When Olympic champion Lars Frölander and his teammateson the Swedish National Swim Team hit the pools in Bloomingtonrecently, their presence was reminiscent of an exciting periodin Indiana University 's aquatic history, when teams and coachesfrom around the world regularly traveled to this Midwestern college town for one purpose, to learn from Doc.
Long-time IU swim coach James “Doc” Counsilman, who coacheda remarkable number of championship teams and Olympic medalists,was celebrated internationally for his revolutionary marriageof science and swimming, a passion carried on at IU Bloomington'sCounsilman Center for the Science of Swimming.
The Swedish swim team came to IU prior to heading to Montrealfor the World Swimming Championship. While here, they acclimatedto the time change, practiced twice daily at IU's notable aquaticfacilities and heard from Counsilman Center researchers aboutwhat it takes to swim fast – drawing on the center's researchinvolving technology, power development, sprint performance andother aspects of swimming.
“This visit gave us the opportunity to work with an elite swimteam and to share our research findings,” said JoelStager, directorof the Counsilman Center . Stager describes himself and researchassociate Dave Tanner as “disciples” of Counsilman's philosophy. “It'spretty exciting.”
Research at the Counsilman Center involves the exploration anddesign of swimming-related technology, such as omnidirectionalaccelerometers to assess energy expenditure while swimming andunderwater cameras, which have been used to film swimmers duringcompetition, storing the footage digitally using a fiber opticfirewire and a laptop computer. Stager describes the use of scienceas a "shortcut" to top performance. Rather than offeringcoaches anecdotal advice on best practices, researchers drawfrom a knowledge base of physiology, biomechanics, anatomy, nutrition(http://newsinfo.iu.edu/tips/page/normal/1674.html )and other fields to formulate principles that will help athletesand coaches prepare for competition.
"We hope to shorten the time required to advance trainingtechniques by embracing science to this end," Stager said.
Researchers examine safety issues. The Counsilman Center promotesswimming as an “excellent” lifetime activity. The benefitsgained, according to Stager, include lower blood pressure, improvedblood cholesterol and the maintaining of muscle mass. Swimmingcan even slow the aging process, according to recent researchfindings from the Counsilman Center (http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/segment.php4?seg=510 and http://newsinfo.iu.edu/tips/page/normal/1898.html ).
Counsilman, who died last year, coached at IU from 1957 to 1991.Instead of hoarding his findings, he shared them with coachesand swimmers worldwide.
“Often when we're at international facilities, we hear a reverencefor Doc's openness,” Stager said. “He shared his findings witheveryone. We're like that. We work to improve the sport throughscience.”
This summer 34-year-old Brazilian swimmer Ed Silva is trainingwith Counsilman Center staff as he prepares to try out for theBrazilian national swim team. Stager said he looks forward tobringing more elite swimmers to the community.
Stager can be reached at 812-855-1637 and stagerj@indiana.edu .To learn more about the Counsilman Center for the Science ofSwimming, visit http://www.indiana.edu/~hplab/ccss.html .
