Open Practice with Todd DeSorbo: 100m Speed Endurance Training

with Todd DeSorbo,
University of Virginia Head Coach;
2024 US Olympic Swim Team Women'ss Head Coach (Paris);
2x USA Swimming Foundation's Golden Goggle Coach of the Year (2024, 2025);
2025 ASCA George Haines Coach of the Year;
2x Swammy National Coach of the Year (2021, 2024);
Six Straight NCAA Women's National Championships (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026);
Five Straight CSCAA Women's Coach of the Year Awards (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025);
8x Women's ACC Championships (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026);
5x ACC Women's Swim Coach of the Year (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024);
2021 US Olympic Swim Team Assistant Coach (Tokyo);
North Carolina State Associate Head Coach from 2011 to 2017
Helped the Wolfpack men capture three consecutive ACC titles and the women win the 2017 ACC title;
University of North Carolina Wilmington Assistant Coach from 2007 to 2011
Cape Fear Aquatic Club (NC) Coach from 2005 to 2007
College swimmer for Kentucky and University of North Carolina Wilmington

In this video you will get a behind the scenes look at Coach Todd DeSorbo’s speed endurance training programs!

100 Speed Endurance Training Program
Coach DeSorbo leads his athletes through a practice that focuses on developing 100m events. The beginning of the practice starts with a quick warm up for resistance and power training and DeSorbo encourages a focus on riding their lines with the use of power pulldown drills.

In the second part of the practice, Coach DeSorbo leads the athletes through rounds of underwater fly kick work with drag socks. The athletes kick on all four sides to strengthen the different aspects of the fly kick. After they remove the socks, they blast two underwater 25’s to transition the power into speed to generate power and force while they are fatigued to practice overcoming fatigue while racing.

Up next, DeSorbo leads them through a speed endurance set that incorporates explosive underwater fly kicking with socks into max effort explosive swimming. They are asked to take these reps with a race mentality approach, accelerating into the finishes.

The socks make the set significantly harder, and they are expected to maintain and sustain their speed throughout. Take note - as a bonus, in this section, you will see two of the best 100 freestylers in the world racing in practice.

The practice concludes with maximum effort 100m swim. The entire practice has focused on speed endurance. This is where the athletes put it all together into a maximum effort and Coach DeSorbo asks them to go as fast as they can.

Developing speed endurance is essential in 100m stroke training and this video is your inside look at one of the best coaches in the world leading his athletes through the techniques and drills that have consistently set them up for growth and success!

88 minutes. 2025.