Swimming, Not Just Champion And Up The Podium

YOGYAKARTA - Achievements in the form of important medals in swimming. However, there are more than just being champions or climbing the podium, namely the growth and development of swimming athletes to the top.

There is no instant champion. Swimming athletes train for one month just to pursue medals targets in a district-level championship, for example.

It is important for swimming athletes to undergo the process because being a winner is not just going on the podium instantly. This means that athletes do not need to be forced to undergo hard training and even exceed their abilities according to their age.

"If that happens, it will damage athletes because they take excessive training. The reason is, he has undergone training that is not age-appropriate. In other words, the training program is aimed at children who are above him. Athletes will ultimately not reach peak or peak performance at the age of gold," said Danang Prio Sambodho, swimming club coach Tirta Amanda, Sleman, DIY.

Achieving high achievements and in accordance with the growth of swimming athletes, there is actually a Long Term Development Athlete (LTAD) program or the Development of Long-Term Athletes.

LTAD was developed by sports science scientist, Canada Istva Balyi. The program should have been developed by coaches and swimming clubs because it could lead athletes to achieve achievements until they reached the top.

Through this program, athletes are not only taught and practice swimming. However, they will also get fitness, intellectual, health, and social development through an instant process.

"If they can finally win and get on the podium, this is not done instantly. There is a process and that is what takes precedence before they reach the top and then achieve the achievements as desired," said Danang.

The LTAD program, which was developed in the 1990s, is divided into several parts that are adapted to the age of athletes. Through LTAD, athletes reached the peak of achievement at the age of 19 years and over for men and for women 18 years and over.

The importance of LTAD is because the success of swimming athletes in achieving achievements cannot be done instantly. Only with one month of practice will the athlete suddenly win a medal.

"All clubs in the DIY Regional Government should implement LTAD because the long-term program is adjusted to the age of children. No achievements are achieved instantly," said Boyke Dharma, Deputy Chairman II of the DIY PRSI Regional Government.

"A licensed coach usually applies LTAD at the club. On the other hand, unlicensed coaches tend to choose to pursue early achievements," said Boyke, a former national swimmer in the 1990s.

Clubs that only quickly pursue athletes' achievements will reject the LTAD program. The reason is, this can raise the club's name even though it is done instantly. The club's ambition to achieve achievements instantly is sometimes in accordance with the wishes of parents who want to see their children excel quickly.

This can affect athletes when entering the golden age. Especially if they are forced to take additional training outside the portion. If they reach golden, they will not last long and sink quickly.

"This can happen when the child participates in O2SN at his school. He is given additional training portions. However, all of this must be known to the coach. When it is finished, he must return to undergoing training according to the portion," he said again.

Problems that are not easy are because parents definitely want to see their children excel. It is important to educate parents about LTAD.