Special Sets: A Look at the Training of Lakeside Star Charlotte Crush
Last spring, Charlotte Crush left the 13-14 age group with two NAG records: 50.44 in the 100 yard backstroke and 1:50.95 in the 200 back. In February as a freshman at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Ky., she helped her team to its 11th straight high school title. In the process, she recorded four first places, garnering state records in the 100 back (51.56/51.55p), 100 fly (51.14) and as a member of two winning relays: 200 medley (23.81 fly split) and 400 freestyle (48.94 anchor).
In the recently concluded NCSA LC Summer Championships in Indianapolis, Charlotte, now 15, helped her Lakeside Swim Team dominate the women’s, men’s and combined standings by a whopping 850 points over Academy Bullets. Charlotte’s contribution resulted in five individual wins, four meet records and three Olympic Trials cuts. As a relay participant she contributed to five Seahawk women’s first places and four meet records.
More specifically her ledger reads:
50 back-28.80
100 back-1:00.07 (meet record)
200 back-2:09.71 (meet record)
50 fly-26.18 (meet record)
100 fly-59.07 (meet record)
200 IM (Sixth)-2:19.79
200 MR-1:53.74 (25.77 fly leg)
400 MR-4:12.19 (1:00.96 back leg)
200 FR-1:43.93 (25.74 LOS)
400 FR-3:48.43 (56.19 LOS)
800 FR-8:19.74 (2:04.24 LOS)
Swimming is a family affair for the Crushes: Also in February, brother Johnny, a junior at St. Xavier, helped the Saints grab their 35th consecutive high school championship. He set a record in the 100 back (46.55) and won the 100 free in 43.89. Two older Crush siblings have contributed heavily to the Sacred Heart and St. X titles. Anabelle (2018-21) now swims at North Carolina State, while brother Charlie suits up for Arthur Albeiro at the University of Louisville.
The aquatic genes come from parents Chip and Mimi (Bowen), both four-year swimmers for David Marsh at Auburn. Chip was the national independent school record holder in the 100 back. He left The Plains in 1999 after winning three consecutive SEC 100 butterfly titles and recording six CSCAA All-America honors. Mother Mimi was a 13-time CSCAA A-A and national champion in the 100 fly and the 200 medley relay in 1997.
Mike DeBoor has been with the Lakeside Seahawks Swim Team since 1988 and as head coach since 1994. Since 2002, the Seahawks have been a USA Swimming Gold Medal Club 16 times.
He has been named the Kentucky Swimming Senior Coach of the Year 15 times and ASCA Age Group Coach of the Year twice. He has coached four Olympians and placed swimmers on 17 different USA national teams. He has coached national junior team athletes and, in addition to the Olympics, his swimmers have competed in the Pan American, Pan Pacific, European, South American, Junior Pan Pacific, Junior World, Short Course World and Long Course World Championships.
DeBoor has been the coach of record for Charlotte Crush since she was 11. “Even then,” he says, “she was very engaged, attentive and willing to work on details. When she joined my group we had three other swimmers with the same attitude. I think the four of them really helped one another grow together and lead the group. They had a full year together.
“The pandemic hit in March 2020. When we started back with one or two in a lane, Charlotte was placed with older siblings because of Mom coaching and family logistics. There Charlotte progressed well socially and in her training.
TRAINING AND HABITS
“These days, Charlotte gets progressively better on the aerobic side—not outstanding on aerobic sets, but she does put forth the effort. She excels at any quality work we do and can repeat fast efforts. She trains underwaters better than most and is very aware of what is going on,” says DeBoor.
“As we returned to normal, she just swam once a day, and we progressively added doubles when she turned 13, giving her a day off when needed. She stays at a full schedule now, and this past winter, she was consistent with 95-100% attendance.
PERSONALITY
“Charlotte is very humble, but driven by excellence and slowly becoming a leader. She is very outgoing, chatty and willing to joke around, supportive of others and a great teammate.
“She is a natural talent with a great feel for the water and unreal flexibility in all joints. She is probably hyperflexible. The biggest advantage I notice is awareness and intuition in terms of strokes and what works or doesn’t. She will ask for help and tell you what feels off versus the normal swimmer who just says they feel bad. She will tell you what drills don’t work and what will make them work versus just doing it. She is very self-aware. Add to that work ethic, commitment, desire…and you have the right mix.
TRAINING SETS
Photo Courtesy: Mimi Bowen
“She loves underwater work and any challenge we give her. She likes Dive 50s short course on about 2:00, where she’s been 22.9 underwater. On some of these, she breathes at the wall, and on others, she does not. Charlotte likes fast swim sets with a stretch cord across the middle requiring you to go underwater past halfway. She is good at knowing times at practice and also what she needs to go for the next race. She likes any higher quality set and stays pretty consistent with them,” says DeBoor.
A favorite set is:
“20 x 50 as fast as possible: 5 on 1:00, 5 on 1:20, 5 on 1:40, 5 on 2:00 We have done SCY this year with and without a cord across the middle. We also do it LC and may modify the repeats depending on time of year.
“Her fly looked especially good when we did the following long course: 8 rounds of 50 free under :35 on :50, 50 fly at 100 bring-back speed, 50 EZ, all 3:00 total.
“Her back has always been good, but really came around this year. It probably ‘feels’ better more often than fly since Charlotte likes longer, more aerobic back, and does replace free at times with it.
“We do the normal 6 x 100 Dive on 8:00. She does very well with 100 Dive-10 rest-75 Kick, all under best 200 time. She is a great kicker and goes way under her best 200 swim times on 150’s kick.
A COACH’S PERSPECTIVE
“Charlotte and I get along well. It helps that I have known her family for a long time, coached all the siblings and have known her since she was born. That doesn’t mean we disagree, but there is a lot of trust there as well.
“At Lakeside, we want our athletes to develop on their own. I really have tried to allow her to do that. She’s exciting to have in the program, but I think you have to allow swimmers to grow and progress at their own rate. Charlotte is following that maturation process well. There are days we ask our better athletes for more, always being mindful that some are younger and mentally may not be able to handle what they can physically,” says DeBoor.
SAMPLE WORKOUTS
Nov. 8, 2022 (Tuesday)
24 practice days in advance of Speedo Juniors
Turns: must be faster in, faster getting feet on the wall and faster into breakout
Stroke Counts: Must be aware of and use to create a better stroke—stroke count is stroke work
Underwater Kick: Must be at 2 per second or better and must accelerate into breakout
- 300 Swim (fast turns!)
- 6 x 100 Kick 1:40 (2 choice – 1 with Sprint UW off walls past blue line)
- 1 x 100 Scull Bucket/Torpedo/Rev Bucket/Rev Torpedo
Free: breathe earlier, lower and inline – hold the front of the stroke until the head is coming back from the breath
- 2 x 75 Free Catch-up w/buoy at ankles 1:15
- 4 x 50 Free Catch-up with steady fast kick :45
- 6 x 25 Free Fast Catch-up 10-14 strokes :30
**:30 extra**
- 18 x 25 1 No Breath :20
2 MAX Speed UW :40 (at least past blue line) into MAX speed breakout work – we must be better at accelerating into the breakout and those last 3-4 kicks must be faster & 1st 2-3 strokes must be better!
- 2 x 150 Scull-Drill-Stroke Count (FL 6-9, BK 10-14, BR 6-9, FR 10-14 ) 2:30
- 3 x 100 Descend 1:10
- 4 x 50 Choice :50
- 30 x 100 Smooth is not easy or float or pull on the lane line, it is actual swimming!
Turns make you faster! Get the feet on the wall quicker, finishes matter just like a few tenths per 50 matter! All underwaters at race level and same number you use in a race! Or more
- 500 People 15 x 100 on 1:20 2 Smooth/1 AFAP – add up for 500 time
10 x 100 on 1:30 1 Smooth/1 AFAP – add up for 500 time
5 x 100 on 2:00 All AFAP – add up for 500 time
- IM People 15 x 100 on 1:20 2 Smooth/1 AFAP FL-BK-BR-FR-WK Str –
add up for 4IM time
10 x 100 on 1:30 1 Smooth/1 AFAP FL-BK-BR-FR-WK Str –
add up for 4IM time
5 x 100 on 2:00 All AFAP – FL-BK-BR-FR-WK Str –
add up for 4IM time
- Specialty People – all one stroke – be consistent; we have done great on sets like this before, you cannot “take one off” and do a great job! Repeatable, sustainable fast swimming!
15 x 100 on 1:20 50 FAST @ 200 Pace or +1 / 50 Smooth
10 x 100 on 1:30 50 FASTER @ 200 Pace or little better /
50 Smooth
5 x 100 on 2:00 50 AFAP @ 200 Goal Pace or better /
50 Smooth
FINS: 10 x 100 3 Back 50 Catch-up 50 Swim 1:40
3 Free Catch-up 1:20
4 50 Kick – 50 Swim 1:40
Saturday practice is 7-9 a.m.
Nov. 10, 2022 (Thursday)
- “Don’t mistake activity for achievement – practice it the right way.”
- “Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn to do things the right way.”
- “Practice without improvement is meaningless.”
- “The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing it exactly right.”
WARM-UP TO SWIM – Is important and must be done 100% correctly to enhance your swimming – more elite successful swimmers around the world do this than not – it is a great way to get better – but only if done well.
- 300 Swim
- 300 Kick
- 12 x 25 Free w/Fins Paddles optional 4 Catch-up, 4 R-L, 4 75% Catch-up :30
- 6 x 50 Free w/Fins Paddles optional, with some catch-up to stroke – Descend to 200 Speed – 3 on :50, 3 on :40
- 2x 1 x 150 Strong Drill – Scull – Strong Drill 2:50
75 Hard Kick 1:15 > 25 Strong Stroke Count :30
50 Hard Kick :50 > 50 Strong Stroke Count 1:00
25 Hard Kick :30 > 75 Strong Stroke Count 1:30
- 6 x 50 Dive/Start Sprint with 4-cycle breakout (maybe 1:20?)
Primary strokes/events – max of 2 OR IM – 2 rounds each FL-BK-BR
Practice how you dream to RACE!
- 6x 4 x 25 FAST @ 100 Speed (100 time minus 4, divide by 4)
Hit your time! Don’t settle for close, be:
Wall-to-wall perfect 1:00
1 x 50 FAST @ 100 Bring back speed – 2nd 50 of 100
Hit your time! 1:00
2 x 25 MAX Speed FL/BK > UW streamline dolphin kick :30
Push your legs!
FR > UW streamline dolphin or streamline
facedown free w/snorkel
BR > Streamline head up breast kick
200 Swim 3:00 > no 200 after 6th round!
FINS: 8 x 100 2 Swim 1:30 > 4 Swim 1:20 > 2 Choice 1:40
Feb. 2, 2023 (Thursday)
Two weeks out from the high school state meet
Stroke Count > FR/BK 10-14, BR/FL 6-9
- 300 Swim
- 6 x 100 Odds 50 Kick-50 Drill, Evens 50 Faster kick-50 Stroke Count 1:40
Same stroke by sets of 2
- 9 x 25 Sprint UWDK 2 on :20 > 3 on :30 > 4 on :40
- 4 x 75 Free 1st turn is NO TOUCH – 2nd turn is max speed 1:00
- 9 x 25 Sprint UWDK 2 on :20 > 3 on :30 > 4 on :40
- 500 Pull 250 Buoy @ ankles/250 Reg Buoy 6:15
- 5 x 100 Swim N/S 1:15
- 2 x 150 Scull-Drill-Stroke Count 2:30
- 3x 25 Max Push-off UW & 4-Cycle Sprint :40
25 Deadstart Max Speed 6-Cycle Sprint :40
25 Partner Pull & Race Sprint :40
- 100 Smooth
- 3 x 50 Dive Race take out practice – 100 or 200 practice or 400 IM/500
(about 4:00?)
Swim down in your lane if you want –
Stay out of your teammates’ way!
Specialty – All one stroke:
- 8x 50 Free – Solid effort – Boys under 29, Girls under 31 :45
50 FAST at Goal 100 Bring Back Speed 1:00
50 Smooth 1:15
IM – 400 IM:
- 8 x 150 on 3:00
3 – 100 Back N/S Effort Tight Descend to Goal Pace – 50 Smooth 3 – 100 Breast N/S Effort Tight Descend to Goal Pace – 50 Smooth 2 – 100 Free @ Goal Pace – 50 Smooth
500 Free/Longer Free:
- 400-425-450-475 Under Goal time speed on all – on 5:00
- 4 x 50 @ 200 Goal Pace 1:00
All Groups:
- 6 x 200 Odds Swim Smooth 3:00 > Evens Kick Mod Hard Effort 3:20
Feb. 7, 2023 (Tuesday)
Optional morning tomorrow
Friday only practice is 5-6:30 a.m., Friday p.m. & Saturday a.m. OFF, Sunday 8-10 a.m.
Pictures tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. – wear #FFC shirt
300 Swim
- 300 Kick – swim at flags for AFAP FLIP turns
- 6 x 25 Sprint UWSDK :30
- 300 Pull 50 Scull – 100 Pull Buoy at ankles
- 3 x 100 Swim N/S 1:15
- 300 Kick – swim at flags for AFAP OPEN turns
- 6 x 25 MAX Speed UWSDK 15m :30
- 300 Pull 50 Back-50 Breast-50 Free
- 3 x 100 IM Fast turns descend 1:25
- 2 x 150 Scull – Drill – Stroke Count 2:30
- 6 x 25 Dive Odds for time full 25 UWSDK – Evens Max speed breakouts
- 100 Choice
Primary events/strokes – all one stroke per round!
- IM – Dive 50’s Fly, 6 x 50 3 BK-3 BR – do one at each speed, Free is at the end
- 2x 2 x 100 Dive 50 AFAP – 50 Smooth1:40?
2 heats – get your time and get on the smooth
6 x 50 3 @ 200 Pace, 2 @ Goal 200 Pace,
1 @ Dream 200 Pace 1:10
4 x 75 Smooth 1:20 – you can have fins on
early here if you want
Round #1 – 3 x 100 Free – Fins, paddles optional 1:20
- FAST – Better than 500 Speed
- FASTER – Better than half 200 time
- Max AFAP – All you have left!
Round #2 – 6 x 50 AFAP Free – Fins, paddles optional –
ALL AFAP! :30
4 x 100 Smooth 1:30
- After 2nd round, add 4 x 50 Choice to warm-down :50
June 21, 2023 (Wednesday)
Long Course
- 6x 50 Free Hard/threshold :50 Fly held mid-29, Back 30-31.0
50 at 100 bring back
100 Smooth 2:00
Photo Courtesy:
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Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” is in its third printing, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and distributors worldwide.