Training Natalie Coughlin
SPEED RACER
By Teri McKeever with Michael J. Stott
Reproduced from Swimming Technique
April-June 2003
The Teri McKeever/Natalie Coughlin combo has proven to be a potent partnership for both
Cal-Berkeley as well as USA Swimming.
I call Natalie
“Speed Racer” – and with good reason.
Not only does
she currently hold 22 world and
American
records, but also I can’t ever remember
telling her to
“pick it up”. In fact, she’s been picking
it up – and
putting it down – on the world’s best
swimmers
ever
since she returned from a shoulder
injury
that
undermined her chances for a spot on
the
2000
Olympic team.
Natalie came
to Cal with a well-deserved reputation
and
an
impressive distance training base
gained
under
Coach Ray Mitchell at Terrapins
(Concord, Calif.).
One of the great favours Ray did
Natalie was to ground her fundamentally in all four strokes and challenge her to stretch
herself.
She also arrived with a need to regain her confidence. People forget that in 1998,
Natalie had qualified for nationals in every event at every distance and was touted as
one of the bright stars in U.S. swimming.
I give her credit. Eighteen months of rehab produced a lot of doubt and pain but she
persevered aggressively in hopes of returning to an elite level. One of the positives of
that experience is that now she really listens to her body.
ID EAL CHOIC E
She will tell you that Cal has been an ideal choice. Our philosophy of power and
technique suits her creative mind. We mix and match dryland and swimming
components. Among other things, we do yoga and weights twice a week as well as
spinning, running and medicine balls.
In fact, one of Natalie’s favourite routines is a pool circuit that includes four or five
rounds running 15 metres and diving in, then sprinting seven strokes, getting out and
doing push-ups and jumping rope, sculling 50 metres long course while standing on a
kickboard, then diving into a 15-metre sprint off the blocks followed by an easy swim.
We probably do up to 50% technical work in any given training session. I don’t think
drilling necessarily means low intensity. For us, it’s a combination of drilling, kicking,
paddle work and kick swimming. A lot of her quality efforts are done kicking or kick
swimming. Earlier in her career, she had experienced success with that. We had gotten
away from it a bit and now we have gone back to it.
One of things that works well for the two of us is the sense of partnership borne of
mutual trust and respect. She is very clear about communicating her needs. She has to
coach me to be the best coach for her. We have very similar personalities. It’s good in
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the sense that I know how important it is for me to have space to myself. I can see it in
her face when she needs some space, too. My role is to coach the whole person – not
just the swimmer – because the whole person comes to train every day – not just the
swimmer.
She is also very good about processing technical information, taking it in and
working with it. She has made some technical stroke changes. Previously, she was very
linear with most of her strokes, especially as she fatigued. She had tried to “round” her
strokes more in an attempt to relieve pressure on her joints.
She gets information from a lot of different sources and uses what fits. Because of
her shoulder recovery, she arrived at Cal ready and open to embrace both technical and
training changes. That mindset was a huge asset and it allowed her to build on what
she had done before. Essentially, she looked upon it as a refinement and opportunity to
take advantage of the training resources available in a university setting.
She is very purposeful in her training. She knows what she needs to do and she just
does it from the moment she gets in for warm-up to the moment she gets out. She is
very aware of how her training – such as the yoga and spinning – will affect her
technique and how it integrates to allow her to be the best athlete possible. You don’t
have to explain that to her.
In a college setting, Natalie benefits from the team environment and the weekly
racing. She is extremely competitive. We rarely talk about times. Rather, we talk about
goals in technical terms such as working breakout cycles, hitting the 15-metre mark
and taking the proper number of kicks underwater. We do a lot of things that are not
time-related, especially in a taper mode. We will go back and rehearse pieces of her race
and maybe do 15 fast turns mixed in with easy swimming. We try to do a little bit of
long course all year.
FOCUSED ON THE PROCESS
I don’t think she is as wrapped up in winning as much as she is in the process of
getting better. If she keeps improving, the times will take care of themselves. What is
important is swimming well, developing, refining and practicing an arsenal of skills to
advance her training. It is not about volume – it’s about training to activate those skills
under stress, pressure and fatigue. That’s how I think she will get better.
Preparing for the Olympics is a 15-to-18-month goal. It’s important to have a plan for
that time, but also to break the march into manageable pieces. That includes the rest
as well as the work. She has a good balance in her life. She needs mini- as well as long
breaks. Together we plan her breaks to give her time to enjoy the experiences – be they
weekends or trips with a boyfriend or family stuff.
I think she needs time away. It’s about taking care of the whole person – and Natalie
is good at that. Our college schedule allows her to take Wednesday afternoons off and
she treats it as a “me” day and a mid-week recharge. She often goes home where she
has a great support network. There she washes laundry, sees Jake (her Boxer) and her
family and gets an emotional and spiritual recovery. It makes a real difference in how
she feels about what she is doing.
And these days winning is what she does best. She closed the summer with
sparkling performances at U.S. Nationals and Pan Pacs. She has carried that
momentum throughout the collegiate season culminating with the NCAAs, where last
year she set four individual American records and this year she set another.
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Natalie enjoys the view from the top of the podium. It’s a nice perspective for a young
woman who acknowledges she has a real opportunity to lead and inspire members of
the national team.
Teri McKeever is the women’s swimming coach at Cal-Berkeley and the primary trainer
of Natalie Coughlin since August 2000.
R ECORD S & HON OUR S
Following is a partial list of records and honours Natalie Coughlin has achieved since enrolling at
Cal
Awards
2001 Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year
2001 NCAA Swimmer of the Year
2001 Pac-10 Swimming of the Year
2001 James E. Sullivan Award finalist
2002 Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year
2002 Swimming World American Swimmer of the Year
2002 Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year
2002 Honda Sports Award
2002 James E. Sullivan Award finalist
2002 USA Swimming Athlete of the Year
2002 USA Swimming Performance of the Year
2002 NCAA Swimmer of the Year
NCAA/American Records
100 yard Freestyle: 47.00
200 yard Freestyle: 1:42.65
100 yard Backstroke: 49.97
200 yard Backstroke: 1:49.52
100 yard Butterfly: 50.01
200 yard Butterfly: 1:51.91
Short Course Metres Records
50m Backstroke: 27.08 (American Record)
100m Backstroke: 56.71 (World Record)
200m Backstroke: 2:03.62 (World Record)
50m Butterfly: 25.83 (American Record)
100m Butterfly: 56.34 (World Record)
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100m IM: 58.80 (World Record)
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Long Course Records
100m Freestyle: 53.99 (American Record)
50m Backstroke: 28.48 (American Record)
100m Backstroke: 59.58 (World Record)
200m Backstroke: 2:08.53 (American Record)
SAM PLE WORK OUTS
Typical Weekly Schedule (during College season)
Monday/Friday
6-7:45 a.m.
1:15-3:15 p.m.
Metres (aerobic/drill swim) 5,0006,000
Yards (5,500-6,500)
Tuesday/Thursday
6-6:30 a.m.
6:30-7 a.m.
7-7:50 a.m.
3-4 p.m.
4-6:15 p.m.
Speed circuit/medicine balls
Spinning/running
Yoga
Weights
Yards (5,000-6,500) power in water
Wednesday
6-7:45 a.m.
Metres (team challenge) 5,500-7,000
Saturday a.m.
Yards (5,500-7,000)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2002
(Metres)
1x400 Choice
4x150 (rest :15)
25 double arm Backstroke + 25 Backstroke
25 scull + 25 Freestyle
25 reverse swim + 25 Breaststroke or Butterfly
(1,000)
10x50
Odds IM, 3 cycles each stroke (Freestyle to wall, work stroke transitions) on :55
Evens Choice, 3 cycles fast + form to 25m mark + 3 cycles fast + form to wall
(1,500)
8x100 Kick
2 each on 2:00/1:55/1:50/1:45
(2,300)
6x200 pull
1-3: 3 Freestyle w/snorkel, paddles and band only on 2:50
4-6: 3 choice w/ paddles, buoy and band w/ 15 sec. rest
(3,500)
4x400
Odds 25 Butterfly + 75 Freestyle/25 Backstroke + 75 Freestyle/25 Breaststroke + 75
Freestyle/100 Freestyle @ 5:30
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Evens Backstroke 50 drill/50 swim
(5,100)
2x800 w/ fins + paddles (rest :30)
Odd 100s Freestyle 3 cycle blast off both walls, then breathe every five
Even 100s primary non-Freestyle 25 blast + 75 for form
(6,700)
1x300 Loosen
(7,000)
MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2003
(Yards at Maui)
1x500 Choice
5x100 continuous w/ board
Odd 100s 50K/50S
Even 100s 25K/25S
1x500 Freestyle or Backstroke w/ paddles only
25 R arm only + 25S + 25 L arm only + 25S
1x500 w/ fins continuous
Odd 100s (25 flow + 25 rhythm scull + 25 underwater recovery Butterfly + 25 Butterfly)
Even 100s (25 flow + 25 rhythm scull + 25 3 Butterfly/3 Breaststroke strokes + 25
Breaststroke)
(2,000)
Working with a partner (one is coach, one is swimmer)
4 x 6 x 25 from centre, work 5 turns and 1 finish on :40
4x50 Freestyle w/ flip turn, 1 breath @ 50 + 25 underwater pullouts, no breath on :30
Repeat turns again – switch positions (2,800)
4 x 8 x 25 choice swim (build pressure on water every two cycles) on :30
50 Freestyle (no breath, open turn) on :40
(3,800)
8x25 FAST kick on :30
50 (double arm Backstroke, 25 choice 5) on 1:00
75 FAST kick on 1:15
(5,000)
Place stretch cord at 12 yards
1x300 Backstroke underwater to cord, with odd laps K, evens S + 6x50K on :50
(FAST)
1x300 w/ paddles, odd laps K, evens S + (w/o cord) 6x50S on :45 w/ paddles
1x300 (paddles only)
Odd 100s 50D/50S + 6x50S on :40 (no equipment)
Even 100s 25D/25S
(6,800)
8x50 2 each @ :40/:45/:50/:55
(7,200)
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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2003 (Yards)
5x150 w/ last 50 non-swim + 2x25 build (rest 5 secs.)
(1,000)
5 x kick
2x50 @ :50 just to make base
1x75 @ 1:30 kick under :50 (hold :47-:49)
(1,875)
1x600 pull with paddles + buoy + band, every fourth 25 up tempo
4x50 swim, paddles only @ :45
1x400 paddles only – 50 drill/50 swim
4x50 swim, paddles only @ :40
1x200 paddles and fins 25K + 25S + 25D + 25S
4x50 swim w/ paddles and fins @ :35
(3,675)
6x75 choice of stroke (25 non-swim + 25D or K + 25S) on 1:30
25 build @ :30
50 on 200 pace (2nd or 3rd 50 of 200) @ 1:00
25 blast @ :30
25 easy @ :30
50 on 200 pace (last 50 of 200) @ 1:00
(5,175)
5 x loosen 75 (25 double arm + 50S) @ 1:30
50 (25 scull + 50 choice) @ :50
(5,800)
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