Swimming for Life

Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary with his 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal — There’s nothing quite like the last few weeks leading into your end-season focus meet: many months of hard training and dedication, possibly trying out some new training strategies. Perhaps you’ve been out of competition for a while and are eager to get your feet wet again. Maybe you’ve been preparing […]

Prepping for Championship Season

March 4, 2023 in Aqua Master Online / Coaching by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — In my years of coaching and training, I’ve come to believe that, in our sport, drilling is one of the most misunderstood concepts. Ask anyone why they should do drills, and they’ll probably tell you that they help make your stroke better. That is correct…when a drill is both appropriate […]

The Purpose of Drilling

October 20, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Coach's Chair / Coaching by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — Breaststroke is a funny stroke. To some, it comes naturally. Others struggle with it. Once learned, however, one of the biggest misconceptions is that breaststroke is easy. I can’t count how many times I’ve told squads that a practice will be breaststroke oriented, and everyone either breathes a sigh of […]

Breaststroke Hacks!

September 17, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Breaststroke / Coaching by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — In the world of club swimming in Oregon, we just wrapped up another long course season. Many teams and athletes take the next few weeks off, to rest and prepare for both the new school year and upcoming short course season. As a coach, I like to reflect on what […]

Trust the Process

August 26, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Coach's Chair / Coaching by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — Throughout our lives, from grade school through high school, regardless of the sport you played or activity you took part in, you no doubt heard from your teachers or coaches about the importance of attitude. More often than not, you certainly heard classmates or teammates being called out for having […]

Rotten Eggs and Rubber Balls

July 23, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Coaching / Fitness / Motivation by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — Over these past few months, I have been studying and contemplating an issue that plagues just about everyone, especially as we age: the dreaded demon known as back pain! Given that so many adults participate in Masters swimming as a means of achieving and/or maintaining good health, this is something […]

Posture, Posture, Posture

June 13, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Coach's Chair / Coaching by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — The title of this article is a spin on a classic phrase that means: “It is the small, individual parts of a task that may cause most problems and difficulties.” In this article, we’re going to look at it from a more positive perspective, one that can have profound effects […]

The Devil Is In The Details

April 28, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Coach's Chair / Coaching / Kick by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — For this month’s article, and given that Masters swim meets are finally returning to Oregon, I want to talk about the hardest opponent you will ever face. This particular person is much tougher and far more critical of you than any coach that you’ve ever had. They’ll drive you crazier […]

Your Toughest Opponent

March 28, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Coach's Chair / Coaching / Human Interest / Motivation by Kevin Cleary

Kevin Cleary — On the surface, entering meets is a simple thing. You pick events, pay the fee, and you’re good to go! Not so fast. Over the course of my Masters swimming career, entire training cycles and seasons revolve around what you intend to do at your chosen meet(s). Broken down into […]

Meet Entries 101

February 24, 2022 in Aqua Master Online / Coach's Chair / Coaching / Rules by Kevin Cleary