Skills IN the Set, Not Before It

By Wayne GoldsmithIntroduction:Every swimming coach does drills and skills work at the same time in their practices. We can do it differently and better!Three Critical Learning Points:* The typical structure — drills and skills first, main set second — means technique is generally practised when swimmers are fresh.* Skills that only work when rested aren’t race-ready skills.* The fix: integrate drills and technique work DURING your main sets, not before them.Time to Change!Here’s what I see at pools all over the world.Warm-up. Then drill work — catch-up, fingertip drag, six-kick switch, whatever your favourites are. Nice and controlled. Good feedback. Technical focus.Then the main set. Now it’s about fitness. Physiology. Pushing through. Technique? That was earlier.Here’s the problem.When your swimmers are doing their drills, they’re fresh. Rested. Focused. Heart rate is low. Breathing is easy. Everything is controlled.Then they get into the main set and all of that technique work goes out the window.Why? Because they’ve (we’ve) never connected those skills to fatigue.Skills that only work when rested aren’t race-ready skills.In a race, when does technique matter most?The last 25 of a 200. The third lap of a 200 fly. The back half of a distance event.That’s when technique falls apart — because we never trained it to hold together under fatigue.So here’s what I want you to try.Stop separating drills from main sets. Integrate them.Example: 10 x 100 — but every 4th one is a technique-focused 100 at controlled pace. Swimmers reset their form, refocus on one technical cue, then carry that into the next hard reps.Example: mid-set 50m drill to reset focus and form. Right in the middle of the hard work. Not before it. During it.Connect skills to fatigue. Connect technique to pressure.That’s where race-ready skills are built.Final Thoughts:We’ve been doing it backwards. Drills first, then fitness — as if they’re separate worlds. They’re not. The pool doesn’t care when you learned the skill. It only cares if you can execute it when you’re dying. Train accordingly.Two Practical Application Tips:* Insert a “technique 100” every 4th rep in your main sets. Swimmers drop the pace, focus on one technical element, then return to race pace. Keeps the skill connection alive under fatigue.* Add a mid-set drill reset. Halfway through your main set, stop and do 50m of your most important drill. Then continue. This teaches swimmers to find their technique when they’ve lost it — which is exactly what racing demands.Thanks.Wayne This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe