Race Pace Training vs Traditional USA Swimming - Which One is Right?

Race Pace Training vs Traditional USA Swimming - Which One is Right?

Michael Andrew - mention that name to some people and they have no idea who you're talking about, but bring it up in front of traditional USA Swimming coaches, and many of them will roll their eyes and simply say, 'oh.......him'.

If you don't know who Michael Andrew is, simply Google his name and you're likely to see many articles and videos which discuss and showcase his swimming talents. Michael has been one of most decorated age group swimmers in the history of USA Swimming. He's broken (and set) over 85 National Age Group records and has recently put his name at the top of some Junior World Records as well, all before hitting 20 years old.

I've known the Andrews family ever since Michael was 11. We met them when our sons competed against each other in our home town, and we were curious as to how this family (then living in South Dakota) could have such a fast swimmer, who trained in a makeshift pool the father built in a converted bar. 

When we saw Michael in person for the first time, he appeared to be a normal size kid, but it was evident he came from an athletic family and it seemed within reason that if he stayed with the sport, he could one day become a force in the sport, although we questioned how this could be done swimming by himself, trained by his father, in a makeshift pool.

Still curious, we wanted to know about the Andrew family, so we invited them out with our family for dinner after the meet and before they headed back to South Dakota. It was at that time we learned more about their style of training and more about USRTP. What they said made a lot of sense, but would it really translate to him being a dominant force in the sport of swimming one day? o

From all accounts, Michael became a "test sample" for a gentleman named Dr. Brent Rushall, who completed the research and coined phrase Ultra Short Race Pace Training. Dr. Rushall's program was based upon scientific data which determined that the development of fast twitch muscle fibers were critical in the development of athletes, especially athletes who relied on their lungs and motor movements. You can read more about USRPT at USRPT.com.

Peter and Michael met with Dr. Rushall, and Dr. Rushall made Michael one of his projects to prove his theory at the time actually worked, and over the past 8 years, Michael has illustrated that training at a higher degree of intensity for a finite amount of time provides more evidence backed data than all the yards age groupers, high school swimmers, and national swimmers feel they "need" to swim in order to help them achieve their goals.

This is not to suggest that USRPT is the ONLY way that a competitive swimmer can have success in the pool. Most swimmers who have attained greatness in the sport have trained followed the "traditional" training sets that many USA Swimming coaches oversee. While there were some variations, the fact remained that most coaching today relies upon the success that came from others years and in some cases decades earlier, so you can't set aside the questions when they arise about whether USRPT and Michael's success is a trend or a fad.

In the years that I've utilized USRPT, I have ALWAYS had success with my athletes. USRPT is an evidence based form of training. This means the "evidence" that is gathered at each practice "proves" that the training will make you faster and help you achieve faster times.

USRPT is designed to put the onus on the swimmer to know exactly how fast they are swimming in practice and to work with their coach to make adjustments in technique in order to improve their drag/power coefficient. Having swimmers simply work on technique during slower laps does not help them "hold" the same technique when they are swimming at race speed. It's like asking a track athlete who runs the hurdle to "slowly" go over the hurdle in order to get the "feeling" of how high he should jump or how long he should extend in order to clear the hurdle and set his stride up for the next jump. Some things need to be done at pace.

This is not to say I agree with ALL aspects of USRPT, I believe certain types of dryland training which continues to develop the fast twitch muscle fibers and strengthen the core and legs can be beneficial to the swimmer and provides them with some time away from intense pool time, but the results that come from training far outweigh any potential disadvantages.

Other than the obvious benefit where swimmers avoid "garbage yardage" when the coach has you swimming sets which provide zero benefit towards your goals, other benefits include:

1. Having more time at home or with friends.

2. Unnecessary early morning practices.

3. Achieving times in practice that provides the confidence they will be able to achieve desired cuts during competition. 

4. Planning laid out which details how times will be achieved over a season.

5. Swimmers taking ownership over their practices and results. 

6. Every meet matters - no more going to a meet and wondering how well you will swim.

7. More time for dryland, meditation, goal planning, and success driven activities.

8. Everyone competing to swim their best everyday. Practicing for a purpose and seeing the results.

9. Establishing a goal plan which is constantly moving them forward in the sport and in life.

These are just a few of the benefits that can come from a program such as Race Pace Training which trains the body to "race" at a particular "pace" so it adapts to pushing itself in order to perform when the mind calls upon it to act.

I hope in the future traditional coaches will begin to implement some of its training and put the interest and well being of their swimmers ahead of simply collecting fees.

College Swimming - Scholarship Talk

For many high school swimmers, the beginning of the college recruiting process can be one of the more exciting times in a young person's life. It represents the opportunity for a swimmer to not only "get away" from home, but could provide the opportunity for them to continue their swimming in college. The process of recruiting can be exciting and exhausting as coaches reach out to swimmers to encourage them to consider their school. The process can also create a high level of uncertainty and anxiety, and leave swimmers asking more questions than getting answers to. My hope is to offer some practical solutions to help rising juniors and seniors navigate the process in order to provide a clearer picture on the recruiting process as it affects male swimmers.

Let’s talk scholarships first. The goal for many high school athletes has been the opportunity to continue playing their sport in college, and many look for the opportunity to make college more affordable through an athletic scholarship. If you’re a football or basketball player, the opportunity for an athletic scholarship is readily available, but if you’re one of the many athletes (boy and girls) who participate in other sports such as swimming, the opportunity for athletic funds may be very limited, so it’s best to make sure you’re doing well in school academically in order to achieve academic scholarships.

The NCAA places restrictions on the availability of athletic scholarships based upon the NCAA Division I sports. For example, for men’s football the limit is 85 scholarships. For basketball, it’s 13 and for track and field it’s 12.6. The availability of scholarships for most male sports is about 9 scholarships. Women receive a few more scholarships, but not that much. In fact, the average amount of scholarships available to women in all sports other than basketball (15), Track and Field (18), and Cross Country (18) is approximately 14. Which means, if you have 30 women on a swim team, you can expect the most any one person would get (unless she’s Katie Ledecky) would be a 70% scholarship, which leaves about 30% - 50% scholarship allotments to the other ladies on the team. If you’re considering a Division II school, scholarship availability is a bit less, depending upon the sport, and if you're looking at a Division III school, you likely know that athletic scholarships are not available, but that doesn't mean an academic scholarship may not be.

These allotments represent the “available” scholarships schools can provide for athletes. This does not mean the schools set funds aside or have an endowment to fund the sports. For example, there are many NCAA Division I schools who do not have a robust football or basketball program (which can be a revenue driver for the university), and allotments may only represent 10% of what the NCAA affords them to offer to potential student athletes, therefore before you get your heart set on swimming for your favorite school in another state, you may want to research how many scholarships are available to the team, how they are divided up, and what standards do you need to make in order to achieve scholarship funds. Most coaches will share this information with you, and those who don’t, are programs you want to avoid.

As budgets become tighter for colleges and universities, student athletes should consider do everything possible to do well academically in school and on their standardize tests. It’s likely the best scholarships will come from funds that are available through academic endowments, rather than sporting endowments. Unless you’re one of the top ranked swimmers in the nation (top 25), it’s likely a “full ride” may be a stretch, so use every bit of opportunity to attract an academic scholarship.

Now that we’ve gotten the “money talk” out of the way, let’s talk about whether you should consider swimming in school even if you don’t acquire much scholarship money or a scholarship at all. The answer is a resounding YES. Just because you may not have a large scholarship, the benefits of swimming or participating in an NCAA sport far outweigh the potential loss of money. As a student athlete, you will be entitled to benefits that other students on campus won’t have such as the opportunity to receive tutoring, health services, dorms near the athletic facilities, first choice in class schedule, perhaps your own athletic cafeteria, travel trips, and much more. These benefits will make your campus life easier and could help you graduate on time.

Another benefit of participating in a sport is your use of time. College will mark the first time for you to be “on your own”, and it’s the opportunity for you to be responsible for yourself. You'll have much more free time on your hands, which could be a benefit or a curse. The opportunity to participate in a collegiate sport (especially a sport like swimming), you remain on a schedule that is very similar to high school. In many cases you’ll get up in the morning, work out, eat breakfast and go to class. In many cases, classes will be over by noon, you’ll go back to your dorm, take a nap, and hit the afternoon practice at the pool. After practice, you’ll eat dinner and likely go study with your teammates at the mandatory tutor sessions, so by 8:00pm – you get a little down time on your own and get ready for the next morning practice. Sound familiar?

Many of you may have had a great experience swimming on a high school or club team, but nothing can compare to the college experience. If you're recruited by a college program, talent plays a large role, but so does your ability to fit on a team. Coaches go to great lengths to create a team chemistry that creates a sense of competition, support, and hard work. They see themselves as a cohesive unit striving to achieve a common goal. The people you surround yourself with on your team will become your family and friends for life. They will celebrate your success, become part of your wedding party, and always be there to answer your call. They will know you better than your own family. The team environment is supportive and is available to you when you may not be feeling your best, have sophomore blues, or question whether you’ve made the right decision to continue your swimming. This support group will truly make a difference in your life.

These are just a few of the benefits you can look forward to even though you may not have achieved a “full ride”, but guess what – no one does. Coaches are smart about how they disburse their funds and the last thing they want to do is give more to one person and create resentment on the team. College swimming is all about team and if you have the opportunity to swim in college, and you truly love the sport, I encourage you to continue. It could be a life changer.

"Weighing" Weights and Dryland Training

I've always wondered why swim coaches add weight training to their training programs at USA Swim clubs and colleges all over the United States.


I guess at some point, some coach years ago decided to add "weights" to a swimmer's training, and they discovered that the swimmer was able to pull or kick harder in order to achieve a specific time in race, and from then on, it became scripture for every other coach trying to take his swimmers to the next level.


I mean seriously, that's usually how things go in the sport of swimming. Discover a swimmer who does it better and faster than everyone else, ask the coach "what's the special sauce" and decide to implement into their program for ALL their swimmers - whether it's in the swimmer's best interest or not.


So - the question remains - does weight training really help a swimmer?


I think before we start putting all the swimmers on the bench press or have them do a bunch of pull-ups or push tractor tires over on the ground, perhaps review the law of physics as it relates to swimming.


Water is 800 times denser than air - so if we look at this from a physics point of view, it would appear that two key components of motion will come into play, power and drag.


As a swimmer flies off the blocks, it is the fastest they will ever be, because from that moment, they enter an environment that creates DRAG and ultimately the density of the water will stop their motion. Swimmers practice this all the time during practice sets where the coach tries to illustrate the importance of a tight streamline and push off the wall - to see which kid actually goes farther. Every swimmer tries to tighten up as much as they possibly can just so they can win, but usually it's the taller, skinnier kid who ends up winning. Why? More POWER and less DRAG.


The power/drag coefficient is the most important equation a swimmer must calculate. If a swimmer is planning on swimming a 50 or 100 yard freestyle, it's without question that POWER is more important, but if a swimmer is planning on swimming a 200 yard or greater race, then DRAG becomes the key component in the race.


So - why lift weights if you are a mid-distance swimmer?


Unfortunately it simply doesn't make sense. It goes along with the theory as to why so many swim coaches have swimmers kicking on a kickboard. What purpose does that serve? They aren't kicking a 6 beat kick which could help them in freestyle - and when you think about the kick - it promotes maybe 5% to the overall stroke?


Just as kick sets are overrated, so is the concept of weight training. IF we lived in space and we dove off the block, we could streamline forever - since there is NO DRAG in space, but because we are dealing with water, the molecules are constantly interacting with all elements of the body, thus creating DRAG.

When we streamline - the goal is to make our body SMALLER and to move through the water creating as little a disturbance as possible, so what good is it to have a swimmer increase the size of their chest, shoulders, arms and but in weight training?


Power will NEVER win over Drag. It's time for swim coaches to figure out how they can make their swimmers STRONGER without increasing the size of their body mass.

What's with all the Negative Vibes?




In 1970, one of the best WWII movies to come out was a movie called Kelly's Hero's. The movie took a lighter tone versus the more dramatic tone of some other great WWII movies such as The Dirty Dozen and Patton.


Kelly's Hero's was a story about a private (Clint Eastwood) who overheard a drunk German officer talking about all the bars of gold that were being held at a bank behind enemy lines. Clint was to a point that he knew the war would be over soon, and perhaps now was an opportunity to enrich his life after the war - so along the way he enlisted the help of some others to help him retrieve the gold before the Allied forces stepped in and took it for themselves.

One of the characters he enlisted was another "misfit" of a tank platoon (Donald Sutherland) who had decided that he, and his enlisted fighters had seen enough of the war and decided to venture off into more "remote" areas where they could enjoy life a little longer.

Eastwood enlisted other characters along the way such as Gavin MacLeod, Harry Dean Stanton, Telly Savales, Don Rickles, and Jeff Morris, it appeared that Gavin MacLeod always appeared to exemplify the negativity of the situation, forcing Donald Sutherland to respond at one point to Gavin's comment on a situation, "Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "


I use this as an example to illustrate how I see USA Swimming coaches choosing to look for the negative as it relates to USRPT versus seeing the positive that could come from implementing such a program.


If one was to look at USRPT from an OBJECTIVE point of view, I'm still trying to determine "where" the negatives lie for the SWIMMER.


Race Pace Training is demanding - for both the swimmer and the coach, but it appears to me that COACHES are being selfish by not considering the benefits to the swimmer. Here are just a few:


1. Accountability
2. Goal Planning
3. Shorter Practices
4. Instructional Benefit
5. Injury Prevention
6. More time with Family / Friends / School
7. Meet Preparation


These are just a few of the benefits as it relates to implementing USRPT or a Race Pace Training structure within the swim club.


I think it's time that USA Swimming to embrace the benefits to the SWIMMERS and begin accepting that Race Pace Swimming is far more beneficial to swimmers than traditional practices.


Let's knock off the negativity and dig just how great a Race Pace Swimming program could be.

Michael Andrew and USRPT

On Sunday, January 3, 2016, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" aired the story about Michael Andrew and the success he's had utilizing USRPT (Ultra Short Race Pace Training) and   the resistance that has come from the "traditional" swimming community.


After watching the segment, I felt the reporter and ESPN truly stayed independent and allowed parents and swimmers to make cast their own decisions as to whether USRPT  would actually benefit their long term COMPETITIVE swimming future, but I believe more conversation is warranted.


As a background, I myself have been associated with competitive swimming for over 12 years. First as a parent, then a USA Swimming official, and finally as a coach. Over the years, my kids have had the opportunity to train with many "certified" USA Swimming coaches and train with various clubs across the United States, and the one thing I realized is there are many ways to "skin a cat" and USRPT is simply one of them.


The first time I heard of the Andrew's family was in 2009, when Michael broke the National Age Group record in the 50 SCM backstroke. I knew this because my son had broken the 50 LCM backstroke the summer prior.


Once I noticed the record had been broken, I began to research the family. The first unusual aspect of the family I noticed was where they lived, South Dakota. I wondered how could a swimmer come from that state like South Dakota versus more pedigree states known for their swimming such as; Florida, Texas, and California? The second item of interest involved the number of meets they would attend. Prior to Michael turning 10 years old, I noticed they had traveled from Oklahoma, California, Colorado and Utah, where he actually broke the record just days before he turned 11. I wondered why a family would be traveling so much, especially when in most traditional clubs, kids may swim one meet per month?


As we continued to track Michael's progress, we discovered in April 2010 prior to his 12th birthday, he and his family were making a stop in Nashville, TN, on their way back from the NASA Junior Championships in Orlando, FL. It provided an opportunity for the "current" record holder in the 50LCM backstroke and the previous record holder to race against one another. What a great opportunity.


When we first saw Michael and his family, it was without question he came from good genes.  Both his parents were very tall and very athletic. His father swam with the South African "SEAL" unit there and his mother was a "Gladiator" on the British television show version. This kid came from good stock! At the time, Michael was just a shade shorter than my son and both of them were looking forward to racing each other. This would be the last time my son would get the better of Michael in most of the races.


As we continued to monitor Michael's progress, we were amazed by his ability to drop  time at every single meet he attended, with many meets occurring back to back weekends. We wondered 'how in the world?' We knew he was a big kid, but then again -  so was our son - and he wasn't dropping time like Michael. We couldn't understand how he could drop so much time at every meet, especially considering that they were driving to every meet in a Suburban and being homeschooled along the way. It just didn't seem possible. It wasn't the "traditional" way. It didn't matter what questions we would ask, it was simply evident, this kid was getting faster every week, but how?


In December 2011 Peter was interviewed by Peter Busch of Swimming World Magazine where Michael's success in achieving National Age Group records was getting noticed. Swimming World inquired about Michael's training. After watching this interview, it made perfect sense what Peter was looking to accomplish. In order for Michael to continue to set National Age Group records, he would simply take the record time, and break it down by 25 yards, in order to create a training cycle for Michael to follow, limiting the amount of rest per 25 yards in order to simulate a race experience.


This made perfect sense to me. From a mathematical philosophy, if Peter was able to break down the time Michael would need to go for each 25 yds in the race (including turns) in order to achieve the record, and if Michael was able to achieve those times in practice, then Michael should have the confidence in knowing that he would not only break a record, but question, by how much?


I mentioned this idea to my son's USA swim coach at the time (who had worked with Michael Phelps) and he dismissed the idea. His coaching philosophy followed the traditional coaching route that many other USA swim coaches followed. Train the kids hard for 6 weeks, then pick up the speed the following 6 weeks, then reduce the yardage in the final 6 weeks so they are rested by the time championships roll around. The problem with that philosophy is that, every "body" is different.


I couldn't help but think that Peter was on the right track. Not only did it make sense, but the MATH and the SCIENCE was available to back up the results. I had to research this style of training further.

In 2012 my son suffered a shoulder injury. I knew the "traditional" USA Swimming program wouldn't be good for him and could easily push him out of the sport. Even after surgery, he still wanted to swim so in his interest, I flew out to Lawrence, KS, to meet with Peter for the day and learn about his training technique, and from that time I knew there was no way my son could handle the 6000+ yards / day swimming where the kids are simply thrown into the pool and the coach pays the most attention to the swimmer who  can actually finish the day. This isn't coaching, this is survival of the fittest.


I began to train my son following the USRPT ways. Initially it was met with resistance, but after a few training sessions, my son began to benefit from training for the race, versus training to survive the practice.


As the years have passed, I have implemented the program with a high school teams and my own kids. While I'm not a total believer in Dr. Rushall's principles (dryland training) I have seen the results, and more importantly, so have my swimmers.


The problem that I believe many programs will have with USRPT is that it requires the coaches to actually "coach". It requires the coach to train each swimmer on a specific basis, but what's wrong with that? What's wrong with a coach ASKING a swimmer, 'what  events do you enjoy swimming?', 'what are your goals for swimming?', 'how can I help  you to get closer to these goals?'. This is where many of the "old school" coaches who swam 10,000 yds/ day when they swam have a problem. They don't have an interest in working at making their swimmers better.


Race Pace Swimming works. It provides kids with tracking that tells them IF they are  improving at every practice. If they normally could swim 20 X 25 free on 15 secs - and now they are able to hold 22 X 25's - THAT IS SUCCESS - and they get psyched knowing  they ARE getting faster.


Michael Andrew may not be the Messiah, but I think we've seen enough from his performances to suggest there is another way to success.


If you have a swimmer that is frustrated with their coach, training, or ability to achieve faster times, keep an eye on RacePaceSwimming.com. We are versed in the skills of USRPT and how you can translate its principles into your current club environment.


We know that race pace swimming works. We have seen results. The first step we take   with our swimmers is understanding THEIR goals. From there, we educate the swimmer on aspects of swimming that will help them achieve their goals which include making sure the swimmer is swimming the stroke correct, the importance of all 6 strokes(freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breastroke, starts and turns, and underwaters), and how training "at pace" will give them the confidence to race at their absolute best during meet season.