5 Things Synchro Swimmers and Coaches Must Do This Summer

I think it is fair to say that if you did not make a national team or travelling team, the season is almost over. Now there will be a bunch of free time to do all those things you really want to do. Just remember the summer seems to sneak by and before you know it, it is gone and you are back at the pool.

Today’s post is meant to help you come back to the synchro season prepared.

In sport I believe it is the athletes job to return to the season in shape ready to train. It is not the coaches job to start swimmers from little fitness back to peak fitness. Swimmers you need to be responsible for your fitness over the break.

Swimmers you must do these 5 things to be prepared for you upcoming season.

1. Rest and recover. Take some time away from synchro and let your body recover.  Perhaps you need to rehabilitate an injury. See physio, chiro, massage, . . .

2. Stay in shape by cross training in other activities. Rowing, running, biking, hiking, basketball, kettle ball workouts. . .

3. Work on your extension and flexibility.

4. Look for music for your routines.

5. Experiment with new foods and snacks for the pool. Maybe even make them and freeze them so you can start off the season with some goodies already to go.

Coaches you must do these 5 things to be prepared for you upcoming season.

1. Rest and recover. Take some time for yourself away from the pool. You will come back reenergized and ready to go.

2. Look for music and theme ideas. This old blog post will help; 50 Synchronized Swimming Themes.

3. Make a yearly training plan. I suggest you do this on your computer. The first one will take some time, but every year after will be quicker.

4. Read some team building or leadership books. One I just listened to was “The Leader Who Had No Title” by Robin Sharma.  There are some great lessons to share with your team.

5. Look for ideas to inspire your team throughout the year. Keep a file of pictures, quotes, movies, stories, . . . When you need to give your team some inspiration you can go to the file and find something quickly. Keep an eye out everywhere because inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places.

The more preparation you can do in the summer will ensure a smoother start to the season. Practices will be more effective and you will have more time to focus on what matters.

Most importantly though, have some FUN over the summer!

What do you do over the summer to prepare for the upcoming season?