South West Swim Smooth Clinics took place yesterday in Yeovil with a second to be held in Plymouth next Sunday, 27th May. I’ll be looking to hold more in the future, potentially adding a new location in the South West. Watch this space!

This developed into me arranging some pool time at a half-way house (pool) – thanks to Mark Conklin and Sara-Jane Cox-Conklin (herself a former pro-triathlete) at Burnham-on-Sea where I conducted a CSS test and recorded Tom whilst he was swimming. After a de-brief and review of the video with Tom, I sent the video – via YouTube – and CSS data to Paul in Perth for a full analysis and development plan.

Tom now has his full analysis and, being back in Boulder training full time is working to the CSS development plan and combined with his swims with Dave Scott his swimming is improving. Tom is looking forward to an improved swim in his first race later in April to supplement his already exellent bike and run ability.

I spent the Saturday of the Triathlon Show with Paul and Adam on the Swim Smooth stand – that was well attended throughout the day until Paul talked to a packed house in the afternoon (only matched by attendance at the Chrissie Wellingto talk). This is where I first saw the new Huub wetsuits and chatted to Dean Jackson, Huub Design, about the design and range of suits available – and they looked impressive!

Luckily for me I went to the Swim Smooth Clinic at Loughborough University and not only saw the new Swim Smooth Clinic format / video footage but also met Dean and Huub Toussant and was fortunate enough to be able to try out their top-of-the-range Archimedes wetsuit.

After only 50m Huub asked me to try swimming a CSS pace 100m to see how I compared with the wetsuit on. Knocking 13sec off this time with ease left me suitably impressed, especially as I’d only just resmed swimming after an injury!

The Archemedes was worn by Michael Raelert who came out first in the swim at the recent IM 70.3 race in Galverston – first race and first swim win, not a bad start.

Finally, I’m planning a series of Swim Smooth Clinics in the South West – Plymouth and Yeovil – for May, based on the latest material Paul and Adam have been busily preparing.

Martin

5th April 2012

As this is the first effective day of my certification as a Swim Smooth Coach, its basically a welcome.

The Triathlon Show at Sandown Park is where the Certified Coaches can be met in person along with Paul and Adam who have been guiding us for the last year, but the formal announcement can be read here.

Martin