Race Pace Set for a Well-Oiled (Team) Machine

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA


This set is a really simple one, variations of which have appeared on this blog multiple times.  I am sharing/re-sharing it today to further explain how we execute this set.

Recently, we moved several swimmers up into our top group, so I have taken that as an opportunity to re-emphasize our procedures.  I like to run a very clean, efficient practice, one where every swimmer knows what he or she should be doing and what the expectations are.

For this set, we had 4 or 5 swimmers per lane across 5 lanes.  The aim of the set is to swim at 200 race pace on EVERY 50, but I instructed them to be mindful of  taking it one-at-a-time.  The early interval gives them good rest to be able to achieve that pace (and build some confidence for later), and then we tighten it up and get a REAL test on #5 and #6.

I typically solo coach 15-25 athletes in a given practice, so in order for things to function efficiently on this set, we do the following:
 That's just one coach's example of how we keep practice humming right along... what strategies do you use?



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