Training Cycles
By Dan Flack
Head Coach
Program Director
The Baylor School
Baylor Swim Club
Coaching & Swimming Background
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Grew up around the corner from Dick Shoulberg
Attended Germantown Academy 6th – 12th grade till 1983
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 1987-1991
Assistant Coach in charge of Distance Group
North Carolina Aquatic Club Head Coach at age of 22
Bruin Swim Club - Owner of club program run out of
Brown University – 1992-96
• Assistant Coach Germantown Academy – summer and
Assistant Coach University of Georgia & Athens Bulldog
Swim Club - during school year 1997-1999
• Head Coach Bengal Tiger Aquatic Club 1999 - 2001
• 1st time working for parent run program
Raleigh Swimming Association
2001-2006
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United States Swimming Gold Medal Club
NCSA Junior National Team Champion – 2004
NCSA Junior National Women’s Champion – 2004
NCSA Junior National Men’s Champion – 2004, 05
Parent Run Organization
Help Found the Triangle Aquatic Center (TAC)
Baylor School & Baylor Swim Club
• Swimming World National Champions Girls 2009 & 2011
• Swimming World Independent School National Champions
Boys 2008 & 2009
• US Swimming Junior Nationals 2nd place team 2009
• NCSA Junior Nationals Team 3rd place 2009, 4th place 2008
• 3 national records for high school swimming
• 3 national age group records for US Swimming
• 3 different local swimmers on the national Junior Team in
the last 4 years in all different events
Duties At Baylor
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Head Coach Boys & Girls Varsity Teams
Program Director of Baylor Swim Club
Report to Athletic Director of Baylor
Hire & Fire My Own Staff
Leadership Instructor
Dorm Parent
Coaching Influences
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Dick Shoulberg, Chris Martin
Frank Comfort
Matt Kredich, Ron Ballatore
Jack Bauerle, Harvey Humphries, Steve
Bultman
• David Marsh
Couple Of Philosophical Things
• Understand the job you are applying for –
understand and prepare for the challenges
• From Good to Great - Get the right people
on the bus and then put those people in the
right seat on the bus
• Do not let your surroundings limit you!
Training – Understand the Competition
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Three main groups
Start season with Reverse Periodization for 5 weeks
Next - 4 weekly cycles progressively more stressful
Week 1-3 Threshold work – HR 26-29 increases
4th week much easier and technique oriented
This used to recover, refresh the system
Then repeat the 4 week cycles
Monday
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Monday AM
Distance: Major Pulling & Easy / Fast kicking
Main: Core Dryland, Easy / Fast Kicking, Resistance Work
Sprint: Heavy Weights, Core Dryland, Resistance Work
Resistance work = Power Tower, Cords, Ankle Weights
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Monday PM
Threshold – Mainly Freestyle, 150’s - 250’s HR 27-29
Major Kick Set – relative for all three groups
End with 8 X 25 Dive Racing – sometimes as relays
Tuesday
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Tuesday PM
Core Dryland & Dive Set!
Examples:
Distance – 8 x 125 free @ 5:00 from a dive
Middle – 8 x 100 IM @ 5:00 from a dive,
1st 25 underwater plus UW flip turn
• Sprint – 8 x 75 or 50’s with at least 1st 25
underwater
Wednesday
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• Distance – Easy / Fast Work (often fins & paddles)
& last 30:00 resistance work
• Middle – Prime stroke drilling & last 30:00
resistance work
• Sprint – Lots of sculling with kicking mixed in
• PM – longest set of the week, yet probably the
easiest practice – low – low swimming - relative
for all three groups
Thursday
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Thursday PM Core Dryland
Middle Distance & Distance - Threshold work
Shorter distance of prime stroke 50’s & 75’s
Major kick set
End with 8 X 25 dive racing – sometimes as relays
Sprint either dive set or major kick & scull set
Friday
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Friday AM
Distance: Major Pulling & easy /fast kicking
Main: Core Dryland, Easy/Fast Kicking, Resistance work
Sprint: Heavy Weights, Core Dryland, Resistance work
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Friday PM
Distance: Major Easy / Fast set, Resistance work
Main: Core Dryland, Easy / Fast set
Sprint: Core Dryland Active Rest drills
Saturday
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Whatever needs to be done
Distance - major yardage or quality ex - 30 x 100 @ 1:30
Middle - often back end speed work
Ex 10 x 50 1-4 @ 1:30 then 1:20/1:10/:60/:50/:40/:30 then
rest 1:00 into 10 x 100 kick with snorkel @ :30 rest RACE
• Sprint – often a dive set
• Hard, tap them out, dryland! – We get really creative, old
school, and just flat out hard!
Dryland work we use all the time
We do much more than most!
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Dollies & Furniture Moving Slides
Ergometers
Kettlebells – all the time
Medicine Balls
The many hills on our campus
Use of Tabata intervals -:20 work / :10 rest for
4:00 blocks with 1 min rest for up to one hour
• Fully equipped weight room
Other Things Used All the Time
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Resting heart rate charts
Video taping – practice & dual meets
The same basic warm up everyday!
Stretching before & after every practice
The concept of “working for something
bigger than yourself”
Taper
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If they have done the work- rest them!
Rely on the resting heart rate chart
Drop weights and hard dryland 4 weeks out
Keep up core work till 10 days out
Don’t panic if they are rough 3 weeks out
If you are confident they will make a team or time
standard, leave a little gas in the tank!
Equipment Used All The Time
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Ankle Weights – Kicking & Swimming
Power Tower – Swim & Kick
Tempo Trainer - Stimulating the system
Mono Fin – Often against Power Tower
Cords – Used for speed assistance
Thank You! Swim Fast!
baylorswimming.org
dan_flack@baylorschool.org
dan_flack@rschool.org