Anyone one care to discuss the hows and whys of swim team training? There’s an aspect I just can’t understand. I’ve been swimming most ofmy life. I began just after high school. I graduated in 1979. In h.s. I was across-country and track distance runner. I’ve never been on a “swim team,” and other than the few open/masters swim meets I’ve participated in…my only competitive swimming has been for triathlons and open water events. I did get a bit of knowledge about swim teams when my daughter was on her h.s. swim team. But what confounds me about swim team (in h.s. anyway) is how the longer swims are handled (500/400 freestyle, and to some extent the 200 freestyle). Frequently it seems that none of the swimmers what to swim in the long events. I’ve even seen on several occasions where the 400/500 isn’t even competed due to lack of interest on both teams. Dumb if you ask me! If I was coach I’d just put someone in there that could finish and get the points. And of course the entire team trains the same way at practice. Why? I guess it’s because of my running/track background. A distance runner doesn’t need to hurdle so there’s no need to train at hurdles. Similarly, in my mind, a (h.s.) distance swimmer (freestyle events) wouldn’t need to butterfly so why train at it? Personally, if I coached a (h.s.) swim team, I’d find a couple of swimmers that would want to train only for the longer events. They’d swim a seperate workout from the rest of theteam, and would always swim the long freestyle events. Why don’t swim coachesdo that?
Dan
Here's the other thing, Dan. High school swimming is really focused at sprinting and middle distance. Other than the 500 free (which is really just a long middle distance race) every other event on the HS order of events is 200 yards or under. Eight of the eleven events (including relays) involves swims of 100 yards or less. With that kind of schedule it doesn't make much sense to train kids for endurance.
Swimming, in general, is a sport that values athletes who excel in multiple strokes and distances. If you look at the list of all-time Olympic summer medalists you'll see the top spots are dominated by swimmers and gymnasts, two sports that value well-rounded athletes.
Here's the other thing, Dan. High school swimming is really focused at sprinting and middle distance. Other than the 500 free (which is really just a long middle distance race) every other event on the HS order of events is 200 yards or under. Eight of the eleven events (including relays) involves swims of 100 yards or less. With that kind of schedule it doesn't make much sense to train kids for endurance.
Swimming, in general, is a sport that values athletes who excel in multiple strokes and distances. If you look at the list of all-time Olympic summer medalists you'll see the top spots are dominated by swimmers and gymnasts, two sports that value well-rounded athletes.
