Coaching | Mediterra Swim & Run

Swim Prep Habit

by Coach Mat | 11 Apr, 2015

Here is an inspirational description in the book The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg of the habit Michael Phelps had set up to support his success in every race. This story makes a persuasive argument for competitive athletes to set up a personal pre-race habit like...

Judging An Efficient Stroke

by Coach Mat | 28 Mar, 2015

In response to the recent essay Stroke Length Loyalty (and the subsequent essay Intro to Pace Combinations) I’ve entered into an enjoyable email discussion with a retired engineer about judging efficiency of the stroke. He has been asking how we know when a...

Stroke Length Loyalty

by Coach Mat | 21 Mar, 2015

When you start feeling fatigue in your race (or while ‘just swimming’) you are urged to slow down. At some point you finally must give in. But when you do what is changing in your stroke to slow you down? SPL x Tempo = Pace (the inverse of the Speed...

Training Your Internal Coach

by Coach Mat | 15 Mar, 2015

We had a super freestyle workshop in Veddige Sweden last weekend – 9 swim students and 13 TI Coach trainees! It was incredibly productive thanks to the careful lesson planning and attention of our new TI Coaches. In every Level 1 TI Freestyle workshop we cover...

Education Or Entertainment?

by Coach Mat | 11 Jan, 2015

What is the difference between getting an education from the knowledge we consume versus just getting entertained by it? First, let me define those terms: Education = I have been changed by what I learned. It has improved my experience or performance noticeably....

Focal Point: A Tool, Not A Rule

by Coach Mat | 3 Jan, 2015

In the Total Immersion stroke-shaping and training method… …a Focal Point is a tool, not a rule. This comes as a response to a discussion one of our coach colleagues brought up regarding a student who seemed to carry his use of a Focal Point to an...