Well, i am a student at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY that had the football team cut from the athletic program and instead had a swim team and a few other sports put in the program in its place. One day as i was working out in the gym this past september, the coach of the swim team saw me working out and asked me if i wanted to swim. He needed numbers more than anything since the collegiate competitive requirements are 11 participants a team. Mind you i am 5'7", 185 lbs, broad chest and shoulders with large legs. A running back figure. I have never swam before and i agreed to be on the swim team. The coach wants me to swim the 50 and 100 free and i like that for it is a fast twitch race more than slow twitch, and since i am a senior i don't really have time to increase my endurance and slow twitch. I was wondering if any of you had advice for me in my endeavour to become an excellent swimmer by february 2004, and hopefully win an event at the MAAC nationals. In my first meet on Oct. 11, i swam a 27.88 in the 50 free at Duquesne. If you couldn't tell by my hunting for a discussion ring and post, i am very intense and competitive, and am taking this very seriously. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and hope to have some replies soon!
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Former Member
Just a few thoughts as a matter of contribution towards your efforts. Becoming a fifty yard specialist requires some very honed skills. This event is all about the start, the turn, and the finish. Training hard will get you one thing, but it takes much more than lap time to get fast. Ask your coach to do some time trials at least once or twice a week. Get up on those blocks as often as possible. The opportunity to get the feel of swimming fast and hard is only done by simulating race conditions. Learn from the experience of going all out and think about the following:
Did you get a clean single hole entry on the dive?
Did you nail the turn? Was your streamline tight off the wall?
And most importantly... did you drive hard into the finish? This is where the tenths of a second can be gained or lost.
Apparently you've got the determination to get fast. Just how much faster remains to be seen. Keep in mind that a 21-22 second freestyler can do 27 from a push-off like a walk in the park. Good luck in your efforts. And maybe you'll have to change your handle to joey-kicks some-butts.
Just a few thoughts as a matter of contribution towards your efforts. Becoming a fifty yard specialist requires some very honed skills. This event is all about the start, the turn, and the finish. Training hard will get you one thing, but it takes much more than lap time to get fast. Ask your coach to do some time trials at least once or twice a week. Get up on those blocks as often as possible. The opportunity to get the feel of swimming fast and hard is only done by simulating race conditions. Learn from the experience of going all out and think about the following:
Did you get a clean single hole entry on the dive?
Did you nail the turn? Was your streamline tight off the wall?
And most importantly... did you drive hard into the finish? This is where the tenths of a second can be gained or lost.
Apparently you've got the determination to get fast. Just how much faster remains to be seen. Keep in mind that a 21-22 second freestyler can do 27 from a push-off like a walk in the park. Good luck in your efforts. And maybe you'll have to change your handle to joey-kicks some-butts.
