Boris Fernandez

THE LITTLE THINGS BY:BORIS FERNANDEZ

I’ve been swimming with a friend of mine for seven years. I’ve always admired his technique and feel for the water. One day he took a very expensive and intensive triathlon seminar. When he came back from the seminar he started swimming with a bilateral breathing pattern. I asked him about it and he told me that it is more effective. Even though I knew this breathing pattern to be more efficient I was unable at that time to do it. He said, ”Boris, if I can do it, you can do it.” Two years later I was still unable to do the bilateral breathing during hard efforts. Then, something wonderful happened. I was invited to be an assistant coach at a Total Immersion Swim seminar. During one practice session of the seminar the head instructor was speaking about finishing the end push of the stroke to the side and a little short. This went completely against what I had learned during all my swimming years. I was always told to finish the end of the stroke next to my hip with a vigorous effort. However, always willing to try new things in search of an edge I tested the new technique. When I applied his suggestion to my stroke much to my surprise the stroke felt smoother and I was able to breathe easily to both sides. When I asked the head instructor he told me that I had been overreaching in the push phase of the stroke. With this new information incorporated into my stroke I now understand why it had been so difficult for me to recover my arms at high cadence during fast triathlon swims. So, half an inch shorter and half an inch to the side really made a difference. So simple and seemingly insignificant and yet it made all the difference. Another example of a seemingly insignificant change that made a big difference in my stroke was my head position. I always stressed the importance of keeping the head flat looking straight down toward the bottom of the pool. This was done in order to keep a horizontal body position in the water. As a swimming coach I understood this on an intellectual level. As a swimmer I did not understand it on a kinesthetic or experiential level until my friend from the Olympic Training Center brought me back to reality. He told me I did not, in fact, swim with my head down although I espoused this particular technique and swore that I practiced it diligently. However, when we did an experiment with my legs tied together at the ankles and I swam forward my legs began to sink like a cement block. He then told me to put my head further down than before, which to me seemed like I was in a diving position (of course it only felt that way to me). I then swam and my legs rose back up to a horizontal position effortlessly. What an eye opener it was for me all these years thinking I was executing this particular facet of my swim and yet I was far from it. Seemingly small, a half an inch deeper in the water with my head position made a huge difference in overall body positioning. I share these two anecdotes with you to relay to you the importance of the little things in sports and in life. The old saying, “It’s the little things in life that count” holds as true today as it did when originally written. So pay attention and don’t be afraid to ask for and accept a neutral party’s outside help. Be willing to change even just a little and the results may indeed surprise you.