The snowstorms that paralyzed the metro region over the past week might have made a lasting impact on swimmers who could not practice with pools closed. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
As the metro area recovers from a week of snowstorms that crippled the region, winter sport athletes that have been unable to practice or play are now regrouping for a hectic championship season.
Perhaps more than any other individual athlete, however, swimmers that have been snowed into their homes and out of the pool could feel a negative impact from the snow.
Facing the challenge of preparing for championship meets following a week-long hiatus from a normal practice schedule, area coaches have concerns about the effect it may have on the swimmers readiness for the crucial meets that remain this season.
Time out of the pool has a direct impact on several areas of a swimmer’s preparation, several coaches said. Physiologically, the fast- and slow-twitch muscles that have been trained a certain way for months during a season are now in need of the repetition in some form – even if it’s decreased yardage during a taper.
“The taper period is critical in any swimmer’s season, scientifically it’s about super compensation which basically the body super compensates for the work that the athlete has done through the past 24 to 26 weeks of the season,” Georgetown swim coach Steven Cartwright said. “And the decrease in yardage for a certain period of time in preparation for a championship meet is crucial to allow that super compensation to take place. Being in the water every day, 10 to 14 days out of your championship meet is critical.
“One of the most important aspects that a swimmer can’t lose in leading up to their championship meet is their feel for the water and anybody that has swum and been out of the water just from a Saturday morning practice to a Monday afternoon practice, just that day and a half out of the water a swimmer knows that type of feel. So not being in the water before a championship meet, especially during a taper phase, that could prove to be detrimental.”
In addition to the physiological impact on missing practices, there could be a negative psychological impact to “feeling good” in the water after a taper workout, Cartwright said. Swimmers use tapers to get in the right mindset for a meet, and also to fine tune important aspects of their race for championship season.
Being out of the water could affect that preparation by throwing off the physical rhythm, which creates a chain reaction.
“As your body rests there are neurological changes your body is going to go through which may affect your stroke count which is going to affect your turns, etc., etc.,” Cartwright said. “The biggest thing that happens during a taper period is your body adjusts.”
Said Walter Johnson Coach Jamie Grimes: “Just one practice off [is tough], you lose your feel for the water in about three or four days. Most kids when they get back in water need time to remember swimming and muscle memory.”
Swimmers understand the impact the extended break could have, and many made efforts to find their way into a pool.
Fairfax County RECenters were open only for limited hours on just a couple of days over the past week, and it often was up to the individual swimmers to find a way to the pool through the unplowed streets — and then to get in a workout without the direction of a coach to give them sets.
West Potomac freshman Hellen Moffitt went one week between practices with her club team.
“We don’t have a four-wheel drive so it’s been kind of hard getting places,” Moffitt said. “I’ve basically stayed inside except when I’m swimming.”
Moffitt was able to get to a nearby pool with her father a few times as she attempted to lessen the impact of her time out of the water. But even with just a few days away from practice and with a workout that didn’t quite measure up to a normal team practice, the time out of the pool took its toll.
“Yeah I could feel it,” Moffitt said on Wednesday. “It took a while for my muscles to get used to it and it kind of hurt a little bit. I think I’m better now. ….. I’m just hoping and waiting [for club practice].”
All-Met Oakton senior Bradley Phillips, who won two Virginia AAA Concorde District events with automatic All-American times and will swim at U-Va. next year, said he has trekked through the snow to the end of the street where he parked his car in order to get to practice, which was held at a private facility.
All-Met Seton senior Jameson Hill, who earlier this month at National Catholics turned in three automatic All-American times and snapped two meet records – including the 500 freestyle mark set in 1977 by Olympian Bobby Hackett – said he has shoveled out the driveway so that he can hop into the Hummer he and his coach and guardian, Rick Benner, use to drive the five minutes to practice.
Hill has only missed one day in the pool during the snowstorm, even getting in an afternoon practice during Wednesday’s blizzard. Like Bradley, Hill uses a privately-operated pool.
“It definitely is important to stay on your routine and all that stuff,” said Hill, who will swim for Georgia. “But also for swimmers, just that conditioning requirement to compete at a high level, if you miss a couple days it takes a couple more days to get back to where you were, so you lost twice as much as you thought you lost.”
Coaches who were forced to cancel practice due to closed facilities could do little to help the situation. Some sent out e-mail reminders about dry land workouts – stretch cords, abs, core exercises, jump rope – that can help conditioning, but with most pools closed, the coaches and swimmers were at the mercy of the snowstorm.
“That ability to [taper] and being able to set your pace and get things done you need to do is critical, you just can’t stop it all,” Cartwright said. “So being out of the water during this time it’s something, it’s a coach’s nightmare.”
Tags: AAA Northern Region, Bradley Phillips, Concorde District, Georgetown, Oakton High School, Seton, Virginia High School Swimming, West Potomac
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