Bristol Henleaze Swimming Club

Championing speed, fun, fitness and longevity; from learning and loving to swim through to senior high performance - in partnership with Clifton High School

[Lisa Knights @BristolSportLK]

Great seeing so many swimmers inspired coming thru @cliftonhigh1877 ‘s elite swim programme with @BHSCswimming & @Bristol_Sport . 👏👏 three from CHS flying the flag in the women’s 50m A final @GlosCountyASA 🤩

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

For youth sports:

It does not matter how good a kid is at a sport until after they go through puberty.

There is no such thing as an 11 year old sports star.

Do not over-index on early promise.

Focus on exploration, fun, and cultivating interests. Not performance.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

We suck at predicting talent development.

We're not good at it. Accept that.

Now, if that's the case, why wouldn't we want to keep more people in the pipeline to see how they develop?

Too often, especially in youth sports, we talent ID too quickly.

We're fooling ourselves.

[Todd Beane @_ToddBeane]

U12-U16 Coaches Take Note 👇

Please see the brains, not just the brawn. 🙏

▪️ “While physical and physiological factors are better predictors of progression early in development, psychological, technical and tactical factors are more important later on.

▪️ So at an early age athletes may be deselected based on measures that become less important in higher age groups and at senior levels.”

(The Best by Williams & Wigmore)

#TOVO

[Bristol Henleaze Swimming Club @BHSCswimming]

@pbasilstrength Template

[USA Swimming @USASwimming]

"Keep the main thing the main thing, which is progressing and having fun"

@swimone | #TYRProSeries | 🎥: @NBCOlympics

[Bristol Henleaze Swimming Club @BHSCswimming]

3 BHSC athletes take on the renowned Edinburgh International Swim Meet this weekend - here’s a fun fact:

There are 7 swimmers at the meet aged 30+. All have either swam at the Olympics, Paralympics or at Bristol Henleaze club champs 🙌👌👊🏻
#EISM

[Brett Hawke @insidewithBH]

Include 50-Meter Stroke Events in the Olympic Games - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/n4NwbZoJjN via @Change

[Wayne Goldsmith @waynegoldcoach]

Wonderful quote by an old friend no longer with us unfortunately - Coach Gennadi Touretski:

"Adding more volume is the LAST resort".

Gennadi added, "A coach must consider all the possiblities when an athlete is not performing to their potential. Simply adding more work should be the last resort. Firstly consider technique, then skills, mental approach, attitude - then - if the solution you seek is not found - add more training volume. But if your immediate response to every performance problem is "lets do more training" - you will very soon hit an unsumountable performance limit".

Totally agree. It's no good adding volume unless the actual problem is volume related.

Read more about his philosophies here - an article I wrote a while ago - but his thinking and intelligence are timless and apply to all sports.

https://t.co/IPmfUEZva9

[Mike Quirke @Mike_Quirke]

‘There is no such thing as an elite 8 year old, or high performance 10 year old…’

🎥 Wayne Goldsmith on ‘not worshipping physical talent’.

Since the 1990’s, Wayne has worked directly with Olympic champions, pro athletes, pro teams & top coaches from around the world.

#coaching #coach #coacheducator #coachmotivation #parent #ParentingTips #youthsport

[Tony Holler @pntrack]

Why are most professional athletes washed up in their 30s? 🤔

Is it strength? No, athletes are typically much stronger in their 30s. 💪

It’s for sure not intelligence… athletes study their craft and become experts in their 30s.

Do athletes lose their endurance in their 30s? On the contrary, endurance athletes excel into old age.

Is it diet? Nope. Most professional athlete’s learn to eat perfectly to extend their careers.

Does the rock star lifestyle catch up to them? On the contrary, most athletes get married and live stable lives in their 30s.

So, what is it?

Could it be a lack of sprint training? 🤔

Here’s my theory. ⤵️

As we age we lose elasticity… the muscles can grow stronger but “the rubber band doesn’t shoot as far”.

Why do we lose elasticity? Too much focus on strength and aerobic conditioning. No pure sprint training.

The biggest thief of athleticism is a dampening CNS. The decline of the CNS results in a loss of speed, the tide that lifts all boats.

A loss of speed, causes a decline in game-speed agility. (Slow guys don’t change direction fast.)

A loss of speed creates a loss in SPEED RESERVE, having a crushing impact on sprint capacity and speed endurance.

A loss in speed results in a loss of quickness and the ability to jump and bounce (explosive reactive forces).

The CNS governs speed. Speed is neurological. Speed is electrical (not muscular).

The declining CNS also governs our ability to think fast and react fast.

If we could only find a way to keep an athlete’s CNS firing like it did at age 20. 🤔

“Never slow down, never grow old.”

Sprint as fast as you can, as often as you can, staying as fresh as you can.

Feed the Cats.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

[Wayne Goldsmith @waynegoldcoach]

Top 5 Sporting Talent Lessons for #Coaches and #Parents:

1. Early rise - early fall: super star kids rarely and I mean winning the lottery odds type rarely - make it to the top as senior #athletes.

2. Real talent is harder to HIDE than it is to FIND. #talent I.D. programs are generally overfunded and over-rated in their ability to identify genuinely #talented athletes because for the most part they only measure physical capabilities - see NEXT LESSON....

3. DO NOT WORSHIP PHYSICAL TALENT: There is so much more to #sporting success than being bigger, stronger and faster.

4. The only kid who can't improve is the one who's not there: Your number 1 priority is creating an environment where they fall in love with their sport so they keep coming. All the #talent in the world is worthless if they're not coming to training.

5. Whether they win or lose make sure they know that you care about them the same i.e. that how much you care about them is NOT dependent on their sporting performances.

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Chasing outcomes is often a recipe for disappointment.

When you focus on the process, you can find success even if the outcome isn't what you expected.

Do the small things each day & you'll develop better habits that will help you reach your goal in the long run.

[Clifton High School @cliftonhigh1877]

Congratulations to our swim team, who excelled in the English Secondary School Association Relay Competition South-West. All teams finished top 10: Senior Girls 3rd & 6th; Junior Boys 8th & 10th; Junior Girls 8th. The 30 fastest teams will attend the November National final.

[Sian Allen @DrSianAllen]

A talent ID strategy that works...

Keep as many athletes in the sport, as long as possible.

If you increase the number of athletes participating, you likely increase the number at the top end of the bell curve 👇

[Bristol Henleaze Swimming Club @BHSCswimming]

Day 3 of Swim Camp #beafish-ent 🏊‍♀️ 🏊‍♂️ body line work, add resistance, change the shape, take it away; find the best line… the line doesn’t always have to be in the pool 🙌 @westcountrywaterpark thanks for having us

[Bristol Henleaze Swimming Club @BHSCswimming]

Day 2 of swim camp #restisbest - focus and discussion on recovery, sleep and restoration… spending time on some #curiosity activities in between sets… anyone have any gillyweed???

[Bristol Henleaze Swimming Club @BHSCswimming]

The season begins - Day 1 of ‘Boot Camp’… speed drills and timed 25’s - no slog - let’s race #freshandfast #speedmatters

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Athletes who scored higher on intrinsic motivation were much more likely to compete internationally 2.5 years later. Cultivate an inner drive if you care about long term success, and happiness. https://t.co/JZ3TO6RJgK