Seventeen-year old South Korean Park Tae-Hwan’s upset win on Sunday at the world swimming championships in Melbourne says a lot about the broad philosophic approach of his Australian coach both towards training for elite athletes and encouraging children in sports.

In the 400m freestyle, Park also beat his hero, Grant Hackett, the Australian who has dominated the event these last few years, and who claimed a bronze medal. Park has been training with Wayne Lawes for the past two months, and some of his rivals say the experience has given him more power and competitiveness as well as noticeably moved him further ahead of other athletes in Asia.

Lawes says Park’s success doesn’t rest on one factor, more a combination of speed, endurance, the ability to change pace, and technical precision. “I am very impressed with his swimming, in a technical sense, but also his manner and what he does is very impressive.” (The Age newspaper).

In fact, Lawes has always seen swimming as a “technically driven” sport and has accordingly emphasized proper technique. Lawes — who also does a lot of work with younger swimmers — is a big believer in what he terms “a holistic approach.” He says it takes 10-12 years to develop a champion at international level, so it’s essentiual to keep them enjoying the sport and take a holistic approach, according to the Star News Group.

“It’s very well to swim a child up and down the pool, but all those other things can come later,” he said. “You need to form a base and develop skills early.” And he adds, “Girls and boys have completely different stimulus and different incentives, so it is important as a coach to notice the differences and be patient with their long-term development.”

Related Posts

1. early birds get gold in Oz, are barred in London
2. different strokes
3. recovery-based training reflects performance complexity
4. does my bum look big in this?
5. wilder parks are better for you