Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
Over the holidays, we all had a little extra time to reflect and reconnect with those who help inspire us to reach our goals. This special New Year blog post is a conversation with Peter Verhoef, a member of NZ Manufacturing’s new 2016 Advisory Board. Click here to learn more about the physical therapists, strength training coaches, swim coaches and medical professionals that advise NZ Manufacturing on StrechCordz®, TurfCordz® and MediCordz® product applications and development. We’ll be featuring interviews and resistance training tips from our Advisory Board in upcoming blog posts throughout 2016.
A CONVERSATION WITH PETER VERHOEF
What draws you to swimming over other sports?
I grew up as a swimmer and the process to become my best taught me so many valuable life lessons, it is my goal to share those with more swimmers as they begin and grow in the sport. There are many great opportunities for swimmers to develop a great work ethic, a competitive focus, create confidence, become a better teammate, and share incredible memories – I just hope to inspire more young athletes to experience it!
What’s your favorite thing about being a coach?
When you see an athlete begin to believe they can do something they didn’t think was possible before. But with hard work and focus they can. Along with other coaches at SwimMAC Carolina we strive to create opportunities for athletes to experience this as much as possible – to see one young athlete believe is great – a whole team of athletes believing is simply incredible.
Tell us a little about the 2012 Olympic Games. What was that like for you?
As a young coach, I was very fortunate to start my professional career working with Coach David Marsh (2012 Olympic Coach, 2016 Team USA Head Coach) and SwimMAC’s Team Elite swimmers. I joined the staff in 2010 and spent the following two years working with professional swimmers to reach their goal of competing in London. We watched 5 of our athletes qualify for Team USA in which they won 6 medals. I was able to be in London for most of their events. Not only were these athletes that I worked with as a coach, some were my peers and close friends. It was a very memorable week of racing and it has left a lasting impression on me of how incredible the Olympics truly are. The whole event brings out the best in everyone (athletes, coaches and fans from around the world) and just being able to join in on the excitement only encouraged me to return and help build the next generation(s) of Olympians.
How do you incorporate StrechCordz® Resistance Training into your training program?
The challenge of coaching swimmers lies in the element of water – unlike land based sports, it can be difficult for athletes to see or realize what their body is doing compared to what the athlete thinks it is doing. Coaches must be creative in finding ways for the athlete to directly see the results of proper technique combined with proper force to move through the water. StretchCordz® not only provides a challenging part of working out – they are also instrumental in teaching swimming fundamentals. At SwimMAC we use cords in as many ways as we can think up. From creating a challenge by adding resistance or teaching proper “catch” of the water, to teaching how to reduce drag by assisting a swimmer to moving through the water faster – we can do it all with StretchCordz®!
Why did you decide to join the NZCordz Advisory Board?
I have been a customer and huge fan of NZCordz products as an athlete and a coach – this is an opportunity to share with other coaches and athletes ideas on how to get better within a very reasonable budget. Between learning from other experts on how to use the products to hopefully inspiring all levels of swimmers to use these awesome tools – this was an opportunity I could not pass up and feel honored to be considered!
