I'm a freshman i want to the join swimming team next year nd don't know how to do all 4 strokes, Is it hard ?

Question

im planning to work out and condition my body the whole summer, i dont have a pool at my house but my next door neighbor does and he will let me swim in it once a week.I really like swimming but im not the greatest.We only have a Varsity team at our school and it is open to all grades. can i get a few tips, i know it will be intense but im commited. Does anyone else have a similar story?I'm also looking in to water polo is this a better sport for me?im scared:-(

Answer 1

Well I joined my high school swim team my junior year of high school, but my school had a juniour varsity team so I was able to learn the four competitive strokes which are butterfly, backstroke, breastroke, and freestyle. I would personally recommend looking for a local swim club in your area because I can tell you from experience that learning to swim is going to be hard at first, but with time you should get the hang of it. As for water polo, I did not participate in that sport, but a lot of the guys that were on the swim team at my high school were on the water polo team also. Other than that my only advice is go for it and enjoy because I really love the sport of swimming and actually could have kicked myself for not going out for my high school team earlier, so go for it and enjoy, but definitely check out local swim clubs in your area. Now just a side note, I graduated from high school twelve years ago, but I still love the sport of swimming.

Answer 2

Hey you can do it!!! Great to hear you are excitied however it is not going to be easy but it is well worth it.

1st you need to check and see if you highschool swim team is very competitive and if they accept walkons my school has a only a varsity team but they accept everyone because it is so small. If it is on trial basis get an idea of what you need to do to be on the team. Also if for some reason you don't make the team (and I am not saying you won't) there are many USA teams www.usaswimming.org or com don't remember. Follow the link to find a club. There are clubs in almost every area of the country and they accept anyone. That said.....

This summer the best thing you can do is

1) SWIM!!!! Find a USA team or a summer club team. Since you don't know the strokes you will need some coaching. If this is not possible then go to goswim.com there are many tips there. Some libraries have swimming movies that explain the strokes. If you know a friend that swims they might give you some tips.

2) Weight lifting will really help. However keep in mind that muscle doesn't float so becomming a bodybuilder type is not the goal lol :). 2-3 times a week is a good start.

3) Running. This will help with your cardio endurance. Build up to running 2-3 miles. Do this 2-3 times a week or more if you can't swim much.    

4) Other things like, crunches,pushups,squats, pull ups etc....

2 times a week.

Keep in mind that if you are not used to all of this start out slow and work your way up.

Make sure you eat right and add a lot of protien to your diet.

I started swimming in 9th grade as well and although it has been challenging I love it and I have made great progress. However don't be fooled it is a TON of work.

Good luck....

Let me know if you have any questions I would be glad to help!

Answer 3

honestly, your neighbor's pool won't help you unless it's a lap pool. i suggest joining a summer swim team at a club near your house. they're good fun and the environment is more relaxed, which will prep you for high school.  

if you don't learn all the strokes, do water polo, unless you want to make yourself look and feel inadequate....lol

Answer 4

I have the exact story, well, almost exact. I started in 8th grade. Don't get scared. I am on my Varsity swim team and I am not great at all 4 strokes. During a meet, you don't do all four strokes normally, unless you do the IM (Individual Medley). All I specialize in is Freestyle. You could do that. How competitive is your team? Is your school big and into swimming? These will also be part of if you get onto the team. With my team last year, we had like only 7 guys. It is demanding, but it is also really fun. Like someone said before me, swimming in your neighbor's pool will only help you if it is a lap pool. In other words, it has to be in ground and rectangle or square, like the pool that you will be competing in. If you don't know how to already, you will be taught how to flip off of the wall. That can always be interesting. I remember one time, I was swimming the 500 (that's 20 lengths, longest race of the meet) and off of the start, as soon as I dove in, my goggles decided to fill up with water and not stick to my head. I had to swim the whole thing with no goggles and, needless to say, I got a crappy time. It is a fun sport but it can also be very humbling. Be sure to get good goggles. I recommend Speedo. Any Q's just contact me.

Answer 5

Alright, it's very good that you are going to train over the summer.  That will help a lot, especially if you don't know all four strokes.  But you may want to find a local pool and swim laps there as well as at your neighbors house.  Find a coach or swimming friend who may be able to help you work on your strokes.  Don't train learning the strokes wrong!  That makes it so much harder to get fast.  Tecnique before speed.  My school only has a varsity team also, and we didn't make any cuts this year.  We practiced 4 hours a day, and two of those hours were in the morning.  Practices will be hard at first, and you will get stressed but don't give up.  

To help you build up streingth, I reccomend you do weights, kicking in the water, doing freestyle with only your arms and not kicking, stretching, and eating healthy.  I recomend bananas when you start competing (they help with cramps and provide great potassium).  

Its good that you're in the mind frame that it will be tough, because it will be, but with good training you'll get better and it will become easier.  You may want to join a local team or go to a swim camp or something over the summer to get the feel of workouts.  I have a friend starting her sophmore year, and she is going to join a local team this summer to get used to competing.  

As for water polo, i say GO FOR IT!  Pretty much all of my friends swim just so they can stay in shape for polo, and polo requires a lot of swimming.  A lot of swimmers do water polo, and many like polo better than swimming.  The seasons are not the same, so you could do both swimming and polo and they wouldn't interfer with eachother.  Don't be scared, because both sports may seem intimidating and they take a lot of hard work, but it will get easier! If you join the swim team, ask your coach for help and i'm sure he'll help you because that's what he's there for!  Good luck to you!

Answer 6

IM LOOKIN FOR THE SAME THINGS TOO!! TELL ME WHEN U FIND AN AWESOME ANSWER! BUT I DONT KNOW EITHER,

SORRY IM WASTING UR TIME THO.