The 3S Training Design Platform has always been praised for its industry-leading planning tools. However, having a plan and managing it are two separate tasks. Understanding the need for quality training management tools, this summer, we introduced a compelling option that addresses the most practical needs of any coach—the universal training paces and set designing an app, Smart Paces.
Coach Mark Schubert expressed his interest in this new tool during the Central States Clinic in Chicago and invited me to visit him during his pre-Olympic trial high-altitude camp in Flagstaff. I saw this as a unique opportunity to test the app while working with a legendary coach and Olympic-level swimmers during their final preparation phase for the Olympic trials.
I must confess that the week I spent with Mark, his staff, and the swimmers was a blast. The experience and knowledge Coach Schubert accumulated throughout his career are hard to comprehend, and watching him work on deck was priceless. However, I will admit I was not just there to watch Mark’s brilliance at work: I was also trying to read Mark’s reaction to our 3S tools in general and especially to the new app I viewed as an express training management tool any coach may use on the deck.
In short, I believe this experience benefited both of us. Not to mention the fun we had playing with paces and their actual execution, the real-time data we could analyze right on deck led to ongoing discussions on training philosophies and concepts. Mark was sharing his daily workouts and thoughts behind them with me, which allowed me to re-construct the sets prescribed by Mark using the app and challenge him on the intent and execution of sets. We both enjoyed this process from our viewpoints. One thing is sure: the app allowed the scanning of a set’s quality execution and, more importantly, evaluating the prescribed paces’ adequacy to current swimmers’ needs. In other words, we could evaluate the precision of prescribed paces and their actual execution in real time, excluding any and all guesswork.
On a side note, I have to add that in my over forty years working with and consulting elite coaches, I have never experienced such a deep sense of the effort’s purpose and its position in the cycle, as demonstrated by Mark. I was able to surprise Mark as well: I re-constructed the current season and plausible individual progressions using the app, which allowed me to check the validity of individual paces in the main sets. Amazingly, the difference between Mark’s goals and my suggestions generated by the app were within seconds or just spot even. Armed with this knowledge, I challenged Mark on one or two occasions on his decisions. Mark agreed on some; on others, he disclosed the ideas behind his choices, which led to an even deeper analysis of sets and their composition. Mind you, Mark Schubert has never been a 3S user. However, the app’s ability to evaluate the current position of swimmers we have never met before and prescribe training paces and goals practically identical to arguably the greatest swim coach of our time may give you an idea about the quality and precision of our methods and tools.
This summer, we implemented major upgrades that are now available to all users. These changes further enhanced the app’s planning capabilities, making it undeniably valuable to any coach regardless of their prior experience or coaching level. After all, if the app is working for Mark Schubert, it will also be of value to you. Remembering that a picture is better than a thousand words, please do not hesitate to “kick the tires” and experience our app’s capabilities yourself.
Follow this link to test the app today with no commitments: https://supersportsystems.com/smartpaces-2/
Bottom Line:
Connecting and syncing plans with their actual execution has always been challenging for any coach. Sports scientists with peak performance consulting experience often joke that coaches’ intents, plans, and actual reactions achieved are three different things that never match, and there is a lot of truth to
this. Without question, the quality of the training process, to a large degree, depends on the precision of every element, from a season plan to each training set. Even Mark Schubert, with his fantastic experience and intuition, has doubts when selecting his paces. On the other hand, Super Sport Systems’ tools are designed to achieve and deliver the level of precision coaches are looking for. However, the Smart Paces app is changing the game once more by offering the real-time ability to administer and check the execution of every training effort of any swimmer in the pool. All of this is right under your fingertips on your phone, without the need to use the laptop or mess with pre-set team and individual settings.
Need more information? Please schedule a conference with 3S Expert to discuss how our tools may enhance your training program and your coaching productivity:
