Olympic Champions Talk About “The Basics” of Synchronized Swimming

Sarah & Karen Josephson at the esynchro booth
at the 2014 Age Group Nationals in Seattle.

ANA Synchro had the pleasure of talking to Olympians Karen & Sarah Josephson at Age Group Nationals this past July in Seattle, WA.  And it was clear that they are as passionate as ever about the sport of synchronized swimming, which took them all over the world as our country’s top duet, and which took them to the medal stand in not one, but two Olympic Games – gold in ’92/Barcelona and silver in ‘88/Seoul!

Today, the Josephson sisters, along with sports performance expert Duke Zielinski and long-time synchro official and philanthropist Carol Valles, are putting their talent, expertise, and energy into esynchro, an outstanding collection of printed and on-line resources for basic synchro training.  They have instructional videos and handbooks on safe and effective stretching techniques, figures, swimming strokes, and more.   

ANA Synchro:  At the start of our season in the fall, our coaches spend a lot of time on “basics,” like verticals, sculling, and eggbeatering.  What can you tell our athletes and their parents to help them get through this learning period, when they probably would prefer getting straight to the new routine or taking turns on top of lifts?

Sarah:  Everyone wants to do the cool stuff now!  But you have to swim first, and then you get to do the cool stuff.  It’ll make you better at the cool stuff!  Duke has a saying:  “Advanced techniques are nothing more than basic techniques performed to perfection.”  Once you learn how to do a back scull, for example, it doesn’t change when you get to an elite level.  You still do the same back scull.  You still do the same vertical scull.  So it’s really important to get those basics down.  The basic skills are one of the things I think we’ve lost in this country.

Karen:  To get successful in anything, you have to put the time in on the basic skills.  Life will be easier if you work on getting those basic skills really good.  It’s like learning to read.  You learn early, and then it’s a breeze.

ANA Synchro Coach gets in the water to help our youngest
swimmers get comfortable with the basics of the sport. 

ANA Synchro:  But it seems like the basic skills are all underwater, where judges aren’t looking.  Does it really matter what happens underwater, as long as you can do the moves well above the water?

Sarah:  Yes, it matters.  For example, to me, there is a very efficient way of tucking underwater and getting to the surface quickly.  But when I watch the girls today, I see many girls just sprawling out of a position now, which slows them down.  And when they torpedo down the pool, they should be able to shoot out and travel down the pool very quickly. 

Karen:  If someone doesn’t have good technique, they look like they’re just plowing through the water, and they’re not moving as far, or as fast, as they should.

Sarah:  Watch the Russian National team.  The strength and power of their kicks to move themselves down the pool are just so much more impressive than most of the rest of the world at this point.  That’s just basic swimming technique.

ANA Synchro coaches spend some practice time on stroke
technique because the better swimmer you are, the
better synchronized swimmer you'll be.

ANA Synchro:  Basic swimming technique?  Are we talking freestyle?  The common strokes?

Sarah:  Definitely.  It’s swimming.  It might be synchronized swimming, but it’s still swimming.  I think we forget that sometimes.  The better swimmer you are, the better synchronized swimmer you’ll be.

Karen:  Back when we were competing, we spent a lot of time with Matt Biondi, and he spent a lot of time on technique.  He made sure every finger was right when he entered the water.  That’s why he could win.  His training to the technique was exactly precise.  And it’s the same in Synchro.  It really needs to be that precise. 

ANA Synchro:  As you know, USA Synchro evaluates athletes on a specific set of skills, both land-based and water-based, to determine who will earn a spot on one of our national teams.  For girls who aspire to that, should they focus on just those specific skills?

Karen:  We’re big on not just training one specific movement.   You have to train all around.  Sitting in a split, for example, doesn’t necessarily make your split better.  You need to stretch out different ways.  It’s not just the one exact movement.  When you do just the one movement, that’s when you tend to get injured.  Because in Synchro, you are never just doing a straight leg lift.  You might be doing a leg left while swinging it around.  So you have to be all-around fit.  Synchro is really whole body fitness, not direct straight line moves.

ANA Synchro athletes get evaluated a couple times
a year so they can know when they improve and what
they still need to work on.

ANA Synchro:  Last year on our team, though, we started quarterly evaluations to measure how people are doing against particular skills.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Sarah:  A good thing!  Not every club does this, and I think they should.  In timed sports, you have a time, and you know if you get it or not.  In basketball, you know if you score a bunch of baskets.  It’s much more quantitative.  In Synchro, it’s not.  And there aren’t meets or competitions every weekend like other sports.  So evaluations give kids an easy way to set goals.  They can see where they are at this point and what they need to do to get to the next level.  It gives them something to measure.  Still, at the end of the day, Synchro is a subjective, judged sport, but there are objective ways to judge it to improve upon the skills to get where you want to go.

ANA Synchro likes to kick off its season with a fun social
activity.  This year's choice - a group trampoline event!

ANA Synchro:  What would you like to tell kids involved in this sport?

Sarah:  All the way it should be fun.  It’s an activity.  It doesn’t mean you can’t work hard, but it should be fun.  You should enjoy the challenges of working on things, learning new skills, and working with teammates. 

ANA Synchro:  What would you like to tell parents whose kids are involved in this sport?

Karen:  Make sure there’s enjoyment and improvement.  Are they getting better?  Are they working toward goals?  Not just randomly working, which is sort of an easy thing to do in Synchro if you just start working on a routine without knowing if you got any better.  And it’s quality of practice not quantity of hours.  More hours does not necessarily mean getting better.  It can just be exhausting the kids thoroughly.  And, if there are more hours, are they really working in the pool or just hanging out?  You can get a lot done in a few hours.

Synchronized swimming - a blend of athleticism,
technical skills and artistry.

ANA Synchro:  Finally, tell us what you love about synchronized swimming.

Sarah:  I think it’s that balance between athleticism and the technical skills and the artistry.  The choreography is just a way to show off your athletic and technical skills.  It’s the creative part with the technical part.  That balance is cool.

Check out eSynchro at their website:  www.esynchro.com

Synchro Skills Evaluations Explained

When Head Coach Leah Pinette arrived on the scene of ANA Synchro for the 2013-2014 season, one of the first things she did was implement a regular evaluation of fundamental synchro skills for all the athletes.  “I think the girls were a little hesitant at first because they thought we would use the results to select athletes for small routines and team routines,” says Pinette.  “But once I told them ‘no,’ this has nothing to do with routines, that it’s just information for them as athletes, they started to understand the value.”

Head Coach Leah Pinette uses evaluation results
to show ANA Synchro athletes how they've improved
over the year and what they still need to work on.

ANA Synchro recently kicked off its 2014-2015 season, and once again, one of the first things the athletes did was – you guessed it – evaluations!  ANA Synchro athletes are right now receiving their individual evaluation reports from their coaches, and this blog article is to help athletes and parents understand the evaluation report, the skills themselves, and why we do evaluations.

ANA Synchro:  Why are skills evaluations important?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  Because synchro athletes need something to know how they’re doing and what their strengths and weaknesses are.  Synchro is a subjectively judged sport at competitions, which can make it difficult for athletes to see their progress.  But skills evaluations – especially repeated, regular ones like we have implemented – give the girls some objective ways of tracking their development as athletes.

ANA Synchro athletes work on "V-Up's" for a strong core.

ANA Synchro:  What exactly are they being evaluated on?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  We measure core building block skills that are the foundation for high performance and injury prevention.  There are six land-based skills – push-ups, V-ups, right split, left split, bridge, which is like a backbend, and headstand.  And seven water-based skills – ballet leg, eggbeater, torpedo, bent-knee vertical, double-leg vertical, water split, and 200 individual medley (200-IM) swim.  I know some of those terms may be unfamiliar to parents.  Several are described in an earlier blog entry, and I encourage parents to ask their kids about them or even to demonstrate them at home.

A person who is strong out of the water
will be strong in the water!

ANA Synchro:  Why are land-based skills even part of a synchronized swimming evaluation? Shouldn’t we just focus on water skills since being in the water is what we do?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  If an athlete is strong out of the water, they’re going to be strong in the water.  If you really look at the land-based skills, collectively, they are measuring strength, core, and flexibility.  These are the very qualities an athlete needs to hold verticals in the water, have good height in the water, and move quickly through the water.  Pretty much everything they do in the water is affected by how well they can do the land-based activities, which is why we have land-training every week as regular practice and which is why we include them in the regular evaluations.

A Synchro "Bridge" - not your ordinary backbend!

ANA Synchro:  OK, so what’s the measure of all these skills?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  It varies by skill.  For push-up’s and V-up’s, we measure how many they can do in 30 seconds – in proper position, of course.  Right and left splits are judged 0-5, with 5 being a perfect flat-split position.  Bridge is on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being a perfect position – feet together, knees straight, arms in the 12 o’clock position.  A perfect bridge is really hard!  And it requires great back flexibility.  The headstand is also judged 0-10, with 10 being a perfect hold, with no wavering, for 20 seconds.

Bent-Knee Vertical -
one of 7 water skills.

ANA Synchro:  And the water skills?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  With the exception of the 200 IM, which is just a straight time measure, all the water skills have multiple, measurable components to them.  Ballet leg, for example…we measure how long they can hold the position, the height of the leg, and the quality of their extension.  Some girls have good height but need to work on extension, or vice versa.  So, by giving a score to each aspect of the skill, the girls and their coaches know exactly what they have to work on.

ANA Synchro:  Who determined what a “5” or a “10” is or how high a leg should be out of the water? 

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  USA Synchro has a point system for the skills that they use to determine who gets to be on the national team, so we have adopted that.  We’re talking the “national” team here, so we are definitely holding our girls up to a very high standard.  I tell athletes all the time that they should not get discouraged if they see a zero or a low score on their report.  They are doing things they’ve never done before so everyone is going to start with low scores.  It’s just an indicator of what they need to work on.  I can’t emphasize enough that these standards are very challenging. 

Coaches evaluate ANA Synchro athletes about three
times a season to help them track their development.

ANA Synchro:  Is it just you evaluating the girls?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  We try to have three coaches to give independent scores, and then we average them together for a final, combined score.  The report that people get will show the three scores as well as the average.  And, in some cases, the report will also include some judges’ notes and comments to help the girls – things like distance off the floor, if a move was performed too fast, etc.

ANA Synchro:  Is all this really worth it?  Don’t evaluations just take time away from working on routines and figures?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  Evaluations do take time out of practice, that’s for sure.  But I definitely think it’s worth it.  When you just do routines, you can go all season without knowing if you individually made any gains or not.  By regularly evaluating the girls, they get a good sense of where they were when they came into the season and how they progressed throughout.  Having that knowledge should be both satisfying and motivating at the same time. 

ANA Synchro:  You have a whole year of data from last year…did people improve measurably?

Head Coach Leah Pinette:  Yes!  This has been a great experience for me, too, seeing where we were as a team at the beginning of last season and where we are now.  Together, we’ve come very far on torpedo, verticals – everything really.  You know, no one becomes a great athlete overnight, no matter what the sport.  And, you can ask any accomplished athlete – they’re always working to improve on something.  When I was competing, I always had to spend extra time and effort on height.  At only 5’2”, I had to be the highest to be even with everyone else!

These evaluations are just one part of a bigger process to develop these young girls into not just athletes, but successful young women.  The lessons they get out of it – acknowledging weaknesses as just something to work on, accepting coaching help, making goals, working hard, celebrating accomplishments – are life lessons.  True, they’ll help their synchro season today, but they’ll benefit just about anything they want to do later in life as well.

Synchro Terminology – Competition & Performances

In Part 1 of this two-part series, ANA Synchro defined the terms used to describe our sport’s most basic moves.  In this final part, we define competition and performance-related terms.

Routine - a choreographed sequence of moves that a swimmer performs to music. Routines can feature one swimmer (solo), two swimmers (duet), three swimmers (trio), 4-8 swimmers (team), or 8-10 swimmers (combo).

Combo - a special type of team routine featuring 8-10 girls that is choreographed to showcase a blend of traditional team swimming and small routine swimming.  Any combination of the 10 swimmers may perform different parts of a combo, which opens up some neat possibilities for story-telling and choreography and makes combos both interesting to watch and challenging to perform.  Combos used to be done rarely – only at particular meets that allowed them.  But USA Synchro has added combos to the Junior Olympics (the new name for the age group national championships), so more teams, including ANA Synchro, will now be doing them.

Walkout & Deckwork – refers to how the athletes walk out onto the deck when it is their turn to swim at a competition and the pose they strike on deck.  How a team walks out and their deckwork are not usually judged, but it is the first opportunity for athletes to show judges who they are as a team.  Therefore, the athletes will choreograph and practice it just like everything else to make it as impressive as possible.  Deckwork is limited to 10 seconds, and all athletes must maintain contact with the deck with at least one extremity, but other than that, teams can be as creative as they want. 

Pop-Up, also known as Boost - the move when a synchronized swimmer uses her strong leg muscles to propel herself straight up out of the water (without touching the bottom of the pool, of course!).  Judges look for how high the athletes get out of the water, along with how much control they maintain throughout the move.

Lift - an exciting move where one athlete is lifted out of the water by her teammates who are still underwater.  A lift can be stationary, where the athlete on top remains in contact with her teammates throughout the move, or it can be a “throw lift” where she actually launches away from them, allowing her to dive, flip or do some other move to thrill the judges and the audience.

Head Coach Leah Pinette demonstrates
a back flip at last year's annual show!

Base - anyone underwater, at the bottom of a lift.  Girls who take a turn as a base quickly learn the strength and coordination needed to propel someone out of the water, all without touching the bottom of the pool!

Flyer - the person on top of a lift.  Our own Head Coach Leah was the “flyer” for our USA National Team, which meant she routinely did back flips and other exciting moves.  Athletes interested in being a flyer often do additional specialty gymnastics training to learn and perfect the acrobatics.

Coach Leah wants all the older girls to learn how
to knox themselves (left).  First-time knoxer (right).  

Knox - the gel-like substance in the swimmer’s hair to keep it in place during a routine performance.  The swimmer’s hair is put up into a tight bun and then secured with bobby pins and a hairnet.  Knox is prepared by mixing packets of unflavored gelatin with hot water to make a gel, which is then combed into and painted onto the hair.   ***Pre-team members do not have to knox!***  Intermediate and Age Group athletes knox for all meets and the show.

A routine's music will often inspire the design of the suit.
The duet on the left swam to "Sailor" music, and the team
on the right swam to the pirate-themed music from "Hook."

Routine Suit & Headpiece - a swimsuit, often decorated with glitter and gems, that a swimmer wears during a routine performance or competition.  Routine suits are designed to match the routine’s music selection and choreography, so they can help tell the story.  A matching headpiece is typically worn around the bun to complete the look.  The coaches welcome input from creative swimmers with ideas for routine suits!  We even did a blog entry on this very topic! 

Are there more synchro terms you wish you knew more about?  Email us at synchroana@gmail.com or write your ideas in the comments section below, and we’ll try to feature them in an upcoming blog!

Synchro Terminology – Basic Moves

It doesn’t take long for a synchro swimmer to start talking a new language at home!  Does this sound familiar?:  “Hey Mom and Dad!  Today I learned how to scull to hold a vertical so I can one day do a nice hybrid.  And I’m really tired from all that eggbeatering!  What’s for dinner?”  The language of synchro!

In this first of two parts, ANA Synchro demystifies the terminology used in our sport for its most basic moves.  Our youngest athletes start learning these techniques right away for a solid foundation from which to grow.  And our most experienced athletes continue to strengthen their basic techniques so they can more effortlessly do the more complicated and flashy synchro moves.

Eggbeatering under the water allows athletes to perform
artistic movements above the water.

Eggbeater - the alternating, circular movement of the legs that keeps a swimmer’s upper body steady and out of the water during a routine.  Some people may think it is simply “treading water,” but it requires much more core than ordinary treading and involves a specific technique – just like the motion of the eggbeater in your kitchen – that allows for athletic and artistic movements above the water.

Sculling - the propulsive moves a swimmer makes with her hands and forearms.  In synchronized swimming, we have about 10 different types of sculls for different purposes.  Some enable you to stay stationary while executing a move with your legs; others allow you to spin; still others enable you to travel through the water.

Athletes accomplish the difficult vertical position
by support sculling underwater.

Vertical - the position where both legs are together and above the surface of the water.  Athletes achieve this difficult position by engaging their core and using the support scull motion with their arms.  Many increasingly difficult moves are possible once an athlete has mastered a basic vertical.

The Ballet Leg Position - athletes are laying on the
water with one leg perpendicular to the surface.

Ballet Leg - a position where the swimmer is ‘laying’ on the surface of the water and one leg is perpendicular to their body.  Requires flexibility, core control, and strong sculling technique.  Anyone who doubts whether synchro is hard should try a “simple-looking” ballet leg next time they’re in the pool!

Athletes spend much time working on figures because
they account for 50% of their score at competitions.

Figures - a collection of the most basic moves of synchro which are performed in a very slow, controlled fashion in competitions.  Figures are important to practice because they account for half of a routine’s final score at a competition.  There are 8 different figures for each age group, and they get progressively more difficult as girls get older.

Hybrid - a sequence of leg movements performed while the swimmer is underwater in a routine.  A typical hybrid can last 10-15 seconds, with the most challenging lasting about 30-40 seconds.  Hybrids, especially long hybrids, require synchronized swimmers to have a high aerobic capacity as well as flexibility, core control, and strength to maintain muscle control throughout the movement.

Readers – are there other synchro terms that you’re wondering about?  Write to us in the comments section below or send us an email to synchroana@gmail.com, and we’ll try to feature them in an upcoming blog!

And stay tuned for Part 2 of Synchro Terminology where we’ll define terms used in synchro competitions and performances.

Summer Synchro!

The competition part of the season may have just ended, but ANA Synchro athletes will not be idle all summer!  Head Coach Leah Pinette wants to share three options for keeping synchro-fit this summer, some combination of which should fit just about everybody’s vacation, camp, and simply hanging-out-in-the-summer plans:

1.  Do some stretching and conditioning on your own, emphasizing and practicing the proper technique that was taught all last year. 
2. Practice pool skills at our weekly clinics, which have been specifically set up to run weekly to accommodate families’ travel.
3. Two Olympians are better than one!  ANA Synchro will be hosting a clinic the week of August 18th with guest coach Mary Killman, our 2012 USA Olympian and current collegiate champion in synchronized swimming. What could be better than spending a week with 2 synchro Olympic athletes, our very own Coach Leah and Mary Killman!

ANA Synchro:  First, we have to ask….Really?  Synchro in the summer?  Don’t the girls deserve the summer off?

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  I totally understand when girls, and their families, just want to take a break for the summer.  And resting your body after what can be a grueling season is definitely a good thing, especially for anyone who is injured.  At the same time, summer is the perfect time, since there aren’t any competitions, to work on getting the right techniques down for both land and water activities.  This, combined with general conditioning, can give the girls an excellent base for the fall season. 

Head Coach Leah Pinette encourages
her athletes to get outside this summer!

ANA Synchro:  Tell us what the girls can be doing at home or when they’re away at camp or on vacation.

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  Just be active!  Synchronized swimming is a non-weight-bearing activity, so adding some weight-bearing activity would be good.  Good weight-bearing activities could include running, playing soccer, weight-lifting – basically anything that requires you to exercise with more than your own body weight.  And get outside!  Personally, I love hiking.  AllTrails  is a great resource that I use to find hiking trails around home and wherever I travel.

ANA Synchro:  What about activities if the girls are indoors, just catching up on their favorite TV shows?

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  They can be working on getting the perfect squat in preparation for next season.  The girls know I love the squat because it helps to balance out all the front-facing moves we do in synchro.  Andrew Cannon, the physical therapist who has been helping us with injury prevention, gave us a helpful video to illustrate the proper way to do a squat. 

ANA Synchro:  What about stretching?  Synchronized swimmers probably need to be stretching all the time, right?

Head Coach Leah Pinette demonstrating the proper flat split position,
with hips square, front leg up, back leg down, and nice posture.

IMPROPER flat split position with hips rolled out.

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  Yes.  We want the girls to achieve flat splits, but in the proper position, which is up and down, not sideways.  Sideways, or “rolled out” as we say, actually works different muscles than you use for a proper flat split, and it creates imbalances.  So we want the girls thinking more about alignment of their legs, keeping their hips square, and maintaining a nice posture when stretching.  Stretching from a proper position will feel differently than from an improper one – and they may not be able to get down as far when they first start doing it properly; but in the long run, it’s better if they just go as far as they can using the proper technique.

ANA Synchro:  Tell us about your weekly pool workouts this summer.

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  To accommodate camps and vacation, we are inviting girls to sign up by the week for pool workouts.  We have pool time Monday through Friday all summer long, and we want to work on swimming technique, sculling technique, basics like the support scull, and figures.  We will be tailoring the content of each week based on who signs up.

ANA Synchro:  Swimming technique?  Why do synchro athletes need good stroke technique?

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  General swimming technique matters a lot!  After all, what we do might be “synchronized,” but it’s still “swimming.”  When someone is a better/stronger swimmer, it shows in any synchronized swimming performance.  Athletes will have better speed, better endurance, smoother transitions, and they’ll be less prone to injury if they have better swimming technique.  We are fortunate to have two coaches, Meaghan and Erica, who did speed swimming in college and who will be around this summer to coach.  They have been invaluable in passing along swimming tips.  Plus, we will be sharing pool time with the Y’s Hurricanes Swim Team, so I hope to tap into their coaches’ expertise and knowledge as well.

ANA Synchro:  What is “sculling” and what does it have to do with synchronized swimming?

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  Sculling refers to the propulsive moves a swimmer makes with her hands and forearms.  In synchronized swimming, we have about 10 different types of sculls for different purposes.  Some enable you to stay stationary while executing a move with your legs; others allow you to spin; still others enable you to travel through the water.  It can look effortless, especially the way some of the more experienced athletes do it, but I assure you it’s very difficult.  And sculling can be a challenge to teach because it can be a little different swimmer to swimmer.  A swimmer really has to find the motion that works and is efficient for their particular body.  You don’t think of a liquid like water being something you can “grab,” but that’s how we talk about it – finding the right “grab” or “pull” in the water with a scull.

ANA Synchro:  Finally, about the clinic in August…If girls have been working on conditioning and stretching all summer, and if the season is just about to start, why should they also sign up for a clinic?

Olympian Mary Killman (center, yellow) will be joining
Head Coach Leah Pinette (right, blue) in coaching a clinic in August.

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  You get everything in a full-day clinic like the one we will host.  You get synchro skills; you get land activities; you get seminars.  We’re also looking to do Pilates, some dance, and some yoga.  All of these cross-training activities are great for synchro; we just don’t have time for them in normal practice.  So, a full-day clinic is a great way to expose the girls to many different training techniques from different instructors, and they’ll be able to say what they liked and what worked well for their body.  We are thrilled to have Mary Killman help us out with this year’s clinic.  Mary went to the Olympics in 2012 and, earlier this year, helped Lindenwood University win the collegiate championship.  I know Mary, and she will not only be an excellent teacher for the girls, she will undoubtedly inspire them all to do their best.

ANA Synchro:  How do people sign up for the weekly pool workouts and the August clinic?

Leah Pinette (Head Coach):  You can call the front desk of the Y (978-685-3541) or go on-line to register for the weekly pool workouts.  Go to http://mvymca.org/; click on “Program Registration” in the upper right; type in “synchro” to the search box; click on “Synchro Clinic”; and choose the week or weeks you want to sign up for.  And you can go to our website, anasynchro.org to download the flyer and the sign-up form for the August clinic.  Interested athletes can email me (lpinette@mvymca.org) with any questions.

Preparing for Fall High School Swimming

Come fall, high school age ANA Synchro athletes often join their school’s speed swimming teams in addition to returning to synchro.  But does competitive racing really mix well with synchro?  “Yes!” says ANA Synchro Head Coach Leah Pinette, who swam on her high school swim team while maintaining synchro as her primary sport.  “It’s a great conditioning tool for the beginning of the season.  When I tried out, I didn’t really know the proper techniques or how to start and turn properly.  Being on the racing team helped me develop good stroke technique, which, in turn, helped my synchro.”   Pinette still holds records at her alma mater in the 200 free relay and 400 free relay.

ANA Synchro athlete
Evan Costanzo swims
 for Central Catholic
High School  in
addition to synchro.

“Speed swimming allows us to focus on our personal best,” says rising sophomore and Central Catholic High School Raider Evan Costanzo, commenting on the individualized nature of racing.  “Like synchro, we set important goals, but, unlike synchro where we really have to work as a group, we learn to achieve them independently in speed swimming.  I also enjoy all the team bonding and school spirit that you acquire throughout the season.”

Read on as ANA Synchro talks to Andover High School Head Coach Marilyn Fitzgerald and North Andover High School Head Coach Erin Cammann about what synchro athletes can be doing over the summer to prepare for high school swim team training camp in August.

ANA Synchro:  Do synchronized swimmers make good competitive racers?

Coach Fitzgerald:  Over the years we've had many girls crossover from synchronized swimming to swimming for Andover High School, and it’s an easy transition. I am gleeful when I get synchro girls to be on the team.  The one thing they have that I like to use as an example to all of the kids on the team is phenomenal breath control, which is so important for going into and out of your turns in a competitive race.   And they have a great ability to streamline, which is something they've learned since they joined synchro, so I don't have to spend much time explaining that concept to them.

Coach Erin: I agree with Marilyn! We love it when we hear there are synchro girls coming to NAHS.  They may not have racing experience, but they are so comfortable in the water that they pick up on racing skills really quickly.  Some kids get in the pool and think they need to splash a lot in order to go anywhere.  Then you look at the synchro girls-- they just glide along and make it look easy. They instinctively know how to be smooth and efficient when they move through the water.

ANA Synchro athletes (l-r) Grace Alwan, Sophia Ju,
and Nicole Carzo will trade their glitter & sequins
for the blue & gold of Andover High as they take on
the challenge of high school speed swimming this fall
with Head Coach Marilyn Fitzgerald (l) and
Head Diving Coach Becky Pierce (r)
who came to watch the team’s annual show in April.

ANA Synchro:  Is there anything ANA Synchro athletes can be doing over the summer to prepare for training camp?

Coach Fitzgerald:  If someone is trying out for the first year, my recommendation would be to get some running in over the summer.  In the early parts of our season we do some running for aerobic training, which also helps strengthen their legs.  I would also recommend a fitness regimen, which probably includes the very same things they do for synchro – stretching, sit-ups, and anything for core because core is huge in swimming.  And they shouldn’t forget about nutrition.  A lot of people take a vacation from eating the right food over the summer, and I would ask the girls to focus more on eating well.

Coach Erin: Yeah, the running really gets everyone!  I think a bunch of the girls on my team would say that preseason running is the hardest thing we do all year!  But we do it to build up the girls’ strength, which will help them swim faster and—more importantly—avoid getting hurt.  The whole point of preseason is to establish a good foundation for the rest of the season.  We are careful—both in the pool and out of it—to build the girls up gradually.  If a girl comes to the first day of preseason after a summer of loafing around, she’ll obviously have a harder first couple practices than a girl who has gotten regular exercise.  So, the more active you are through the summer, the easier your adjustment to the start of the season will be.

ANA Synchro:  What about swimming?  Should they do laps?

Coach Fitzgerald:  Obviously the swimming part is important.  If girls have a backyard pool or have access to a pool to practice in, they can double the amount of laps they normally do.  And they can work on kicking skills.  We have done more with fins over the last couple years with great results, so I would suggest wearing fins during laps and do some power kicking.  But really, most of all, I recommend coming in with a great attitude and be willing to learn something brand-new because they’re going to hear things that they haven't heard before and they’re going to be asked to do things they haven't had to do before like swim longer yardages.  But synchro girls already have the discipline to learn and the mindset to do what it takes to get the job done, especially when they’re trying to do something for the team. 

ANA Synchro athlete Maxie Zimmerman enjoys swimming
for North Andover High School Head Coach Erin Cammann.

Coach Erin:  The synchro girls are usually ahead of the game because they start the preseason being used to spending long hours in the water.  If girls wanted to swim some extra laps during the summer just to reassure themselves that they’ll be okay, that wouldn’t hurt them.  But honestly they’ll be fine. Their base level of conditioning and water comfort will be a huge asset once the season starts.

ANA Synchro:  They probably learn a lot on your teams!

Coach Fitzgerald:  Synchro girls have been very coachable, and that's a plus. I encourage everyone to have an open mind and be able to be coached.  I always ask them to imagine a big funnel right above their head.  I even get them to put their hands up over their head like a funnel to think about how much can come in that I can teach them.  And then I ask them to think about how much more can come in when they put their hands out wider, essentially making their funnels bigger.  I learned a long time ago that nobody purposefully does something the wrong way.  In their mind’s eye, they think they’re doing it right.  So usually, as soon as I let people know they’re doing something wrong but not intentionally, then they want to intentionally make it right.

Coach Erin: I think the most valuable things they’ll learn will be about what it means to be on a high school team.  The girls at NAHS have a ton of fun outside of the water.  They organize spirit days—my favorite last year was when they all came to school dressed up like cowgirls—and the upperclass girls take turns hosting pasta dinners on the nights before swim meets.  They do a great job creating a network for each other.  The older girls give advice about which classes to take and which teachers to seek out, they support each other as they work toward all their goals—both individual ones and team ones—and they just basically become incredibly close to each other.  I love high school swimming, and I am so happy each year to see the freshmen come in and realize how much fun it can be.

Start dates for the local high school swim team training camps: 

Andover High School -  August 21 @ 7am at the Greater Lawrence Technical School

North Andover High School - August 21 @ 3pm at the Greater Lawrence Technical School

Central Catholic High School - August 21