Friday, July 16, 2021
Long Island Aquatic Club Gives Tips on Developing Athletes at all Stages
Long Island Aquatic Club (LIAC) founder, Dave Ferris, and coaching partner, Ginny Nussbaum, have been developing swimmers for over 35 years. Eight swimmers from this program qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming this year, and from that, three of the swimmers started at the Long Island Swim School, the clubs learn to swim program.
The accomplishment of developing any athlete from the beginning stages of their career to making Olympic Trials is truly a worthy feat.
So how did LIAC help these swimmers achieve their dreams of making Olympic Trials? USA Swimming sat down with both Ferris and Nussbaum, who gave some tips on how to help foster athletes at any level.
It’s a process.
Creating a reputable program at any level takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Nussbaum and Ferris both agreed it is important to find your process, evaluate it and adapt what works to other parts of your program. For them, the Long Island Swim School has been a journey where they have continuously had to add in more developmental stages to help accommodate a growing number of swimmers. Most recently, the program created stages within each group to provide opportunity for success at all levels. According to Nussbaum and Ferris, one of the joys of providing opportunities for these swimmers is knowing they are saving lives as well as building champions.
Build success from previous accomplishments.
It is vital to develop athletes at all levels, whether they are elite swimmers or learning to become safer in the water.
“Safety is the number one factor, but learning all four competitive strokes is important too,” Ferris said.
At the Long Island Swim School, once swimmers learn water safety, they can progress to stroke work. The program builds freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly into its structure to allow for long-term growth development. Nussbaum and Ferris know most of the swimmers from the swim school will not grow up and want to compete competitively, however, they could always swim for their high school swim team, or return to club swimming, because they know the basics of the four competitive strokes.
Always ask athletes to try new things.
Nussbaum and Ferris are firm believers in asking their athletes to try things they haven’t done before. Giving the athlete the control to try something new, while letting them know it is ok to be scared, can help athletes feel encouraged, know they can safety make mistakes and provide the encouragement to accomplish goals.
“Failure is ok, not trying isn’t ok,” Ferris said.
Nussbaum and Ferris note breaking down the feeling of being scared can be widely successful in athlete development. Specifically, giving advice on how to overcome negative feelings and to think of them more simply. An example is comparing nervousness and excitement: both feel the same but only one is a negative emotion.
Bonus tip: Breath control is huge!
Learning breath control is extremely beneficial not only in elite swimming, but also in water safety. By helping an athlete accomplish breath control, you are setting a foundation for their development long after learning how to swim. This is a skill that helps save lives.
The Long Island Swim School allows children to attend lessons at two locations, both of which are run by individuals who grew up within the LIAC family. That alone helps show what type of program Ferris and Nussbaum have created – a truly special, goal driven and champion level club.
Congratulations to all the swimmers who attended U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming!
The accomplishment of developing any athlete from the beginning stages of their career to making Olympic Trials is truly a worthy feat.
So how did LIAC help these swimmers achieve their dreams of making Olympic Trials? USA Swimming sat down with both Ferris and Nussbaum, who gave some tips on how to help foster athletes at any level.
It’s a process.
Creating a reputable program at any level takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Nussbaum and Ferris both agreed it is important to find your process, evaluate it and adapt what works to other parts of your program. For them, the Long Island Swim School has been a journey where they have continuously had to add in more developmental stages to help accommodate a growing number of swimmers. Most recently, the program created stages within each group to provide opportunity for success at all levels. According to Nussbaum and Ferris, one of the joys of providing opportunities for these swimmers is knowing they are saving lives as well as building champions.
Build success from previous accomplishments.
It is vital to develop athletes at all levels, whether they are elite swimmers or learning to become safer in the water.
“Safety is the number one factor, but learning all four competitive strokes is important too,” Ferris said.
At the Long Island Swim School, once swimmers learn water safety, they can progress to stroke work. The program builds freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly into its structure to allow for long-term growth development. Nussbaum and Ferris know most of the swimmers from the swim school will not grow up and want to compete competitively, however, they could always swim for their high school swim team, or return to club swimming, because they know the basics of the four competitive strokes.
Always ask athletes to try new things.
Nussbaum and Ferris are firm believers in asking their athletes to try things they haven’t done before. Giving the athlete the control to try something new, while letting them know it is ok to be scared, can help athletes feel encouraged, know they can safety make mistakes and provide the encouragement to accomplish goals.
“Failure is ok, not trying isn’t ok,” Ferris said.
Nussbaum and Ferris note breaking down the feeling of being scared can be widely successful in athlete development. Specifically, giving advice on how to overcome negative feelings and to think of them more simply. An example is comparing nervousness and excitement: both feel the same but only one is a negative emotion.
Bonus tip: Breath control is huge!
Learning breath control is extremely beneficial not only in elite swimming, but also in water safety. By helping an athlete accomplish breath control, you are setting a foundation for their development long after learning how to swim. This is a skill that helps save lives.
The Long Island Swim School allows children to attend lessons at two locations, both of which are run by individuals who grew up within the LIAC family. That alone helps show what type of program Ferris and Nussbaum have created – a truly special, goal driven and champion level club.
Congratulations to all the swimmers who attended U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming!