The 4 Competitive Strokes and Key Skills

with Michael Brooks,
Weymouth Waves Head Swimming Coach;
former King Aquatic Club Head Coach;
former York YMCA Swimming Head Coach/Director of Competitive Swimming;
4x YMCA Short Course Nationals Coach of the Year ('10, '12, '13, '15);
2x Middle Atlantic LSC Senior Coach of the Year ('14, '15);
coached four National Junior Team members and 2 National Team Members

In this video, you will delve into the "Stroke Catechism" - the key focus skills for each stroke that every competitive swimmer needs to perfect. Coach Michael Brooks incorporates motor learning principles and practice design strategies in order to introduce the what of his system. His catechism is the result of thousands of hours of coaching and video study that results in a short list of key skills. Learning them and training them appropriately will make your swimmers faster not just today, but tomorrow, and on race day.

The Catechism for Each Competitive Stroke

Coach Brooks explains the key skills swimmers must master in each stroke to maximize their performance. These are not wordy explanations swimmers tune out. These are short, evocative phrases that help swimmers learn what the strokes should feel like when done correctly.

Using the Catechism with Athletes

Brooks addresses why swimmers benefit most from doing the right things at the right time and at the right intensity. In this video, you will see why the power of the catechism incorporated into a motor-learning theory approach is so powerful! Reasons include:

• Swimmers will come to know the catechism, so they'll understand what the coach wants without long-winded explanations.
• If a swimmer loses focus simple cues - verbal or gestures - you can help them get back on track.
• Swimmers are required to work together to make practice work - helping with focus and team-building.

Incorporating Other Skills Using the Same Principles

Combining technique improvement and conditioning in every practice leaves more time for development of other critical skills such as starts and turns. Using the same motor learning principles, Coach Brooks discusses how and how often to work on these skills in a way that promotes mastery and confidence on race day.

In all, Coach Brooks teaches you to give your swimmers the tools to simultaneously build technical excellence and superior conditioning. Each swimmer will learn to become their own best stroke coach by developing a true understanding for how each stroke should feel. They will also build a mindset to get the most out of each practice so that optimal learning can occur. Excellent technical performance, when it matters most, will ensue!

87 minutes. 2020.