How I Became a Tri Swim Coach

author : Tri Swim Coach
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Kevin Koskella of www.TriSwimCoach.com gives his introduction on how he became a swim coach.

The movie “Rocky” was my first inspiration as a 6-year old to the world of sports. I watched in awe as Rocky woke up at 5 a.m., downed a couple of raw eggs, and hit the pavement while most of the city was still asleep. Nobody pushed him. His drive came from within. This inspiration led me to train for my first event, the Bay Bridge Run, a seven-mile distance from Oakland to San Francisco. At the time I became the youngest to complete the span. I was immediately hooked on competition and sports in general.

As I got older, I found that my best and favorite sport was swimming. The Olympic swimmers were my heroes. I focused and dedicated myself to the sport. This meant getting up at 5:30 a.m. many mornings, and countless hours in the pool all year round. I found success in the sprint and middle distance freestyle and backstroke events, ultimately achieving All-American status in college (top eight individual events) and was part of a few record-setting relays at University of California- Davis. 

I experimented with triathlons after college, competing in a few Olympic and Sprint triathlons. I was stunned that I could be so far ahead in the swim, only to be quickly passed by about a zillion bikes within only a few miles of exiting the water!

I started coaching masters swimmers and quickly learned that there is a huge need out there for help with completing a triathlon swim. As triathlons are generally endurance races, the general trend of masters teams — high heart rate training, tight intervals, and not much attention to stroke technique — was something I felt avoided in my coaching. No matter how fast of a swimmer you are, you cannot possibly get far enough ahead to make much of a difference if your bike and run are weak (I proved that in my races!). So I looked for a method that would allow triathletes to train for the swim efficiently, rather than muscling through the swim and having nothing left for the rest of the race.

I found out about Total Immersion when I was surfing the web for “low heart rate swim training.” This methodology- based on earlier techniques brought forth by the great swim coach Bill Boomer in the 1970’s- I found was perfect for triathlon swim training.  In my workouts I began teaching these techniques while giving swimmers enough rest so they get the most out of it.

I then began teaching freestyle swim clinics, mostly (surprise!) to triathletes and aspiring triathletes. I have written several articles on swimming and an e-book called “The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming”, which features 2 beginner-level workout plans- 1 for an Olympic Distance race, and 1 for a Half Ironman. You can purchase and download a copy of the e-book today right from my website- www.triswimcoach.com. You can also sign up for my free newsletter there!

I love helping the beginners, and I frequent the beginnertriathlete.com board often to see if I can answer swimming questions. If you have any questions, my email address is [email protected]. I will get back to you as quickly as possible. 

Stay tuned for more in the coming months!
 

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date: August 31, 2004

Tri Swim Coach

I'm at http://www.TriSwimCoach.com- a resource for beginning through intermediate level triathletes looking for help with swimming. The site features a free email newsletter offering tips and articles on triathlon swimming. I have also written an electronic book titled “The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming” and created "The Essential Triathlon Swimming DVD", both available on www.triswimcoach.com.

For a 20% DISCOUNT on Zoomers Z2 fins and Freestyler paddles, go to www.finisinc.com and use discount code ‘aggies20’ at checkout!

avatarTri Swim Coach

I'm at http://www.TriSwimCoach.com- a resource for beginning through intermediate level triathletes looking for help with swimming. The site features a free email newsletter offering tips and articles on triathlon swimming. I have also written an electronic book titled “The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming” and created "The Essential Triathlon Swimming DVD", both available on www.triswimcoach.com.

For a 20% DISCOUNT on Zoomers Z2 fins and Freestyler paddles, go to www.finisinc.com and use discount code ‘aggies20’ at checkout!

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