Successful Training Camp in Spain for Swimmers
Eighteen members of East Lothian Swim Team returned from an intensive training camp in Spain last Friday, where, in just six days they had completed twelve two-hour pool sessions, twelve land-based workouts and clocked up to 73,000m in the pool.
At home, the swimmers, aged 12-19 would normally swim between 36,000m and 45,000m in 6-9 pool sessions per week depending on age and the training focus at any given time. The warm weather training camp gave Head Coach Bruce Halloran the opportunity to push the athletes much harder than normal, increasing the number of training sessions as well as the actual mileage covered in each session. Twelve hours of land-based work complemented the pool training in Torremolinos compared to the 3-4 hours land training done in a normal week at home. The land regime included boxing circuits, core strength circuits as well as ‘extreme tapout’, a combination of cardio, strength, core and power exercises described by one swimmer as “brutal”. Weights in the gym were the final ingredient for the oldest athletes on the camp. The intensive effort demanded of the athletes on the six day camp was key preparation for the second half of the season, in particular for the Scottish National Age Group Championships which will take place in April in Aberdeen.
Their return to Scotland brought no rest for the group, as the next day duty called many of them back to poolside, this time in Prestonpans, helping to run a novice gala organised by East Lothian Swim Team.
The annual ELST Novice Meet gives younger or less experienced swimmers a chance to compete in a supportive environment. Senga Restorick, Head Coach at Haddington & District Swimming Club, who helps organise the meet which caters for swimmers from the Lothians, Edinburgh, the Borders and Fife, says it fills an important niche in the competition calendar,
“It can be hard for younger swimmers to start competing either because they don’t have accredited times or aren’t fast enough to qualify for other meets. Also, at the ELST Novice Meet swimmers are generally given feedback rather than being disqualified if they make a mistake so they aren’t put off from competing again.”
ELST Chair Stephen Lissaman emphasised the importance of the meet to the his team’s ethos saying,
“We have a team of accomplished swimmers who compete at district and national level, but it’s important that we stay connected to the wider swimming community in the region. All of our swimmers were once novices with local clubs. Hopefully they can remember the excitement and nerves of a first competition so it’s great when they support younger swimmers who don’t know the ropes so well.”
Bruce Halloran, ELST Head Coach emphasises that he sees supporting team fundraising events and contributing to the sport more generally as being fundamental to the culture of the team.
“We set high standards for our swimmers both in and outside the pool. In Spain, the athletes formed a strong, cohesive group who worked really hard to prepare for the rest of the season, in particular Scottish National Age Group Championships. Of course we focus on developing swimmers with the fitness and technical proficiency to be in a performance squad. But ELST is also about creating a culture of professionalism and commitment and I expect our athletes to give something back to their sport. Being a credit to your team is about more than individual performance.”
