Testimonials

Listen to what collegiate, high school, and club coaches, have to say about us. And then hear what masters swimmers, and even age group swimmers have to say about the 3S Training System.

"Fantastic time drops across all events" ... "Every swimmer finished the season with career best times" ... "Better than anything I have ever tried" ... "Our season was a success" ... "Cutting edge ... most progressive" ... "Light years ahead of the competition" ... "The system works!"

"Sergei... One of the swimmers on your Internet program, Tamara Swaby, is presently competing in the Central American Games in El Salvador. She swam the 100 meter (LC) butterfly in 1:04.8. You predicted she would be swimming 1:04.79 at this time. Her best time is 1:04.3. Very Impressive results."

Ernie Maglischo

"Sergei... After implementing the 3S System for one year, we had a swimmer drop over 5 and a half seconds in her 200 free and over 2.5 in her 100. After placing 87th at Summer Nationals the year prior, she won both events at NCSA Junior Nationals with times faster than the 2004 USA Olympic Trials cuts.

I truly believe that Super Sport Systems has made a difference. Not just in our elite athletes' performances, but team wide. 3S gives our program the tools we need to excel. The 3S paces and seasonal planning have proved to be dead on accurate for individual and systemic success.

What used to take me hours before 3S, now takes minutes. I wouldn't plan a season without it."

Coach Rich Rogers
Tampa Bay Aquatics

Dear Sergei:

Our mid-season November meet this year was one of the best that I have ever coached. We had some fantastic time drops across all events and distances, and almost everyone was "on target" with their times (or ahead of schedule) based on the 3s projected progression of results in each of their best events. One of the program's greatest values, however, comes when an athlete is NOT on schedule.

I have made the assumption in these few cases that the training has been appropriate, but that there is another side to the story, such as sickness, a technical or strategic problem, or an error in mental approach or motivation.

Experience has shown me that this has invariably been the case. We have a couple notable kids who trained well last year but did not perform up to expectation in meets, and who addressed the "other issues" and who performed extremely well in our November invitational this year: a breaststroker who couldn't break 1:10 or 2:30 last year and who has already gone 1:07 and 2:27, a sprinter who went 53.2 last year and has gone 52.3 and split 51.6 twice this year. ..

I am a big believer in this system - looking forward to sharing more success stories in the spring!"

Matt Kredich
Head Coach
University of Richmond
Swimming
December 2003

Dear Sergei,

At Randolph-Macon College, we had a very strong level of success with the 3S program that we utilized this past season. On the men's team, every swimmer finished the season with career best times; on the women's side, we had 10 of 12 swimmers achieve one or more career best times at our conference meet (the remaining 2 swimmers were injured for a significant portion of the season).

In my mind, the benefits of the program are threefold:

1. Accountability - The scientific nature of the program enabled us to plan, manage, and measure our training and progress with better efficiency and reliability. The 3S program acted as an impartial third-party intermediary, giving both swimmer and coach some added accountability in the goal attainment process. It forced us into being more jointly responsible for working hard to produce appropriate expectations, to stick to those expectations throughout the season, and then to follow through with results in the pool.

2. Confidence - As a coach, 3S allowed me to be more confident, consistent, and detailed about planning for a workout, a week, and the season. I relied on the program as a guide to help me with gauging the percentage of work for each energy zone for our individual swimmers. The 3S system was infinitely valuable during workouts because it provided us with multiple variables to confirm that the appropriate energy system was being stressed (i.e. heart rate, number of repeats, distance, amount of rest, etc.). Toward the end of the season, if the workout called for a zone II set, our athletes knew instinctively what was expected in terms of work effort and heart rate. The swimmers gained confidence by having all of this information on the workout and they became independent at correlating workout pace with season goals on a daily basis.

3. Motivation - The parametric sets (i.e. 23 x 100) proved to be an effective weekly report card and motivator because the swimmers knew what was coming and what was expected in advance. We used the parametric sets as a team-bonding experience and each athlete's goal pace/ actual pace was documented in an open forum so that each athlete could assess herself and her teammates on a weekly basis. The swimmers gained confidence because they knew precisely where the clock should be for them on a given repeat, and precisely where their heart rate would be when finished.

Although the program and the workouts can appear overly scientific and mundane, I found that using the system did not jeopardize my own creativity or coaching style. I tried to be consistent about following the total volume for each energy zone, but I found that I had to be flexible in terms of making changes to workouts to address the psychological needs of individuals, academic priorities, fatigue and illness, stroke mechanics, and meet/ travel situations.

I was encouraged by our results and I am looking forward to learning more about how the 3S system can help our athletes in the future.

Dave Holland,
Head Swimming Coach
Randolph-Macon College

Dear Sergei,

About our season: Overall, our season was a success. This was our second season using 3S and it made the world of difference. My ability to understand the system and specialize it for the different athletes in different training groups improved tremendously. I had two revelations this season regarding the 3S:

1. My more experienced swimmers understood very quickly the different zones, different phases, etc. within our season. They quickly absorbed our training approach. They were the swimmers that clung closely to their required HR; they were the ones who would admit that their HR would stay the same but their times/efficiency in a set would improve throughout the season. These athletes - many of which are 21/22 years old - had the best season of their lives. A senior 200 Freestyler dropped 2 seconds this season to a 1:39.34; a senior 200 Backstroker erased a whole second off his school record with a time of 1:48.30.

2. Some swimmers just don't get it. They are under the impression that "full throttle" is the best way to train. These swimmers would receive the "Hardest Worker" on many teams - but they fail to grasp the understanding of different energy systems. I have had a hard time re-programming them to pay attention to HR, stroke count, and efficiency in the water. They just want to go, go, go, go.

My approach with them has been very different from my experienced group. This group needed to be controlled - I had to force them to follow stroke count guidelines regardless of speed or breathing patterns regardless of speed. They became more mature, but need more time in the "system."

I'll be back on next year. I already look forward to making changes to my approach to 3S.

Thanks again!

Matthew Barany
Head Men's Swim Coach
James Madison University
540-568-6528 office
540-568-3489 fax

Sergei,

I got involved with the Super Sport Systems program for one simple reason and that is to produce max performances at the championship meets. With all my experience in the swimming world as a competitor, parent of swimmers, and coach it was not clear to me how a coach could guarantee a swimmers best performance at the end of the year and also the times that they may obtain. I was in search of that holy grail, if you will.

The system has worked wonderfully well for producing championship swims at the big meets at the end of the year. The more I use the system the more confidence I have in the program.

Highlights of the performances for the high school and YMCA swimmers:

• 2004 - 2 of my high school swimmers qualified for the NYS High School Championships

• 2004 - 2 of my YMCA swimmers won state titles in there respective events

• 2004 - 1 of my swimmers qualified for the YMCA Nationals

• 2005 - 4 of my high school swimmers qualified for NYS High School Championships

• 2005 - we won our first relay ever at the sectional championships coming within a couple tenths of a second for All American Recognition

• 2005 - 4 swimmers qualified for YMCA nationals with 3 swimmers in individual events, 2 freestyle relays also qualified for the national meet
  
  The swimming program at the YMCA and high school have taken quantum leaps in performance over the past couple of years. I expect that it will continue to do so over the coming years. I have used extensively the Super Sport System program developed by Sergei as my training model. It works.
  
  Respectfully
  Bill Asay
  Head Coach
  Saratoga YMCA
  Saratoga High School

Dear Sergei,

I would like to thank you for your involvement in our program's success at this past week's USA Swimming's National Championships. Our athletes had an extremely positive experience and I attribute much of their success to the 3S system. Our swimmers had all best times and finished each race with authority. We look forward to continuing our association with you as we prepare for US Olympic Trials later this year.

I have analyzed the numbers and the results are amazing. Chelsea Nauta dropped over four (4) seconds in her 200 free. The drop moved her from 87th at Nationals this summer to 28th this past week. The time also placed her 8th in the country for the 18 & Unders and 2nd in 16 & Unders.

Chelsea also had the opportunity to swim her "second event" that we targeted through the 3S system at the meet; the 100 meter Free. Her time of 57.96 was over a second lower than her previous best. The time placed her 32nd overall, 7th in the country for the 18 & Unders and 4th 16 & Under. The time qualified her for the USA National Junior Team. In addition to these targeted swims, she swam well in her 400 (3 second lifetime drop) and the 50 (another personal best).

We had a 16 year old female back stroker place 30th in the 100 meter backstroke at the meet. Her time of 1:05.77 was her best and was strong enough for a 15th place finish in the country for 18 & Unders and 10 for 16 & Unders, and this was her first individual National Competition.

These girls followed the 3S suggested workouts closely. We made a commitment to the system and worked hard to hit the target times. I feel strongly that now, with their positive experience using the 3S system, they will progress even faster.

Again, Thanks.

Rich Rogers
Director
Tampa Bay Aquatics
February 2004