Split Your Main Set

More from SWIMMING GOLD All episodes →

1. 

   18 May 2026 · 5 min

   The Power of Coaching Through Questioning!

   Three Key Learning Points: * The “sage on a stage” coaching model is failing teenage athletes and contributing to the dropout crisis. * If a swimmer solves the problem they own the solution - and ownership leads to self-responsibility which changes everything. * Coaching through questioning isn’t “soft or weak” - it’s exactly how the best teachers and university lecturers operate. When you ask most adults about the coaches they had when they were growing up they will often describe very similar experiences: The coach spoke. A lot. The coach gave instructions. The coach set the program. The…

2. 

   13 May 2026 · 4 min

   Whoever Wins the Start Wins the Race

   Three Key Learning Points: * First movement matters - what part of the swimmer’s body moves first usually determines the success of their first 15 metres. * The “little hole” - hands together, feet together, body in streamline before entry. * The “ three kicks” - kick fast underwater, kick fast to the surface, kick INTO the stroke. There’s a lot of talk on the internet about swimming speed - what pure speed is, how to develop it, how to coach it. Feel free to go internet-deep-diving for what it’s worth. But here’s an old saying that still holds up: He or she who wins the start wins the race.…

3. 

   13 Apr 2026 · 8 min

   The 5 Hs: Biomechanics Made Simple

   Forget Bernoulli. Forget precise hand pitch angles. Forget complex angular analysis. Let’s make swimming biomechanics practical for every coach. The Problem With Traditional Biomechanics Education Coaching courses love to throw physics at new coaches. Bernoulli’s principle. Lift versus drag propulsion. Optimal elbow angles of 127 degrees. Angular velocity calculations. Meanwhile, in the REAL world, the coach is standing alone on deck with a whistle, 20 kids in the water and no idea how any of that “hand pitch angle” stuff helps them fix little Timmy’s freestyle. We’ve made biomechanics…

4. 

   9 Apr 2026 · 9 min

   The PACE Model: Training Zones Made Simple

   We’ve overcomplicated training zones for beginner coaches and it’s time to fix it. The Problem With Current Models Most coaching education programs throw 6 or 7 different training zones at first year coaches. Threshold, VO2 max, lactate tolerance, aerobic endurance, race pace, recovery, anaerobic power; the list goes on and on. Here’s the reality: you’ve got 25 kids in the pool, three lanes, two hours, and you’re trying to remember the difference between Zone 4a and Zone 4b. It doesn’t work. It’s not practical. And it’s not necessary; especially for coaches working with age group swimmers.…

5. 

   7 Apr 2026 · 7 min

   Skills IN the Set, Not Before It

   By Wayne Goldsmith Introduction: Every swimming coach does drills and skills work at the same time in their practices. We can do it differently and better! Three Critical Learning Points: * The typical structure — drills and skills first, main set second — means technique is generally practised when swimmers are fresh. * Skills that only work when rested aren’t race-ready skills. * The fix: integrate drills and technique work DURING your main sets, not before them. Time to Change! Here’s what I see at pools all over the world. Warm-up. Then drill work — catch-up, fingertip drag, six-kick…

6. 

   25 Mar 2026 · 8 min

   The Four Steps to Making Sure Your Swimmer's Skills Are Race Ready

   By Wayne Goldsmith Every swimming coach does some form of skills practice in their training sessions every day. For the most part, coaches focus on learning and practicing skills — but rarely test whether those skills are actually race-ready. The challenge is that there’s a big gap between doing a skill well in training and executing it under race conditions. Here are four steps to bridge that gap: 1. Learn the skill — Understand the movement. Get the basics right. 2. Practice the skill — Repeat it. Refine it. Build consistency. 3. Test the skill — Add speed. Add fatigue. Add pressure. Can…

7. 

   19 Mar 2026 · 10 min

   Dryland Training's 3 Biggest Questions

   By Wayne Goldsmith One of the hottest topics in swimming is always Dryland Training. When I speak at conferences, it’s inevitably a question from the audience. Swimming coaches have more opinions about dryland than just about anything else. Here are the three most commonly asked questions: * What are the best dryland exercises and programs? * When should we do dryland — before or after pool workouts? * At what age should young swimmers start strength training? My answers: 1. Best exercises / best programs It doesn’t matter as much as you think. Free weights, machines, body weight, pilates,…

8. 

   16 Mar 2026 · 6 min

   This Year's Backstroker is Next Year's Butterflyer.

   By Wayne Goldsmith Let’s get this right from the start: There are NO 7 year old backstrokers. There are NO 9 year old freestylers. There are NO 10 year old IMers. There are just kids who swim — who, at that point in their development, swim one specific stroke a little better than the other strokes. Now I know coaches and parents everywhere are reading this and thinking “ He’s wrong. Johnny the 8 year old just broke the club record for 50 backstroke. He’s a backstroker.” WRONG x A MILLION. Little Johnny is just an eight year old kid who, for whatever reason, happens to swim backstroke faster…

9. 

   12 Mar 2026 · 9 min

   Speed, Speed, Speed.

   By popular demand — let’s talk about speed. There’s a lot written about it. A lot talked about it. And a lot of confusion about how to actually develop it. Here are my five fundamentals of going fast, fast, fast: 1. Forget “throw your arms” I’m not a fan of that old drill where kids get on their back and just throw their arms as fast as possible. Some call it overspeed training. I don’t buy it — physiologically, biomechanically or from a skill learning perspective. It doesn’t teach anything except throwing your arms really fast. And our sport isn’t just about moving your arms quickly. It’s…

10. 

    2 Mar 2026 · 6 min

    The Best Coaching Lesson You Will Ever Learn

    By Wayne Goldsmith A lot of coaches, when they start out, focus on one thing: physiology. The body. The physical elements of swimming. They spend years looking for drills, workouts, training programs, session plans. They go to conferences. An elite coach stands up and talks about their sets and reps, their periodisation. Everyone writes it down or takes a photo of the PowerPoint. Everyone’s looking for the secret formula, the magic pill, the quick fix that’s going to turn their program into a high-performance machine. Colleagues, that’s not where your advantage is going to come from. Because…