The First Training CAMP - and a small (toe) challenge! Nationals: 6 weeks, Ayrton: 4 weeks
After 4 weeks of many hours of drills and practice, the arm sequences and timing was getting better, and a few days before the camp we received the news that there had been an injury. Ayrton had dislocated/broken one toe and possibly fractured two others. During lift practicing, which is a foot on foot lift, a foot slipped and Ayrton's toes got bent backwards and dislocated on Laura's knee. With only 6 weeks to competition day, this was a major problem.
The first camp in Johannesburg was critical to getting Ayrton up to speed. A full program had been planned - we needed to add more difficult figures and hybrids into the routine, but we had no idea what Ayrton would be able to do. Vicky had worked out 50 odd specific moves to test what Ayrton could do or possibly easily be taught to do, so that she could incorporate those in to the choreography of the routine. Additionally Ayrton needed to be taught proper support scull and hybrid transitions and then put to music. Every minute was going to be important. Broken or sprained toes was not on the schedule.
In a moment of serendipity, on 14th Feb 2022 - exactly 2 years to the day when Laura and Clarissa met for the first time to start their Olympic quest - Ayrton created the Mixed Duet Training whatsapp group in preparation for the first training camp. An omen of things to come?
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Arriving at the pool for the first training camp. We really need to help Ayrton get a new pair of jeans! And check the swollen right foot and bent toes!
A breather, but even during a break, the teaching never stops.
Ayrton's first crane showing good support scull with decent height for a newbie! Just a bit of flexibility needed.
A bit of fun practicing some lifts - this would be done on dry land later, maybe... but safer to practice in the water as you can see!
How the end started
The strategy for the routine choreography was to maximise execution, synchronisation and artistic impression, knowing that difficulty would need to be sacrificed. Relatively easy movements could be executed really well, sharp and polished. Being an upbeat routine, getting body and facial expressions to match, while it would require some work, was a definite focus area for both athletes.
To try to minimise Ayrton's foot pain, we used the shallow LTS pool so that he could stand rather than eggbeater, this enabled Vicky to go through as many of the defined moves that she had identified as time would allow. Every bit of the choreography was strategically placed and designed to give a good visual appeal while catering for the vast difference in ability of the two athletes. It needed to be relatively easy to learn and execute, while also showing off Laura's abilities and the moves that Ayrton could do well.
At the end of the first day we had the moves that would be slotted into the routine and that Ayrton could sort of do and could be feasibly taught in the time available. Vicky also strategically added some swimming strokes as part of the routine which Ayrton would enjoy - look out them about half way through!
As we needed to keep eggbeater to a minimum because of the injury (Ayrton's eggbeater was pretty good anyway), Vicky concentrated on teaching Ayrton support scull and the various sculling techniques he would need - to master the upside down portions. It wasn't long before Vicky had Ayrton in a crane with a solid scull and although progress was slower than expected, the quality was higher - which was more important. We ended practicing our deck work dive based on a similar dive used by Male Synchro pioneer Bill May, in 2015 a small tribute to a legend of the sport.
DeckDive
We kept this for the competition - it worked well. A small tribute to Male Synchro pioneer Bill May, who used a similar dive in 2015.
The end of the first camp - smiles and some relief that this just might work!
Day 2 was a half day as Ayrton was holding a swim coaching class in the morning, which afforded Laura a chance to work on her Tech Solo. Training was literally in between work commitments. We ended day two with 3 hours of vertical drills, support scull and hybrid transitions. Vicky's coaching techniques were paying dividends as Ayrton quickly started to get the hang of it and was more confident in the moves he needed to master. A lot of work was to be done in Cape Town before the next camp - but we had a start!
The coach takes a lot of responsibility for the routine - it needs to be appropriately choreographed and then properly taught - especially in high pressure and time restricted scenarios. No-one wants a half baked effort at a competition, so with 6 weeks to go we were confident the building blocks were in place. Vicky created specific schedules of training for stamina and fitness as well as drills to master the different moves. Armed with the outline of the routine and lots of training schedules, Laura and Ayrton traveled back to Cape Town knowing that the next two weeks were going to be decisive - especially with uncertainty around Ayrton's foot injury.
2nd Training Camp - Putting it all together - Nationals: 5 weeks Ayrton: 6 weeks
In early March, with only 5 weeks to go, The TC changed the date and venue for SA Nationals to a week later and to a different city - from PE to Durban. While this gave us an extra week it also created challenges with the already booked and planned training schedules. We had a week extra, but also added complications to manage.
Vicky traveled to Cape Town for the next training camp, now with 5 weeks to go to Nationals. Laura and Ayrton had been working Vicky's drill schedules under the watchful eyes of Tanya, and putting together the routine, sending regular videos back for viewing. The routine still needed a lot of work and this training camp would focus on cleaning up execution and fixing any issues with sequencing. Laura and Ayrton had put in a lot of work with stretching and synchro fitness as well as hours of water work consolidating the coaching learned at the previous camp. Ayrton was far more comfortable now with the choreographed synchro moves and was learning the timing and understanding how difficult this sport really is.
For the 5 day camp we only had 2 or so hours per day due to both athletes' work commitments, so progress was not as fast as expected. The challenges of coaching part time athletes to competition standards requires out the box thinking to ensure all outcomes are achieved. Vicky scheduled a very specific program to make maximum use of the 10 hours available and ensure that a full routine was in place before she left. After the week was done we had a routine that looked good, was well sequenced and matched to the music - but still needed a bit of swim time to be well polished.
There was very little time for fun, with flat out training, but we managed to capture a few moments.
Ayrton showing good control balancing that coffee on his head
Coffee delivery
Testing an alternative lift idea
Lift ideas
Prep for Nationals - Nationals: 3 weeks Ayrton: 8 weeks
When Nationals was going to be held in PE we had planned the last 2 weeks before the competition quite carefully, with a week in Cape Town and then a week in PE. With the competition moved to Durban at late notice and a week later, it was costly and impractical to be flying across the country given the athletes other work commitments. We scheduled a week in Durban before the competition, with Laura and Ayrton doing swim work with Vicky online where required instead of a 3rd Training camp. Even though we had gained a week - we had lost the weeks camp due to the change in venue. Another small complication was that we were then given a deadline to submit a video to NTS and KZN selectors - to determine if the duet was worthy for selection for Nationals! We thus needed a competition capable routine 2 weeks earlier than planned. However, with our solid preparation and the efforts of Tanya, Laura and Ayrton in Cape Town, we were quite happy with the results with 3 weeks to go. Light training for the final few weeks before the competition and lots of land drill was the order of the day. Laura was also still training her Tech Solo, also coached by Vicky, to qualify for World Champs so her time was at a premium. We had checked the weather forecast for the competition and saw rain predicted during the entire competition. Being outdoors this added an extra piece of planning. The weekend before the competition it was raining in Johannesburg and we held a full practice in the rain with our two up and coming youth athletes, Jadi and Kenzie, so that they could get used to swimming in the rain. We suggested to Laura and Ayrton that they do a swim being sprayed by a hosepipe. You can never be too prepared!
Video submitted for KZN Champs for selection purposes
MixedDuetKZNChamps2022
In just 8 weeks we had taught synchro to a beginner male athlete and put together a competition ready routine which, with clever choreography, looked good without needing Ayrton to do too many difficult moves. We are not sure but this must be some sort of record! - remembering that both Laura and Ayrton work full time, with limited training opportunities.
Ayrton could only join us the day before the mixed duet competition due to work commitments so we had only time for a few swim throughs and last minute minor corrections. It all looked good and we were confident of a good swim the next day.
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Final practice the day before the competition
Team Phoenix athletes Kenzie, Laura, Ayrton and Jadi in the Soul House.
Ayrton's eggbeater is better than his egg cooking skills on the morning of the competition!