Special Sets: Inside the Work of Jacob Wimberly Under Coach Coley Stickels
A North Carolina high school state champion in the 100 yard back as a freshman (48.98) and runner-up in the 200 free (1:40.62), Jacob Wimberly has done nothing but burnish his competitive résumé since landing in Texas and teaming with renowned sprint coach Coley Stickels. As of October, Wimberly, now training at Texas Ford Aquatics, is tied with Daniel Diehl as the No. 1-ranked male recruit in the Class of 2024. He has committed to Texas A&M.
An extremely versatile swimmer, his best USA Swimming times equate to three Olympic Trial, seven winter U.S. Open, two summer national, one winter and five junior qualifying times. His Trial cuts are in the 100 and 200 meter freestyles (49.79, 1:49.94) and 100 fly (53.52). At the July Speedo Junior Nationals, Wimberly recorded 10 personal bests, and placed fourth in the 100 free and fifth in the 100 fly in gaining his OT cuts.
Internationally, he made significant contributions to two Team USA-winning relays at September’s World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Israel. Going second in the 4 x 200 free relay, he went 1:49.21, clocking the fastest split of all 32 swimmers. In the 4 x 100 medley, his 53.79 contributed to American gold. Individually, he placed 10th in the 50 fly (24.61) and 16th in the 100 fly (53.71).
In his two seasons at Prosper High School (40 miles north of Dallas), Wimberly has been a seven-time NISCA All-American. As a sophomore, he placed first in the 100 yard fly (48.37), fifth in the 200 IM (1:48.65), and he was a part of a 1:25.04 200 free relay. As a junior, he was second in the 100 fly (47.04), fifth in the 50 free (20.35) and a part of a 3:04.98 400 free relay. His 44.36 100 free placed him in a tie for 28th in NISCA 100 free rankings.
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The pairing with Stickels and his sprint-oriented training has accelerated Wimberly’s considerable skills. A multi-time USA national team coach, head coach at the University of Alabama, Canyons Aquatic Club (Santa Clarita, Calif.), and Phoenix Swim Club as well as associate coach at Indiana University, Stickels has a proven track record of putting athletes on national and international stages (think Abbey Weitzeil, Roland Schoeman, et al.). An added bonus to the pairing with Stickels is Wimberly’s ability to train with the coach’s nascent pro group.
THE COACH’S VIEW
“Jacob is a very driven athlete who comes to daily practice ready to lead by example. He is always willing to demonstrate a new drill or dryland exercise,” says his club coach, Coley Stickels. “He is receptive to changing technique, tempo or race strategy, and he is extremely coachable and open to new perspectives. His steady improvements have been the result of his increase in power in the water and weight room, efficiency, durability/athleticism and consistently being able to train at or near his capacity.
“Jacob is not afraid to work hard, and he loves to compete, whether in the weight room, on an aerobic set or in a racing setting. He has also benefited from having a group of pro athletes around him, constantly pushing him to a higher level,” he says.
The following Workout #1 was done on a Saturday and geared toward butterflyers and IMers with an emphasis on power and volume. “This particular practice has elements of power and DPS work with some altered positions when dolphin-kicking above and below water,” says Stickels.
Workout #1
3 rounds:
- 400 every fourth 25 pull through drill fly with flutter kick (no recovery on fly, just pull both arms down past hips and recover under water, back to start position) • 2 x 75 @ 1:15 25; dolphin kick with buoy: 25 pull 3 fly, 6 free, 6 free, 3 fly by 25
- 1 x 50 @ 1:00 single arm fly. Look forward, look to side, no breath (3 right arm, 3 left arm) by 25
- 4 x 25 @ :30; odds – triple threat: 3 head-up fly, 3 regular fly, 3 head-down fly with flutter; evens – 6 dolphin kicks arms down on stomach, 6 arms across chest, 6 arms up
4 rounds:
- 1 x 25 @ :45 with chute in front of head (15 dolphin kick, 10 fast fly)
- 1 x 50 @ 1:00; 5 uw kicks 1 fly, 5 uw kicks 2 fly x2
- 1 x 75 @ 1:30; 25 with chute fly fast, drop chute at 25, 25 fly fast no chute, 25 dolphin kick 5 arms down on back, 5 on right, 5 on back, 5 on left
- 1 x 100 @ 1:35 with fins and socks. First 50 is done with 6 dolphin kicks plus 1 fly stroke, but arms stay down at side (so it’s not a full stroke), plus 6 dolphin kicks, arms down or arms in streamline; second 50 is done flutter-kick with fly, thumbs drag slow (keep elbows off surface and drag only thumbs)
2 rounds:
- 2 x 25 @ :40 with chute and buoy; 1 fly, 1 choice fast
- 1 x 75 @ 1:15; 25 pull fast fly, drop buoy at 25, 50 8 uw kicks on right side below water plus 1 fly into 8 kicks on right side above water, 8 uw kicks on left fast plus 1 fly 8 kicks on left side above water
- 3 x 25 @ :30 kick with buoy and board; dolphin, but full speed from 10m-20m head down
- 4 x 50 @ 1:00 with fins and socks; odds – 25 fast fly, 25 uw kickfast as far as possible; evens – 25 uw kick fast, 25 fly fast with no socks, fins only x2
2 rounds:
- 1 x 100 @ 1:20; 1 stroke fly 8 free, 2 fly 6 free, 3 fly 4 free, 4 fly 2 free
- 1 x 25 @ :30; IM 1 fly, 3 back, 1 breast 3 free
- 1 x 75 @ 1:10; 6 free, 3 fly, 6 free, 4 back, 6 free, 3 breast
- 2 x 50 @ 1:00; 1) with chute fast choice, but drop chute at 25; 2) from dive or running dive fast no chute (1st 25 is uw kick, put on chute, 2nd 25 fly fast)
- 1 x 150 @ 3:00 with fins; 25 fly full speed, 25 easy free, 25 back full speed, 25 easy free, 25 breast full speed, 25 easy free
300 easy
Workout #2
Back end 100p* (pace) practice with freestyle drills
- 400 every 4th 25 chicken wing
3 rounds:
- 2 x 25 @ :30; 1) 4 right arm free, 4 left arm free; 2) same, but opposite arm down
- 2 x 75 @ 1:10; 50 pull choice, 25 kick (25 kick is 15 flutter plus 10m head-down dolphin kicks)
- 1 x 100 @ 1:30 with drill right/left by 25 (with drill is a single free stroke with a paddle, then without in a catch-up pattern)
3 rounds:
- 1 x 150 @ 2:10 with fins; 6 kicks uw plus 4 free plus spear kick (head up and arms in streamline) on odd 25s, 6 uw kick, 4 strokes surface kick, head down on evens
- 3 x 50 @ :40; 1 kick, 1 pull, 1 swim, but 2nd 25 of 3rd 50 is at 100p
- 4 x 25 @ no intervals with just tube or axis buoy – 15 build and then let tube/buoy off (and overkick last 10). Choice strokes. Retrieve tube/buoy and go back to wall after each 25
2 rounds with 1 min. rest in between rounds:
- 2 x 100 @ 1:35 with fins: 25 uw kick, 25 at 100p, 15 uw kick, 35 at 100p
- 1 x 75 @ 1:00; pull free just make
- 3 x 25 @ :25; pull at 4-4-4 (4 all-out, 4 easy strokes, 4 all-out), 2&3 at 100 pace with count swim
- 3 x 50 @ :50; 1) pull 25, easy 25 at 100p; 2) 25 easy, 25 at 100 pace swim; 3) 50 at 100p with fins
- 1 x 100 @ 1:30 with fins and paddles, go goal 100 time; max of 7 dolphin kicks off wall. Count should be -2 per 25 (2 strokes less than usual count), so breast and fly are 4-5 strokes, back and free are 7-8 strokes max per 25 for pros
- 6 x 25 @ :30 buoy (no equipment, fins x 2: 1) 15 at 100p, 10 easy; 2) 20 at 100p, 50 easy; 3) 25 at 100p
2 rounds:
- 2 x 75 @ 1:10; 1) 25 fast kick with buoy and board, drop buoy into 25 3 fast strokes, 3 easy, 3 fast, 3 easy; 25 4-4-4 drill (4 uw free, 4 water polo, 4 regular strokes); 2) 25 back end 100p, grab buoy board, 25 fast pull, 25 fast kick
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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.