Westmount Y Centre Masters Swim Club

Since 1988- entering my 24th year

What is your swimming background?

I swam competitively from 1977 until 1984 attaining youth national standards, by the skin of my teeth.
I am definitely a “those who cannot do, coach” type of person.

Do you have hobbies, do other sports or have interests you would like to tell the Team about?

I write, hoping to publish a novel in the near future (fingers and toes crossed). I play guitar.

How do you motivate yourself as a coach?

My motivation has always revolved around seeing a swimmer attain his potential. Seeing an athlete outdo himself and accomplish things that they never thought possible is a powerful thing.

How do you motivate your swimmers?

By setting reachable intermediate goals and reminding the athlete of them, I also set long term goals that are simply a logical progression from the short and intermediate ones. I also like to explain specifics of sets and drills as to allow an understanding of the specifics in each session, this often allows for the swimmers to remain motivated when a set might seem overly difficult or, God forbid, boring.

What are your favourite:

Stroke(s):  As a swimmer- Back;  To coach—Breast and fly
Event(s): As a racer– None really… can still manage backstroke events without embarrassment.
Drill(s):  Free: 6-kick pause with a head touch and arm extension; Back: Same as free, with palm pause and critical point pause; Breast: Combination of breast with fly kick, 3 kicks, 3 pull and breathing on 3;  Fly: 1 arm with thumb drag, 3/3/3 with breath only on two arm strokes
Set(s):
Love double up sets: i.e. 50 holding 40”/ 100 holding 1:20/ 200 holding 2:40/ 400 holding 5:20…etc all done on a 50” interval (per 50)
Love: length + speed sets: i.e. 4×200 crawl minimum-maximum on 3:40 right into a 4×50 max sprint on 1:30 then back to 3×200 minimum maximum right into 3×50 sprint… allows the rest to be part of the set. Minimum-maximum becomes efficient rest allowing for the threshold to be raised and thus increasing aerobic capacity.
Training Toys:
Boards and pull buoys. Paddles and fins on rare occasions, especially for weaker swimmers as they can often emphasize mistakes and allow the errors to be set into muscle memory… the bane of a swimmers development….
Underwater camera is a toy I use, not really for the swimmers themselves to utilize but is a coaches toy that I find very useful (I have a small one that is always with me)

Dry land Exercise:

Enjoy the use of stretch cords, which allow correction and proper swimming movement in a controlled environment.

Signature Coaching Phrase:

Come on…it’s not THAT hard!!!

Anything else you would like to add?

I am looking forward to working with the Y masters once again. It is nice to see that the club has continued its growth over the last eight years, I only hope, with all of the swimmers help, to be able to maintain the level of excellence that has come to define the Westmount Y masters swim club.

I coached in the UK during 1996 in Sheffield, and since I arrived in Canada, I have coached Masters swimmers since 1999 and have been the team Head Coach since spring 2010.

What is your swimming background?

I am an ex-international swimmer from Great Britain and was a finalist at the 1993 World University Games. I represented the University of Arkansas to a top twenty finish at the NCAA Division 2 Championships while there. I have been swimming for over 32 years and I continue to compete.

Do you have another job?

I am also head coach for the Westmount Y Centre Barracudas Swim Club.

How do you motivate your swimmers?

Lead by example; always make things challenging, yet achievable; vary focus by periodizing cycles; and always explain the reasons why we are doing a particular drill/set with engineering logic to back it up.

What are your favourite:

Stroke(s): As a swimmer– Freestyle

Set(s)– 15 x 200 on 3 minutes, 1 Fr, 1 IM, 3 Fr, 4 IM, 5 Fr – last one all out (if anything left). If I can handle this set, I’m fit for anything!

Training Toys– Fins

Dry land Exercise– Chin-ups

Signature Coaching Phrase: Good Job!

What is your swimming background?
7 years as an elite synchronized swimmer
Competitive swim team in the summer (age 8-15)

Do you have another job?
I just graduated in Kinesiology at the moment, I work at Cycle Technique-a triathlon store and training center.

Do you have hobbies, do other sports or have interest you would like to share?
I just started cycling and have always ran. There may be a triathlon in my near future….

How do you motivate your swimmers?
By trying to be as positive as possible especially when I know they are struggling with a set

What is your favourite:
Stroke as a swimmer– Toss up between free and fly
Stoke to coach — breast stroke
Event to race –100 IM
Drill — 1 arm fly
Set — anything with underwaters or fly
6×300 w/fins with 6-8 underwater fly kicks off each wall

How I got into coaching with the Team
A current team member knew I was interested in swimming and told me the team needed help so I started coaching Sunday afternoon.

What is your swimming background?
Swim team captain in high school
Ran swim program at camp valdurn in 2008
Masters coach

Do you have another job?
Assistant teacher for physed courses at the cegep level
Substitute teacher for the LBPS school board

You’re a student, what are you studying?
Physical Education at McGill

Do you have hobbies, do other sports or have interests you would like to tell the Team about?
I’m a musician, I dance like an angel, and love to eat.

How do you motivate yourself and your swimmers?
Positive feedback, noticing improvements, and smiling.

What is your favourite:
Stroke as a swimmer– br
Stoke to coach– IM
Event to race –200br short-course
Drill — I don’t like drills 
Set– 12*25 fly with fins

Anything else you would like to add?
Happy to be part of such a great team!

What is your swimming background?
I was a competitive swimmer since the age of 6 yrs.
Everyone in our community swam at the outdoor pool.
We raced and were on swim team. It was a blast. When I got more serious, I began winter swimming at Pointe Claire. I swam in University for Queens. After which I began Masters swimming in Quebec. I moved to the States, California…and continued to train, where I was noticed by a team there and began to compete again. Moving to Boulder Colorado, I still raced in the pool, and combined it with my love for running and began competing in Triathlon.
On returning to Montreal, I swam briefly for DDO, but then Sylvie Lepine approached me about a team starting at the Westmount YMCA, and the rest is history!!!

How do you motivate yourself as a coach?
I love to swim! I love this team, and there is no other place I feel happiest, as when I am swimming in practice at the pool. The team has been a surrogate family to me, and I just love to be able to have the opportunity to learn from Martin and Charles, and Heather on what to do to make our swimmers happy, healthy and overall better swimmers. I get so excited to see the swimmers improve, and feel what I feel in the water.

What is your favourite:
Stroke as a swimmer– long distance free..and Breastroke!!
Event to race –800 free, 200 breast ( although I hate it!)
Drill — kick sets with fins
Set — 21 X 100’s and 20X 50”s (various intervals and strokes)

Anything else you would like to add?
Like I said previously, I love this team, and all our team members!
Everyone is special, and a capable swimmer, young or old, fast or slow, there is space for everyone to shine on our team. I hope I can bring that out in each and every swimmer!

What is your swimming background?
I swam competitively with the University of Calgary Swim Club from age 11 to age 17. I continued into my first year of University with the U of C Varsity Team. In my second year I was their team manager and started volunteering as a coach in their development program, coaching 11 and overs. In 2005, I swam in France for l’Université de Rennes II while on exchange. I also trained with a Masters team in Calgary and competed Unattached in 2007/2008. I’ve held certifications for Water Safety Instructor, YMCA Swimming Instructor and National Lifeguard Service since 2006 and lifeguarded and taught swimming lessons since 2008 at the YMCA.

Are you a student?
Yes I am studying Translation at McGill.

Do you have hobbies, do other sports or have interest you would like to share?
I love almost all water sports – scuba diving, water-skiing, wake-boarding and swimming are my favourites. I’ve also had the amazing advantage of spending most of my childhood an hour from the Rockies so I love to hike and backpack in the summer and snowshoe, ski and snowboard in the winter. I also love photography.

How do you motivate yourself as a coach?
Growing up I was very lucky to have some great coaches in swimming so I try to think of them & what they did to make swimming exciting for me.
How do you motivate your swimmers?
I try to always have a focus & a reason for whatever we’re doing. It’s never just a 200 sw, there’s always something behind it. I think it’s much easier to get through a tough practice if you’re focusing on something.

What is your favourite:
Stroke as a swimmer– Fr, Fly
Stoke to coach — Fr, Fly
Event to race –50 fr, 100 fr, 200 fr & 100 fly
Drill — popov, finger drag, 2-2-2
Set — I love anything hypoxic. Sets of 100s breathing 3/5/3/7, 5/7/5/9. Underwater dolphin kick, decreasing breaths by 25.
10 x 100 best average.
X x 50 @ 1:01 (where you have to make it back to the wall before the hand gets to the time you left on the first one or you’re eliminated. Basically the time decreases by 1 sec per 50 & your rest increases by 1 sec).

Anything else you would like to add?
See you on the pool deck!