Bob Bowman, the coaching genius behind phenomenal USA swimmer Michael Phelps, opened the Swimming Coaches’ Golden Clinic in Windsor with his insights and specific training drills.

Bowman highlighted his Christmas-New Year training of 2002-03, explaining how Phelps improved with his “unbelievable work ethic”.

For six years until the 2004 Olympic Games, Phelps trained 365 days a year, a staggering statistic in itself. Bowman detailed his training programmes; how he improved Phelps’ breaststroke over a long period and what times he was doing in training, many times on or under world-record pace.

He explained Phelps’ early years when he was a “little brat with a discipline problem all the time. He was causing so many problems so we had to put him into an older group.”

He talked of how Phelps could swim five 100s on a minute as an 11 year old at the end of a session, intimating his incredible potential. Bowman said that once Phelps learned the six-beat kick, his swimming “exploded”.

In the session Bowman explained how Michael Phelps is a notorious descender, especially in training: “He always has something at the end.”

For the coach it is important to set goal for stroke count and set a goal for time, then adjust those.

Check out the video and learn from the coach of the most awarded athlete in the history.