HOW THEY TRAIN: FRED BOUSQUET

Swimming World Magazine, Jun 2005 by Marsh, David

Fred Bousquet fits in with our program as an aerobic-based sprinter. He is a powerful and gifted athlete whose natural abilities were enhanced by years of playing soccer. In the weight room, he is among the strongest athletes on our team.

In the water, we begin the year training together, then gradually break out into more specialized groups, first three and, eventually, eight. Fred does not wind up in the drop-dead sprint group. Unlike many sprinters, he embraces the aerobic component of training. If anything, he has a tendency to train too hard, so we monitor him carefully, occasionally having to pull him out of practice.

At the end of the season, Fred winds up in a group with other anaerobic, power-based sprinters. In the weight room, he is in the power explosive group, where the athletes do Olympic lifts. The goal of the program is to establish a solid power base in which the swimmer develops more and more explosiveness and eventually transfers that explosive power into the water.

As the 2004-05 season progressed, I became convinced that Fred could-and would-break 19 seconds for the 50 free, but I was totally unprepared for what he did. 18.74 doesn't just break the record, it redefines the event.

Still, I believe he can improve. When Fred arrived here, he had plateaued at 51-low for 100 meters for two or three years. We took his stroke and opened it up, placing a stronger emphasis on the front quadrant, which allowed his pure athieticism to carry him through the rest of the underwater pattern of his stroke. We also worked on body alignment, making sure he maintained a streamlined, narrow and rigid body line.

Fred has a tendency to do his best when he's in his most intense zone. He's in that zone in the team environment of the NCAAs and in relays. This year he was also in that zone in the prelims of the 50 free. After being forced to win a swim-off to get into the finals last year, he wanted to make a loud statement this year. I think he succeeded.

A lot of people have commented on Fred's turn at NCAAs. Yes, it was an outstanding turn and, yes, discounting the start, Fred's second lap was faster than his first. At Auburn, we teach everyone the Auburn turn, then we allow each swimmer to modify it somewhat. Fred's turn was simply an Auburn turn enhanced by his incredible athieticism.

SETS

There are very few sets that we repeat during the course of a season, but one we did involved 200 yard kicks. Early on, we did 12 x 200 kicking on 3:30, and Fred did in the high 2:30s. Over the season, we reduced the number of repeats and increased the rest to six minutes. In those sets, Fred got down to 2:18.

One fun set we did, in which Fred swam impressively, was 6 x 50 free on five minutes with a push. Fred's goal was to keep all of his 50s under 21. In fact, they were all 20-low: from 20.0 to 20.3. Some of our other sprinters also met the goal. I think having so many quick sprinters training together-George Bovell, Ryan Wochomurka, Bryan Lundquist and Scott Goodrich-helps all of them to go faster.

I believe Fred has the ability to be among the world's elite in long course competition-even without the advantage of his turns. His challenge is to develop the ability to put himself into the same ideal mental state as he has at the NCAAs. If he can develop that skill for his individual events, he will be a major force in the next several years.