Hey, i am going to join the swim team at my school, what can i do to be a successful swimmer?

Question

I am sixteen years old, former varsity football player and now a soccer player, i am an extremely good athlete, and have been told that i have a swimmers body. most of the swimmers at my school are regional champion swimmers, what can i do to compete on they're level?

Answer 1

well. Football players wouldn't be as good swimmers as other people might be. Football players tend ot have large body with a lot of muscle mass. Swimming requires a lean, tall, limber body with strength rather than muscle mass.

You do a lot of abb workouts 'cause developing your core is really important in swimming.

tips:

#1 DO NOT SAY FOOTBALL OR ANY OTHER SPORT IS HARDER OR BETTER. ... mainly cause you'd p**s off everyone -common sense-

freestyle.

Have good rotation from your body, your hips leading and then followed by your arms. do not swim flat, rotate from side to side in the water.

Don't kick from your knee, but more your whole leg as one. keep your head down and on you recovery (the part where you'd bring you arm out of the water) keep your elbo high.

Dont not curl or flatten your hands. They have a natural curve and if you curve it to much, the water with go against it, slowing you down.

Stretch. On your catch, (the part where you "scoop" the water) make your body tall and stretch in the water and suck in your stomach.

Keep you head down. If it's up, yourbody will sink. If it's too low though, your body will stick out of the water too much.

Keep your toes pointed.

breathe every 3 strokes. Breathing ever other stroke will tire you and give you cramps.

Back

Basically, the same that allplies to free-style.

But, nevertheless, dont pick your head up out of the water.

Focus on the ceiling and make sure you rotate.

Thumb out pinky in.

on the start:

       When jumping off, don't SWING your arms. bring them straight up into a streamline.

when off the wall, go to your side and keep a high elbow as if you were "take the pizza"

count how many stroke it takes you to get to the wall from the flags.

Then, to do a turn, subject that numbe of stroke by one and then flip over.

i.e.. takes 5 strokes to get to the wall from the flags. Flip over to your stomach on the 4th stroke and flip-turn.

again,  stretch in the water.

Breast:

keep you head down. When you come out of the water, head down, and then DIVE back down. Dont pull out too much; imagine you are swimming in a narrow tube body-width wide.

kick;

bring your ankles up to your butt; knees facing in and ankles out.

Feet are to be FLAT! until after the kick.

snap your legs in as hard as you can to propell yourself forward.

Butterfly;

Do not bring your arms back to far! You WILL get tired if you bring them past your chest. (applies mostly to your pull/recovery)

have a high elbow with coming out of the water and then dont bring them out to high, or else you WILL get tired easily.

keep head down.

kick from your STOMACH/ABBS. NOT FROM YOU KNEES. kicking from your knees is a HUGE no-no for fly.  

keep legs together and feet pointed.

stretch on your catch

set a rhythm; 1- 1 1/2 kicks per stroke.

try to breathe every other stroke until you have better breathing control.

make sure arms are brought out in sync.

make sure kick is in sync.

do the same "take the pizza" push off the wall as with breast.

General:

breathe in through your mouth and out your nose.

stretch well before swimming.

keep a tight streamline and a high elbow.

if you have long hair, wear a cap.

i would recommend "Speedo" swimwear for goggles and caps and a speedo etc..

1 lap = 25 yards or 25 meters depending on the pool

Starting:

Whether track start or point start, dont SWING your arms around. throw them up into a TIGHT STREAMLINE.

Do not DIVE into the water. It's best if you stay at the top when starting.

keep head down. If lifted up you will go down and your body will sink.

Turns:

when doing a flip turn, throw yourself into a tight ball. and push off the wall quick and fast. Dont pause or else the turbulance from you going to the wall will slow you down. Keep a tight streamline, too.

Doing regular turns.

Dont push your self out of the water; keep low and in the water and rather turn over than, per-say, jump over.

It will get easier once you join and your coach would/SHOULD explain most of this stuff to you. Some swimmers hold hostility towards f-ball players who stereotype swimming as  "not a sport"

It is. And it's an olympic sport at that.

You will understand all this swim jargon once you join as well.  

Answer 2

Like all sports, practice is everything.. work on technique & endurance.  Sounds like you have a HUGE headstart if you're already an athlete, but don't take swimming lightly.  Endurance in the water is completely different from on land.

Finally - find your stroke/event.  Breaststroke, Butterfly, etc. and then tell the coach you want to focus there the most.  Best of luck.