We often talk about training methods and culture with coaches, but the athlete’s perspective is just as important. World class swimmers Kira Toussaint and Drew Kibler join this week’s GAINcast to share their point of view. Both athletes utilize the GAIN dryland program and share their input on what they need to reach the podium and what drives the training environment in their own training group.
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Earlier this month the annual GAIN Swimming event took place. Over the past decade, GAIN has become the leading name when it comes to dry land training. On this week’s podcast Chris Webb and Vern discuss what GAIN Swimming is all about and how they are trying to reinvent dry land training for swimmers of all levels.
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The Olympic Games just wrapped up last week. Along with some amazing performances comes some great lessons on performance, coaching, sport, and life. On this week’s GAINcast we sit down to share some of our insights after reflecting on the Tokyo Olympics.
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Dr. Michael Joyner has been writing about the limits of human performance for decades and back in 1991 was one of the first to analyze the possibility of a sub 2-hour marathon. On this episode of the GAINcast, Joyner breaks down recent two hour attempts, the role of technology in pushing performance forward, and what trends he sees on the horizon for endurance athletes.
Range of motion is a critical element of movement. If you can’t get into a position, it will be difficult or impossible to incorporate that into a movement. Tom Barton has worked as a physiotherapist with some of the world’s top swimmers. He joins this week’s GAINcast to look at how the brain and body interact to reach positions, training range of motion, and other related topics. Read more
After two decades of coaching Olympic champions and world record holders in Australia, Stephan Widmer took a new job in Singapore as the national head coach and performance director at Singapore Swimming Association. Recently Vern signed on to help him and was out in Singapore this month to start off the collaboration. In this week’s GAINcast Widmer joins us to talk about about setting up a high performance framework, coaching excellence, the role of athletic development in swimming, preparing for competition, and more. Read more
In nearly 30 years as head swim coach at the University of Michigan, Jim Richardson develop a powerhouse. Much of that success came from one thing: asking questions. On this week GAINcast we sit down with coach Richardson and hear how asking question led him to become a better coach, to rethink the athletic development of his athletes, to reduce injuries, and more. Read more
Coaching Athletic Development for Swimming From Design to Implementation
The GAIN swimming network is part of the GAIN network whose goal is to provide an experience that will significantly enhance participant’s expertise by sharing information with other professionals in a setting that encourages an open exchange of ideas. GAIN Swimming follows a workshop format consisting of lecture, discussions, hot topic panels, team spotlight presentations, practical learn by doing participation and demonstration. If you are sincerely interested in advancing your professional development as a swim coach apply now. Read more
To get athletes to be champions, we have to get them to think like champions. This requires a team culture where athletes are given space to independently choose to do what it takes to win. This is exactly the environment swim coach Chris Webb has set up with several clubs. On this week’s podcast Webb joins us to talk about the steps he is taking to install cultural change at his new job with T2 Aquatics in Florida. Read more
Suburban Carmel, Indiana might seem like an unlikely spot to find one of the nation’s top swimming clubs, but year in and year out it continues to produce champions. The Carmel Swim Club and Carmel High School have put together a winning culture that has produced a national record 31 straight high school state championships. On a recent visit to the club, Vern sat down with Carmel coaches Chris Plumb and Ian Murray to discuss how they helped grow the culture and what role athletic development plays in their team’s success. Read more
