I do understand that the high school championship meets are important to the swimmers so I try to work with them so they can be fast at both meets. With that mindset, I may decide to do a minor taper (2-3 days) for the high school regional or state meet depending on the individual swimmer and their chances of success at either of those meets. This usually works out well for the kids that train hard and consistently come to workout 5-6 days a week. The high school meets are usually far enough out that we don’t loose any aerobic conditioning and we can come right back up in volume to prepare for the March championship meets.
I also have to keep in mind that there may be a re-taper involved if I rest a swimmer for one meet and they swim out of their mind and qualify for an even bigger meet. For the kids that I think have a good chance to move on, I may decide to start their taper a bit later so we are not quite 100% for the first meet but still have something left for the next meet that may be 1-2 weeks later. But let’s focus on the one meet scenario for a high school aged swimmers as I think your question is more directed to that specific example.
When do I schedule kids to start coming down in volume after the high school season? This depends on several factors.
The first is whether you are a boy or girl. In my 20 plus years of experience coaching high school aged swimmers, I have found that my boys need a longer rest period than my girls.
Second, are you a sprinter or a distance swimmer? Sprinters typically need more rest than distance swimmers (but not always).
Next, muscularity. Are you very strong and lean or are you soft and weak? Typically the more muscle you have the more rest you need.
Then, training. Do you train very hard or do you float at the back of the lane? Do you train 6 days a week and double 2-3 days a week or do you train only once per day for 3-5 days a week? Typically, the more you train and the harder you train, the more rest you need.
Lastly, do you train 11 months with your USA club team or only 9 months? Typically swimmers who train 11 months recover quicker than swimmers who only train 9 months. Once all these factors have been taken into consideration I can plan my taper.
Usually the pre-taper starts about 2-3 weeks out from the big meet. This is also when I stop most of the dryland work we do. I keep the intensity high but the overall volume decreases maybe 25-30%. I usually start my girls down about a week later than the boys. Everyone is different and the coaches experience in learning their swimmers and how they react to the taper will determine when I start certain kids on their taper.
After this pre-taper period we go into the full blown rest phase which usually lasts 7-10 days. I have to monitor my athletes daily. If I see the energy levels rising after the first week we are on the right track. If certain kids are still tired I may need to drop them a bit quicker.
Hopefully this answers your question. It’s not a simple answer. Everyone is different and will respond differently. This becomes even more of a challenge when you have all these various groups of swimmers in the same training group, with limited lane space. Good luck in March!”
Bill started coaching in 1983. In his 18 seasons as the Potomac Marlins head coach, Bill has produced 28 Junior National Level swimmers, 5 Senior National Level swimmers, 6 US Open swimmers and has coached three swimmers to US Olympic Trials. Bill earned a B.S. in Sport and Exercise Science and was a certified Personal Fitness Trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine. Bill holds a Level 4 coaching certification through the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) and functions as the Potomac Marlins head coach, team trainer and training program coordinator.
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Tags: championship meets, Coach's Corner, coaching, Tapering, training tips
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