HeadCoach

We all know that technique is everything when it comes to swimming, which is why we’d love to have a coach on deck for all our swim workouts. It would be great if there was someone there to remind us to keep our head in the right position, to turn our head at the right time when breathing, and to provide other tips to ensure we’re actually improving our technique, not just repeating bad habits. Now, even if you aren’t part of a coached swim program, that can happen thanks to HeadCoach – a digital swim coach that’s sitting in your Form Smart Goggles.

Form’s innovative goggles, with the augmented reality (AR) display that provides real-time metrics and data visualization, were a game-changer for many triathletes when they were introduced in 2019. The goggles have developed dramatically since then: first open-water tracking was added, then the company raised the bar to a new level in 2021 with in-goggle workouts and training plans. This week, after almost two years in development, Form released the next major innovation in swim training: HeadCoach. HeadCoach provides real-time coaching in-goggle, along with tailored educational resources and video content in the Form App.

Find out more and purchase a pair of Form Smart Swim Goggles

As a long-time Form user, I was excited to sit down with Brian Johns, Head of Coaching Science at Form and Paul Hossack, Chief Product Officer, for a deep-dive on HeadCoach and why the feature will transform the way triathletes approach their swim training.

“Swimming is a very technique-driven sport,” says Johns, who speaks from experience. He was a member of Canada’s national swim team from 1998 to 2011, and coached at the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club for many years.

So we’re back to that original question. Having a coach on deck to help with your form is great, but what if you don’t have someone like Johns right there to help you? What if you could identify and address technique flaws in real time?

The answer was already built into the Form goggles, with the variety of onboard sensors that were already tracking data in real-time. With HeadCoach, this data is utilized to isolate specific swim technique aspects and deliver real-time, visual feedback within the goggle display.

Specifically, HeadCoach helps you refine your technique through two types of metrics: Form Score and HeadCoach skills. Form Score measures your overall swim efficiency and provides a “mark” between 0 and 100, defined by pace and stroke length. HeadCoach skills include five different areas that swimmers can work on to improve their efficiency: head roll, head pitch, set pacing, interval pacing and breathing “time-to-neutral.”

Johns and the engineering crew at Form were able to create models and a scoring process that show your head position in real time. Each specific skill has a gamified exercise that will help you hone your technique. For example, for head pitch, you’ll see a dot on the screen that will sit between two lines. If the dot moves above the top line, your head position is too high. If it moves below the bottom line, your head position is too low. In many ways, this level of accurate, actionable feedback is beyond what an actual coach could provide from the deck.

“Having the ability to get feedback on your technique is a profound step forward,” says Hossack. “Knowing what to do is one thing, executing is another. That’s why we think there’s value to bringing focus to one element at a time.”

The proof of that focus quickly became apparent during the testing process – Johns was happy to see just how effective the “head pitch” exercise turned out to be.

“The swimmer’s ability to improve in the moment is quite substantial,” he says. “HeadCoach provides personalized coaching focused on your technique.”

HeadCoach doesn’t just help you while you’re in the water. Once you’ve completed your workout, you can track your progress and get lots more feedback using the Form Swim App. The app provides swimmers of all levels with helpful educational resources and videos that provide valuable stroke-improvement tools.

“At Form, we’ve reinvented how athletes train in the water by providing swimmers with real-time data through the Form Smart Swim Goggles’ unique AR display,” says Dan Eisenhardt, CEO of Form. “Now, with the launch of HeadCoach, we’re taking that innovation one step further by giving swimmers access to a digital swim coach in their goggles and on their phone. HeadCoach provides unparalleled insights into swim performance and empowering swimmers of all levels to unlock new potential.”

The Form Smart Swim Goggles sell for $339, with a one-year trial of a Premium membership which includes Guided Workouts, Training Plans, TrainingPeaks workout integration and HeadCoach. After one year, the Premium plan costs $19/ month.

For triathletes who know they’re doing all the work, but still aren’t seeing the improvements they so desperately want, a coach can make all the difference. Now, there’s no excuse. Your next coach just started giving you feedback through the AR display in your goggles.

This story is presented by Form