I had the privilege of flying to Seward, Alaska to film with Olympic champion Lydia Jacoby. During my time there, I documented a typical training day for Lydia. This included a morning swim (this morning was a recovery/technique session led by Seward Tsunami Swim Club’s Co-head coach Meghan O’Leary) followed by a weight workout (today was leg day).
After the gym, we went on a snow-shoe run around Resurrection Bay (not really the norm, but it was an Alaskan novelty). From there, Lydia often goes to Resurrect Art Coffee House, a quiet haven for the high school senior where she can get a hot drink, see friends, and get work done whether it’s for school or her professional life. After the coffee house, it’s usually lunch and some downtime or more school work, and then back to the pool for practice #2. Today’s pm workout was aerobic work led by Seward’s other Co-head coach, Solomon D’Amico.
I’m doing a project on her, and this didn’t have exactly what I was looking for but still had good info.
Nice job Coleman. I would love it if you would take a couple wireless lavs on these. it would a be tremendous benefit.
I really feel her coach as a great understanding of sprinting phisyiology.
Unfortunately, I count with the fingers of one hand the number of swimming coaches worldwide who have this kind of knowledge.
Solomon is a world class coach. His lack of swimming experience led him to treating and training her as an athlete and not a swimmer.
Took our 14 yo to Alaska last June and we spent 3 days iin Seward. The place is unbelievable beautiful. Resurrection bay, fishing halibut and salmon, whale watching, fjords, glaciers… halibut fish and chips. If Alaska is not on your bucket list, better redo it. Texas is lucky to get Lydia to come here and she will have thbest time of her life in return. Out family cannot wait to watch her swim inn person. Lydia and Anna will rock NCAA breaststroke NCAA next year.
“I prefer less reps with more weight.”
The heart of a powerlifter, you love to see it.
(Though I saw a safety squat bar in that gym, it might be more useful than a straight bar back squat for swimmers.)
Simply a sprinter.
Your note on safety bars is only right if you consider athletes with limited range of motion
Eh, I don’t think most overhead athletes really need to be back squatting regardless of mobility.
What’s an overhead athlete and why don’t they need to squat?
Anything where you’ve got your arm up overhead repeatedly – think pitching a baseball or serving in tennis – swimmers are the same way. Puts a lot of stress on your shoulders.
And I did not say those athletes shouldn’t squat at all, just that they maybe don’t need to back squat – front squats, goblet squats, the previously mentioned safety bar squats, etc etc – all great moves that offer the same benefit but with less potential downside.
There was a video of some UVA women bench pressing on one of these videos, a bit ago, too – which like, sure everyone loves to bench, but is that gonna be the best move for swimmers? Eeeeeeeh, debatable. (And I’m… Read more »
Very wrong once again
oh ok let’s read your paper on how back squatting is so much more important than other squat variations for swimmers???
(y’all acting like I’m *against* lifting, while I’ve got $20k worth of powerlifting stuff in my basement, lol. i very much like lifting!)
I feel cold just looking at the picture
Would love to see more footage from this trip. Head what the flight was like, more of Coleman Outside in the elements and sight seeing.The snowshoe run with cleats kind of threw me off, Is it a thing in places like Minnesota, North Dakota?
Best part of the swimming was seeing the manual pace clock much easier to use for intervals. So many places are using the digital ones I find myself having to imagine the manual clock to figure out send off times.
Side note: Who sang the only one thinking the Alaska swim short course meters like the Canadians?
Oh man, I had the geometry of the analog clocks / intervals down so good, the digital clocks just aren’t nearly as fun in that sense.
And seconded about more footage, I’d have watched the entire trip.
I’m old enough to have grown up with analog pace clocks (I can also drive a stick shift, write cursive, and change a 35mm roll of film).
That said, one of the big advantages of digital clocks is that they’re much easier to SYNCHRONIZE which is nice when you have them at both ends on a 50 meter pool (for most digital clocks, it’s a built-in feature).
I’m so with you on digital pace clocks. I definitely learned intervals visually.
Problem with manual is they break too easily and are too expensive if they are just going to break. Thing gets knocked over once and it’s good game. The digitals last way longer
I agree the video was rightfully much longer, given the time and expense to get there. Why exclude anything? I’d be documenting every driveway. Also I’d prefer to hear the coaches speaking instead of music.
The anecdote regarding the friends moving to Seward from Valdez in the early ’90s struck me as non-coincidental, given that the Exxon Valdez catastrophic oil spill happened in 1989.
She’s a very impressive kid. Seems mature beyond her years yet it looks like she is having fun and happy too.
Just so bizarre to see what looks like just a group of normal-looking teens swimming pretty basic workouts in what looks like a modest community pool, but one of those teens has the tattoo of the Olympic rings on her side. Literally, the only thing that gives her away (other than swimming breast and keeping up with the guys swimming free). What a story.
Truly wild. Like I just kept thinking about what you think of when you picture where most elite athletes train – massive college facilities with 10 billion lanes and a 50,000sqft weight room. But then you got a teenage gold medalist lifting in a gym that looks like it has more daily Zumba classes than it has 45 lb plates, and a pool that’s sometimes too hot for anything but swim lessons.
I love it so much.
I swam in a 20 yard pool and a 25 meter pool on novice teams in California. In those days people could afford their own swim business since commercial was a lot cheaper in the 1960’s. The 25 meter pool is because the owner and coach was from Scotland.