This week, I take some time to reflect after a meet weekend on the relationship between training and performance. What does it mean to create a training effect? How do you make sure your training is holistic? Finally, how can and should you evaluate performance?
Coaching Wellness
This week I am joined by Matt Sprang. Matt and I go about a decade back, and we reconnected in Florida last month. He was there to talk about coaching wellness, and I thought that he had a message worth amplifying.
We talk about his own journey to prioritizing his own mental and physical health while dealing with a pretty tough situation in his club:
We Need More of This
When you work in any profession, you really get shaped by the people you meet and the relationships you form. This week, I'm making up for the fact that I coached in the same conference as our podcast guest, and yet I didn't get to know her.
Christen Schefchunas was an NCAA swim coach for many years, culminating with a run at University of Miami. As you'll hear, she reached a major turning point at Miami, one that ultimately led her to go beyond coaching just one team. I called her because I've been following what she's been doing, and I think she has a really important message that, frankly, we need more of:
You can find out more about Christen and her work at her website.
Jeff Of All Trades
Today's conversation is with a very unique Canadian gentlemen, Jeff Grace. Jeff, well, Jeff has done a lot of things in swimming and continues to do so. He's a fellow writer, and we talk about how he got into writing about swimming. We also talk about how open he has been about his own mental illness and advocating for others.
For more information about Jeff and all the work he does:
Mental Health for Athletes:
https://swimswam.com/?s=mental+health+for+athletes
Yoga and Meditation Classes for Mental Health
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_CMQtiKnX8K9pQQJF2yuzJZra1nOiNcP
Eliza's Website
https://www.elizajanewellness.com/
Stand-Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcbjztZo8Kg
Swimming Specific Yoga
https://www.swimmingspecificyoga.com
Excel with Grace Sport-Specific Yoga
Mental Health Deep Dive
This week I talk with someone who's doing some work that I really admire, and I wanted to hear more about it. Emily Klueh is a former national teamer who has gone into the field of mental health and sports performance at the University of Michigan and the attached USA Swimming team, Club Wolverine.
I dig deep on the kind of innovative work she's doing both with college students and younger kids, how to navigate some of this stuff as a coach and even some of the Positive Psychology she is incorporating. I recorded this podcast with Emily right before the holiday season. Enjoy.