Courage After Failure

by Coach Mat | 13 Jul, 2011

We expect great athletes, and great people to succeed. But what do we expect of a great person when they fail? It’s easy to applaud, and to receive applause when a great one reaches their goal. But what happens after a great one makes a mistake? Or worse, when...

10 km Within Reach

by Coach Mat | 5 Jul, 2011

Swam 2 hours 43 minutes yesterday morning. Just under 10 km I estimate. It felt great! No breakfast before (which has been my habit for years), and no food breaks during the swim. My slow-fuel system is dialed in, though I felt the energy drop on the last 40 minutes...

Courage Is A Skill

by Coach Mat | 3 Jul, 2011

Courage is not possible in the absence of fear, rather courage is the ability to take positive action in the midst of fear. Behind the courage we admire is a trained skill: the ability to focus the mind and effort on something more important, something positive,...

What Makes A Fast Stroke Fast?

by Coach Mat | 17 Jun, 2011

An excerpt from Popular Mechanics article from  Dec 18, 2009: For all it demands in the way of cardiovascular fitness and sheer strength, swimming is really the ultimate technique sport. “Why are records being broken?” asks George Washington University...

Balance- On Land vs. In Water

by Coach Mat | 10 Jun, 2011

I have been helping many of my swim students recognize the critical role that a firm core muscles (think spine held firm like an arrow, from tail bone to crown of your head) play in holding balance in the water. How can I, the teacher, hold Skate Position (rotated to...

A Natural Reward For Facing Fear

by Coach Mat | 7 Jun, 2011

I felt it was time to return to my swim route out along the cliffs. I start where the 40m cliffs that hold up the downtown part of the city, meet the Konyaaltı Beach stretch. Instead of heading West where all the bathers play, I headed East along these cliffs, where...

Critical Skills For Mastering Waves

by Coach Mat | 2 Jun, 2011

Here on the Mediterranean Coast off Antalya I have a mild selection of adverse open-water conditions – the coldest the sea gets, in February, is 16 C. By May it is up to 20 C, and by mid-August up to 29 C. The afternoon swells and waves, except during a storm,...

Cross-Cultural Coaching Pt 1- HOPE

by Coach Mat | 31 May, 2011

By invitation I’ve started to work with a local age-group swim club here in Antalya. It’s all in Turkish of course, which places me in a great language learning (stretching) situation. I am excited at this opportunity for many reasons, but most of all I am...

Muscles For Water And Rock

by Coach Mat | 22 May, 2011

I was reminded this weekend that swimming muscles do not translate directly into climbing muscles. Oh, my shoulders and torso can crank for hours, but above grade 7 climbing is all in the fore-arms (at least on the overhanging limestone we have here in Tky). Hours of...

Train Like Michaelangelo

by Coach Mat | 15 May, 2011

What has been so helpful to me in TI is that it provides a framework for examining a swimmer’s stroke and making corrections in the right order. The 3 TI Principles: (% emphasis is my interpretation) BALANCE – 60% of excellent swimming STREAMLINE –...