Episode #030: Arilson Silva

Brazilian coach Arilson Silva has worked with some of the world’s best swimmers including two time Olympian Bruno Fratus. Today, in Hungary, he is hard at work preparing Andriy Govorov for Tokyo 2020/2021.

As Arilson gets into conversation with Brett today, he opens up about his philosophies as a coach. He shares what Cesar Cielo’s gold medal meant to Brazil and the progress the country has made in the face of setbacks. He also provides generous insights into his approach to training, supplementation and nutrition.

As former partners, find out how Brett and Arilson found common ground and mutual respect despite being from different sides of the globe. They share why at the end of the day, as coaches to high level swimmers, they’re both on the same team in helping to move the sport forward.

“The body will be ready but it's not the body that's going to make that performance, it's the mindset.”

-Arilson Silva [53:27]

Arilson Silva Full Episode:

Key Takeaways:

Arilson Silva’s approach to coaching.
How Brazilian swimming has evolved.
What the path to Tokyo 2020 looks like for him and his swimmers.

Episode Timeline:

[00:02] Intro
[01:02] Arilson Silva on training Andriy Govorov
[02:11] Working together for the Brazilian team for the 2008 Olympics
[02:51] Being welcoming to a foreign coach
[05:52] What Cesar Cielo's Olympic win meant to Brazil
[08:13] How it shifted the mindset of
[11:09] Working together and working for Brazil
[13:57] The impact of the corruption on Brazilian swimming
[16:18] Cause of the culture of corruption in the Brazilian Federation
[19:24] What coaches in Brazil do best
[20:30] Preparing Govorov for Tokyo- 50 free and 100 fly
[21:54] Coaching swimmers to swim a faster 50 free
[24:14] Vo2 max training and threshold intensity training
[26:23] Workout schedules
[32:52] Increasing swimmer's awareness
[33:54] Recording progress and growth
[35:51] Arilson Silva's approach to recovery
[37:53] Thoughts on canceling workouts
[39:20] Supplements and working with nutritionists
[44:32] Chances of breaking the world records
[45:23] Who he thinks has a chance to break the world record
[46:44] How tension affects performance
[48:55] Brett's experience with tension at the Olympics
[51:04] Preparing for the tension
[54:59] Outro

Key Quotes:

“On that level of competitive swimming, it's pretty clear for me that we are in the same boat. So we have to support each other. We are competing, I want my athlete, performing better than yours at the right time you know? but in the end we are in the same boat. So, if we don't support each other, you don't share knowledge and experiences, you don't improve our sport and the more we improve the more we can inspire other people.” -Arilson Silva [04:51]
“We don't have mass. We don't have a lot of people so we cannot make mistakes... As Brazilian coaches, we have to be assertive... Otherwise, we're going to miss a lot of potential.” -Arilson Silva [19:35]

Connect:

Find | Brett Hawke

On Instagram @hawkebr

Find | Arilson Silva

On Instagram: @arilsonsilvaswimcoach

On Facebook: @ArilsonSilvaCoach

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