Last night, we did an interview with Peter Andrew, who is the coach and the father of 11-12 National Age Group Record Breaker Michael Andrew. This was a phenomenal interview, as he is able to give both the parent’s perspective as well as a very technical perspective of coaching philosophy. This interview is a bit longer than some we’ve done, but you won’t regret watching the whole thing. Peter gives great insight into his training philosophies that will be interesting to both swim fans, as well as coaches. Here’s a teaser – Michael is usually training about 3 times a week at 2,500 yards each.
We also get some intersting news about where Michael might be taking his talents in the future. Check it out!
http://blip.tv/swimmerscircle/swim-talk-with-peter-andrew-5823947
The drag FORCE is NOT ~v^3 (or cubed, like it said on the video).
It is approximately squared. The POWER (P=Fv) is cubed with speed (approximately).
In addition to that, there is great fluctuation in the drag force function at different speeds:
http://www.mecaflux.com/en/images/drag%20force%20sphere.gif
http://www.uh.edu/engines/spheredrag.jpg
Those graphs might easily explain also the fact that there are new WR all the time in swimming… we are approximately just at the drop of the reynolds number with events like 50m free.
Michael has so much going for him – Great technique, love of swimming, great body and timing. He is clearly the best 12 year old swimmer in Short Course Yards. However, the Long Course Meters (the Olympic Format) is a different situation. Example, last year (2011) when Michael was 11 years old, Tan “Goose” Dunn of Georgia, out-performed Michael and achieved USA National #1 ranking in both 50M and 100M Backstroke- 11yr boys old . Ability to improve is something both Michael and the Goose have in common. At 10 years old, the Goose swam a 36.67 50M back – At 11, the Goose dropped that time by more than 5 seconds to hit 31.05. Now, at age 12, the… Read more »
James, If you read the majority of the “stuff” in Swimzines and websites you will find an amazing lack of verifiable information about training physiology or the actual physics of strokes. I run a stroke mechanics clinic in the Washington DC area and have done so for 37 years. I have watched club teams prosper using average swimmers as “economic fodder” for a few top swimmers and coaches. Every year I see hopeful kids boring holes throught water, some doing “doubles” eventually quiting because they (especially females) plateau or get slower, eventually quitting. I have watched this for years. There are more than 37,000 Summer swimmers in this area. We have the largest Summer league in the USA…The Northern VA… Read more »
Braden, I wonder if dad has a plan for the day Michael gets a call from a Cindy/jennifer/Amber who wants to hang out at the mall with him instead of trekking off to another swim workout? Might not be as easy taking off your coach hat and replacing it with your dad hat, discussing with Michael’s mother’s hat, who also happens to be your wife.
I enjoy your work…over and out.
What a cool dad. I could listen to him all day. I know it’s none of our business, but I wonder how they support themselves with all that traveling, swimming, coaching etc.?
Also, that’s how you’re supposed to bring your belief in God up in a sports interview. At the end, not making a big deal about it but still communicating how important it is to their family….lots of others should learn.
Funny that you mention it Andrew – I could listen to him talk all day too. We stayed on Skype probably for another hour afterwards just chatting about swimming, coaching philosophies, etc. Peter definitely has his perspectives and priorities straight when it comes to training Michael.
Lou Sharp – id love to talk to you about our post some more please.
Happy to see your face Braden for the first time. You look a little bit like Ian Crocker, perhaps less chubby (I’m using a new word in my limited english vocabulary). Seriously it’s a very interesting interview. I haven’t all understood but his training philosophy based about technique looks to be efficient with his son. Why has he a passport problem? USA swimming must be very worried about that. Michael Andrew is an american citizen but if he goes to Australia and if he continues to improve there’s a big chance he’ll swim for this country in 2016. When there’s a foreign hope in any sports in Australia they keep him and he becomes very quickly an australian citizen. They… Read more »
bobo – I’ll see what I can do on Katie. Perhaps when she’s out of school for the winter holliday, she’ll have some free time.
With his parents being South African, they may be lurking in the grass as well!
Interesting perspective on rugby. Was watching the World Cup in the fall, and noticed that a huge chunk of many teams’ players don’t come from the country they represent (Japan looked like the team was made up half of Kiwis!). They haven’t convinced Ellen Gandy to change her allegiances yet, however.
Peter has promised he’ll let me know right away when they find out what’s going to happen, but his feeling is that they’ll stay here.
It’s not how much a swimmer can take…it’s how much is necessary to stimulate the adaptive mechanisms of his body. Most swimming coaches don’t have the slightest idea of this and simply emulate the coaches at other pools…all the way to national programs. I would venture a guess that most coaches haven’t cracked a book on training physiology for years, if ever. With the exception of a VERY FEW coaches, US swimming has been operating in the scientific dark ages for 50 or more years. Huge numbers of participants have allowed the US to field top swimmers, its success being the result of a few of many “mostly doing it in spite if, not because of their training”
Want… Read more »