Sprint speed

How's his start? Half the time you're looking for could very well be found in the start/streamline/breakout phase.

See above - time in the low 26 range. The fastest portion of the race is the start followed by the turn. I would focus on these as in a 50 it is all about those!!

There's a ton of ideas on Swim Faster Faster Do USRPT Sets. forums.usms.org/showthread.php What kind of jammer will he wear in his race? Do speed training. Short fast swims with Rest 15 meters, 25 meters, 37 meters and 50's How's his start? How are his kicks? Flutter, streamline dolphin kick dolphin and flutter kick while swimming freestyle what are his times for 15 meters? 25 meters and 50 meters? How's his strength? How's his jumping ability?

Thanks, talked to him & happy to try, especially the breakout speed

Depends a bit. Ande's thread is a treasure trove of tips. If I was focusing on my 50 now, I would be dedicating more time to underwaters, starts, turns and breakouts. There's plenty of room for me to improve there with years out of the pool. At 16, the thing that would have made my 50 faster was being more consistent with dry-lands and eating better. Eating a lot better and eating a lot more. Can't go AFAP if you're not feeding your muscles. My school lunch was at 10:45 and I ate a big salad thinking it had plenty of vitamins, true, but not enough carbs or protein or calories. Then IF I had vending machine money I'd have a snickers before 2:30 practice. Hardly enough to get a decent practice in. Make sure he knows how to eat and when to eat.

How hard can you push this kid? Is he ready to make these 100 % max efforts?

It's not a lot of time, really. In addition to the above, quality of prep on the day could make quite a difference.