Product Description

"Crowood Sports Guides" provide sound, practical advice that will help make you a better sportsperson whether you are learning the basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the fundamentals of your sport. Featured in this book are: information boxes containing key points and top tips; sequence photographs and detailed diagrams in colour; a thorough analysis of the four strokes [Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle]; starts and turns analysis, including the individual Medley; valuable advice on techniques, coaching, drills, training, tapering, nutrition, and competition psychology; and an introduction to rules and equipment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #280357 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

About the Author
Alan Lynn is a highly experienced coach and coach educator. He was the Technical Director of Scottish Swimming, was sportscotland Coach of the Year in 1999, and has coached swimmers up to Olympic level. He is currently a Lecturer in Coaching & Sports Development in the Scottish School of Sports Studies, University of Strathclyde.

Customer Reviews

Disappointed
I didn't find this book particularly helpful. It covers all the strokes and turns but the diagrams are not supported by enough script to explain them.

Of course it always depends on what you are looking for from a book. In my case i've just taken up swimming again after nearly 30 years having not swum competitively, or regularly, since age 11. I've now been swimming from between 3-5 times a week for 6 months and rely very much on energy to cover up for poor technique. Speedwise i'm reasonably comfortable doing 100m f/c repeats off 1 min 55 sec but would like to get that down.

Pool time alone won't do this so I need to understand what builds up a technique and how to get more streamlined to swim more efficiently. Although the diagrams here show the various stages of all the strokes it does not explain them clearly to help put those diagrams into practice. There are also missing links in those diagrams some of which can only be described in words...that are not there. There are also not enough corrective or other drills to help perfect each element of the stroke.

The book goes on to recommend diets and preparation for competition, but i've not gone into those sections, the former being a more individual science (not one that can be effectively generalised) and the latter because i don't swim competitively.

As I say, it's horses for courses but i'd have thought this would be a bit sparse in content even for a beginner. Not an easy read.