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Private and Group Swimming Lessons Competitive Swim Stroke Clinic |
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Tamás Széchy (1931-2004) |
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Tamas Szechy (nicknamed "The swimming Pope") was one of the most productive coaches of his generation. From the tiny country of Hungary he coached swimmers, who won 15 Olympic medals. The swimmers he trained, including András Hargitay, Sándor Wladár, Zoltán Verrasztó, Albán Vermes, Tamás Darnyi, József Szabó, Norbert Rózsa, and Attila Czene, won 8 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze medals at five Olympic Games between 1972 and 1996; 12 gold, 3 silver ,and 6 bronze medals at eight World Championships between 1973 and 1998; and 16 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals at ten European Championships between 1974 and 1995. Szechy's mark on Hungarian and international swimming has been indelible.
Szechy also developed a three-macrocycle training program that is used by swim coaches all over the world. The first macrocycle (September to December) involves enhancing the physical capabilities of the athlete. This usually requires various cross-training exercises. Macrocycle No. 2 (January to April) targets quickness and endurance; during this time, the swimmer works on his/her primary stroke. In the final macrocycle (May to August), the athlete prepares for competition with the ultimate goal of breaking old swim records.
He worked out his training program himself and applied it with implacable consistency. He did not get anybody involved in his work. The success he achieved proved him right. He became an unappealable authority. He raised Olympic-, World-, and European Champion swimmers. His swimmers trusted him, even those who did not like him personally very much. Everybody was afraid of him and everybody admired the vocation of the “Old man”. His name is connected to the most shining period of the history of Hungarian swimming. |
