A Close Shave
A week before the strongest meet of the season, the Syracuse swimming and diving team is resting up and shaving down.
The swimmers are changing their practice schedules and shaving their body hair in hopes of turning in their fastest times at the Nov. 21-23 Nike Cup in Chapel Hill, N.C.
A home victory against Colgate in October and a sweep of three teams at Loyola earlier this month have boosted SU’s confidence, but the young squad knows it needs more than confidence to do well next week.
‘We’re going to get to Nike Cup, and we’re probably not going to be the fastest in every event,’ co-captain Spencer Raymond said. ‘So we’re trying not to keep people’s hopes down, but to keep them level-headed.’
There’s one crucial step to mental preparation — shaving. Body hair increases resistance in the water and reduces swimmers’ sensitivity, so SU practices without shaving for weeks and then shaves just before the meet.
‘Eventually, we’ll shave our legs, and guys will shave their chests and whatever else they want to shave,’ co-captain Elyse McDonough said. ‘We really just shave down all the hair we can.’
Shaving has the same effect for swimmers as warming up with a bat weight does for an on-deck hitter. The swimmers feel lighter, faster and more sensitive in the water, giving them an extra burst of intensity and confidence.
‘Every part of your stroke is so important. So when you shave down, your skin becomes more sensitive to feeling the water,’ Raymond said. ‘You know exactly where you are and what you’re doing in the water.’
Shaving, though, doesn’t have a drastic effect on a swimmer’s time. A change in workout schedule builds up Syracuse’s strength and intensity.
At this point in the season, Syracuse tapers its workouts. Tapering — shortening the duration and increasing the intensity of workout sessions — prepares swimmers for the demanding, three-day meet and opens time for physical rest and mental preparation.
Throughout the season, the swimmers work about 20 hours a week. But during the two weeks before the competition, that time is cut in half.
‘The rest you have overcompensates for the amount of work that you’ve done previously,’ Raymond said. ‘So it’s almost like you’re stronger than you really are.
‘You do a lot of really hard work during the season, you lift a lot of weights, and then when you get closer, you rest a lot. You up the intensity a lot.’
Indeed, the Nike Cup has produced some of the fastest times for many past Syracuse swimmers because of SU’s preparatory tapering. And some swimmers, including co-captain Steve Polucha, have already achieved personal-best times in practice.
‘It’s basically just getting everyone ready for it, especially the freshmen,’ Raymond said. ‘They haven’t experienced a meet like this yet.’
Published on November 13, 2002 at 12:00 pm