Chapter 4 The Three Keys to Better Freestyle Swimming

     The Swim Smooth coaching philosophy is based on many decades of combined experience of coaching swimmers and triathletes in Perth and around the world. Our coaching team have worked with thousands of swimmers of all ability levels from beginner to elite competitor and developed highly effective coaching methods for every type of swimmer. We also work and interact with hundreds of swimming coaches around the world both in person and through our Coaches Network on the internet. Through all of this coaching experience, one thing has proven to be true time and time again: the swimmers who make the biggest improvements follow a rounded programme covering three critical areas of swimming development:

1. They develop their stroke technique in the pool using drills and visualisations specific to their individual stroke needs.
2. They consistently train their swim specific fitness (with an emphasis on the consistency).
3. They regularly practise their open water skills such as drafting, sighting and rhythm, either in the pool or in open water.

     We call these areas The Three Keys and they are so fundamental to the Swim Smooth philosophy that we have structured this whole book around them:

• Key 1: Stroke Technique Development – Chapters 5 to 23
• Key 2: Swim Training – Chapters 24 to 32
• Key 3: Open Water Skills – Chapters 33 to 39

     You may immediately appreciate why each of these keys are important to maximise your performance, however you may be tempted to focus on each one at different times of the year (in coaching jargon we call this ‘periodisation’). Do not make this mistake. Separating them out into different periods during the year becomes a lot less effective than working on them simultaneously all year round.