By Rickey Perkins, Head Swim Coach, USF
Coaching has been a rollercoaster—both the ultimate adventure and the ultimate nightmare.
The adventure comes from my love of swimming, a sport that has truly changed my life. It has taken me across the U.S. and to parts of the world I never imagined visiting. I’ve had the privilege of meeting incredible people and working with gifted athletes, watching them grow not just as swimmers but as individuals. That is the ultimate adventure.
The nightmare comes from the sleepless nights during taper, lying awake wondering: Did we do enough aerobic work? Enough anaerobic work? Enough technique? The right test sets? Some seasons, we got it right and had an amazing championship meet. Other times, we fell short. And most years, it felt like a 50/50 gamble. That cycle repeated itself throughout my career—until I got fired.
With time to reflect, I searched for a better way to train swimmers. That search led me to Super Sport System. The philosophy intrigued me, and I knew I had to understand it fully. I let go of my ego and arranged a meeting with Sergei. He was great—he explained the system in a way that made complete sense. It was the roadmap I had been missing.
I’ve always been an emotional coach. Using Super Sport System didn’t take the emotion out of coaching—it helped me see where my emotions had led me astray. It brought structure and clarity to my training decisions. Now, instead of rolling the dice before a big meet, I have a data-driven plan that gives me confidence.
Super Sport System builds training based on past season-best times and the percentage of improvement we’re aiming for. It breaks the season into cycles, weeks, and days, prescribing training zones, target times, and rest intervals. While it offers daily workout templates, there’s room for creativity, allowing me to tailor it to my team’s needs.
The results this past season (2024-2025) were remarkable:
✅ At our mid-season meet, 100% of the team achieved either a season-best or a personal-best time.
✅ At our conference championship meet, every swimmer hit a season-best or personal-best time.
✅ We won eight individual events with five different swimmers (200 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free, 200 fly, 100 fly, 100 IM, and 200 breaststroke).
✅ We achieved eleven NCAA DII B cuts, the most in USF history.
I will continue to use Super Sport System moving forward. It has transformed my coaching and my athletes’ performances.
If you’re experiencing those sleepless nights before a big meet, I highly recommend giving Sergei a call. You have nothing to lose—and everything to gain.