No Summer Break For Auburn Swimmers

By Sarah Reynolds
AuburnTigers.com

While many Auburn students take the summer season to enjoy time at the beach, Auburn University swimmers have found their own sort of paradise in Auburn during their summer training.

Along with the main pool inside the James E. Martin Aquatics Center, Auburn swimmers also have a 10-lane, 50-meter outdoor pool in which to train when the weather gets warm. While training outdoors during the stifling Alabama summer can sometimes be challenging — and result in a set of cap and goggle tan lines — the team loves to train in the sun after being indoors all competition season (August to March).

The summer is a crucial time for Auburn swimmers in their training because of how important it is to stay in great shape and continue racing in meets prior to the next school year. With dual meets beginning as early as September, swimmers are encouraged to stay during the summer to prepare and develop as athletes. Despite it being summer — a season often thought of as “laid back” — Auburn’s swim team is training the same that it would be in-season. Truthfully, swimmers are never out-of-season; when asked when their season is, many Auburn swimmers will probably tell you that their season never ends.

Once NCAAs concluded for the Tigers in March, the team took one week off before heading back to the pool and gym for training. This quick turnaround was because many Auburn swimmers had international swim meets quickly after NCAAs, and many are ultimately preparing for the 2015 USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships in August. Some of Auburn’s swimmers will also be competing in international meets this summer, including the World University Games, the Pan American Games and the Fina World Championships. With meets against the best competition in the world, it’s important for the swimmers to train during the summer and to train hard.

Beginning each Monday morning and ending on Saturday, the Auburn swim team will train about 17 hours in the pool and three hours in the weight room each week. Three mornings a week, the alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. for these athletes, when they head to the pool to train for two-and-a-half hours in the pool and gym.

After an afternoon filled with classes for some, coaching swim camp for others, or maybe a quick nap for the lucky ones, the swimmers head back to the pool at four and train for two more hours outdoors, weather permitting — ensue the cap and goggle tan lines.

Practice consists of a variety of training, but mainly focuses on what each individual needs to work on. The team usually breaks up into three groups: sprint group, middle distance group and distance group, all depending on what kind of races they swim. Some practices consist of a main set specific to the stroke they swim and sometimes it’s more “general” training. And on special days, like head coach Brett Hawke’s 40th birthday, the team gets to do a set of 40×50 meters best stroke fast.

The summer is a good time for these athletes to start fresh after the season and see how well they can improve themselves and the team throughout the summer and toward the next season. They do this through what’s called “test” sets. Every Wednesday and every other Saturday, the team does the same set with fewer repetitions each week to see how well they are progressing throughout the summer.

Team members will compete in the Auburn Richard Quick Invitational in June and the Athens Speedo Sectionals in July, a chance to gauge the athletes’ development. During the summer these swimmers can focus on their training and making improvements without the difficulty of focusing on a full school schedule.

Because the summer is such a short season and the Auburn swim team has competitive meets looming on the horizon (Summer National Championships in August), these swimmers know that dedicating themselves to intense training in the summer is essential. It’s sometimes difficult for these athletes to stay in Auburn during the summer, especially for those far from home, but they know that this work will pay off next March at NCAAs, and they’ll get those great tan lines while they’re at it.

Sarah Reynolds, an Auburn swimming student-athlete from Prattville, Ala., is a senior journalism major. She is working this summer as a student assistant in the Auburn athletics communications office.