by Coach Mat | 11 Oct, 2020
Practicing non-judgment in athletic training has been one of the more liberating experiences I’ve had. It opens me up to more information, a more complex and nuanced understanding of my body and performance, and it allows me to form the kind of emotional...
by Coach Mat | 30 Nov, 2019
This continues from Should You Be An Augmented Swimmer? Part 1… New technology will certainly bring augmented capabilities to humans, but we risk losing the innate capabilities of our nervous system that could atrophy from disuse. I wonder if in certain skilled...
by Coach Mat | 25 May, 2019
Many people may wonder, “Is getting injured a normal part of training for my sport?” I would say that, statistically speaking, injury is a very commonly experienced part of training. But it should not be normal. At least, it does not have to be for you. A...
by Coach Mat | 19 Jan, 2019
In order to plan the next cycle of practices for a swimmer working towards a particular performance goal, I need to see various kinds of data from both their objective measurements and their subjective measurements. We are, after all, training the whole person to...
by Coach Mat | 13 Oct, 2018
Continued from Part 2… Emotional Resilience There is a level of grit – technically known as ’emotional resilience’ – that is good for each of us to develop, when the pain can’t be reduced further. It is really tough to train for...
by Coach Mat | 22 Sep, 2018
This discussion is continued from Part 1… The Aging Dilemma For those chasing medals and records and recognition – a reward now – it is acceptable, even required it seems, to take some risks with injury. The risks are much higher when there is a...