SwimEd SwimEd

Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents.
In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports.
Episode 11 – Six Energy Systems and Sets
Today we will discuss swim sets and energy systems. Yes, this is a more technical podcast. But a basic understanding of these two aspects of a swim practice and weekly schedule can change how well coaches prepare, swimmers practice and parents understand all that goes into what seems simple – a normal swim practice.
In this episode, we will discuss the six energy systems that should be included in a weekly schedule or microcycles. We will share a favorite set or two that use different energy systems so that how we use sets are more recognizable and help swimmers know what they need to do to be their best. It’s going to be technical, but it will also be a fun day of talking about the nitty-gritty of swimming.
Jenn’s Sprint Set
100 focus4x (1 free, 2 prime no free 3 free, 4 Choice or IMO) 2x25@ :25 (front 50/2=pace) 1x50@ :50 moderate1x150/100@ 1:45/2:00/2:15 Descend 50’s4x25@ :30 Goal is stay within 1sec of first 2x25s1x100Ez
Jenn’s Distance Set3 to 5 x500 (note your split at the 400) 400, swum faster than the 400 from above (note your split at the 300) 300, swum faster than the 300 from above (note your split at the 200) 200, swum faster than the 200 from above (note your split at the 100) 1-5×100, swum faster than the 100 from above
Matt’s Sprint SetSET 2 - GREEN Off The Blocks (OTB) 2x2x200 Broken IM@8:0025@:20 - OTB25@:2525@:2525@:3025@:3025@:3525@:3525 FINISH/REST2x150 Broken PRO-IM@6:0025@:20 - OTB25@:2525@:2525@:3025@:3025 FINISH/REST2x100 BROKE IM@4:0025@:20 - OTB25@:2525@:2525@:30:25@3025 FINISH/REST
Matt’s Distance Set12x100 PURPLE GREEN—>PINK50 FLY (or any stroke)/50 FR@1:05–>2:00 or 1:15–>2:10This set can also progress from all one stroke to a different stroke like this:12x100 PURPLE GREEN—>PINKFR—>BK@1:00–>1:55 or 1:10–>2:05
Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast.
Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com.
Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think!
Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.

Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents.
In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports.
Episode 9 - Preparation
Preparation for practice is an essential. Coaches write the workouts according to the weekly and seasonal plans to help swimmers prepare for their end-of-season or championship meet. Athletes often overlook the importance of being totally ready to practice. Most swimmers think about swimming as they walk on the deck, when they hit the water or after warm up.
In this episode, we will talk about preparations for practices, mainly from an athlete’s perspective. We will talk about various ways to get mentally, physically, emotionally and socially ready for practice. As always, we discuss how coaches and parents can help athletes learn these skills that increase performance.
Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast.
Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com.
Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think!
Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.

Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents.
In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports.
Episode 10 – Macro and Microcycles
Creating a practice plan and writing workouts is one of the major jobs of a coach and staff. This takes a significant amount of time and the execution of these plans should lead to success. This should be one of, if not the most important task of the year and an expectation for athletes and parents.
In this episode, we will talk about how we plan our seasons and weekly schedules, known as macrocycles and microcycles. We will discuss our process, important keys to success and critique each other’s plan. In short, this is what we do as coaches and we hope it will give some ideas to coaches, help swimmers understand the behind the scenes work and give parents a way to trust in their coaches.
Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast.
Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com.
Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think!
Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.

Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents.
In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports.
Episode 8 – Feedback
Feedback is one of the most important ways coaches help athletes improve performance. The corrections given with feedback might address technique, effort, attitude, behaviors and so much more. Further, the type of feedback given to athletes in practice should be a lot different than the feedback at a competition. In fact, feedback changes based on so many factors that a “one-size-fits-all” approach will not work.
In this episode, we will explore feedback from a lot of angles. We will discuss the best form, tricks that help with communicating feedback, how feedback should change based on the swimmer and environment, how swimmers should use self-feedback, what parents should say when giving feedback and so much more. For a topic that seems so easy, there is a lot to discuss for coaches, athletes and parents to use feedback the best.
Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast.
Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com.
Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think!
Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.

Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents.
In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports.
Episode 7 - Sampling vs Early Specialization
Today we focus on early specialization and what we see as the opposite and better solution: the sampling stage of athlete development. Whether you’re a parent, athlete or coach, knowing the differences between these key concepts will help you be more effective with younger athletes or realize what you should have experienced in your first years in sports. In this episode, we will define both early specialization and the sampling stage, compare and contrast these concepts in order to help coaches, athletes and parents make decisions that help lead their athletes toward healthier choices for future athletic development.
Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast.
Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com.
Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think!
Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.

Welcome to SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.
Join Matthew Grant and Jennifer Bowers as they examine the top swimming and sporting topics from three perspectives: the coaches, the athletes and the parents.
In each episode, our listeners hear the conversations, stories, insights and advice we’ve been sharing for years on and off the pool deck that help coaches improve their coaching, athletes increase their performances and parents boost their support. Combined with interviews of experts in various field of study and even coaches from other sports, listeners get the latest information and new ways of thinking about swimming and sports.
Episode 6 – Josh Harrell – Beginning Coach Story
Today we focus on how what it’s like for brand new coaches just starting out on their coaching journey. Normally, a new coach is a former swimmer who planned on coaching after their swimming ends or sees a need of a team and fills it based on what they knew from their swimming career. In this episode, we are interviewing Coach Josh Harrell, who started his coaching career under me and is currently a local high school head swim coach. Our aim is to show the valuable interplay between a new coach and head coach and his learning about swim coaching, athlete instruction and parent interactions.
Connect with Us: Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and join our Facebook Group to get behind-the-scenes content and more information about topics on the podcast.
Contact Us: Have a topic suggestion or want to share your thoughts? Email us at SwimEdInfo@gmail.com.
Subscribe and Rate/Review: You'll help others find our podcast and make sure you don't miss an episode. Then leave a review to let us know what you think!
Join us on weekly on SwimEd: Education for coaches, athletes and parents.