How ti get on an olympic swimming team and how to get the right training?

Question

How ti get on an olympic swimming team and how to get the right training?

Answer 1

You have to start from the bottom and work your way up.

If you are young enough, under 10, you could start in a rec swim team. they typically last about 4 weeks and give you a basic introduction to swimming.

There are swim teams all over, I believe USA swimming has a list of them on their website. Go in and talk to a coach and get signed up for the team. There will be dues, they go to pay for pool rent, equipment, and coach's wages (we don't make much).  Even a bad coach is going to be able to get you going in the right direction. If you discover you have a natural talent then after a year or so you might want to start looking around for a coach that has a good team with lots of fast kids. That will do two things for you, you need a good coach, and if he/she has lots of fast kids its pretty much a given that he or she is good. Swimming with other fast kids will really push you to do better. you NEED that daily competition in practice.

From there its just a matter of going to every meet you can, set some good times and then work on beating your times every time you swim.  If you are good enough you will be invited to several exclusive races where only the fastest are allowed. There are a ton of different meets, from weekly local meets to international meets held every few months.

After high school, if you are really good you might be able to get a scholarship for swimming, hopefully at a good swimming school (Auburn, Michigan, Arizona are a few that come to mind). That is where many people really make a name for themselves, but its not a required route. If you want to go to a smaller college you can swill swim and make a name for yourself. Even if you don't go to college, you can swill swim and make a name for yourself.

Once you set a fast time (really fast) you will be eligible to compete in the Olympic qualifying meet. Once there, if you are able to place in the top 2 any event, you will get a trip to the olympics.

That is the road map to success. That does not mean anyone can do it. But if you start young enough, and put in a lot of hard work (6 days a week, 3 hours a day or more) then you can absolutely set some fast times and have a lot of fun.