Breaking into the sport of swimming?

Question

I'm interested in actively getting involved in the sport of swimming. Not only for the physical benefits and toning of my body, but as a hobby also. Its something thats always been an interest of mine and im a fairly good swimmer. My ultimate goal is to eventually join a team and compete. I've been swimming laps and building stamina at the gym in the past few weeks but would like to further my skills. I'm eighteen years old and am kind of at a loss of how to break into the sport. I looked into getting an instructor, but can't really afford it. Any advice would be awesome. I'm attending a year of community college in my town but will be transfering to a university next year, where I would love to join a team

Answer 1

At your age, your best bet is to join a master's swim team.  Master's teams are designed for adults and they do compete occasionally.  If you can already swim pretty well, a coach should be able to help you.  In general, you have to be 19 to compete, so by the time you are ready, you will probably be 19.  They usually run about $50-$100 per month and they swim as much as 5 days a week.  Check out the USA Swimming Master's Webpage: http://www.usms.org/

Good Luck

Answer 2

I don't want to diminish your goals as strange things happen but ... you're considering starting your competitive career a bit late.  

However, since you're going to attend a community college, I'd suggest you take a swimming course.  Look in the college catalog and determine which level course (beginning, intermediate, or advanced) you'd fit into.  You'll still have to learn the competitive strokes but, you may find that you catch on quickly.

In addition, although a college coach is looking for experienced swimmers, the coach may welcome you and help you decide if being on the team is for you.  You'll have to learn how to work-out and what it takes to actually compete.

Regardless, as the old saying goes, "nothing ventured nothing gained."  So ... go for it!