Sorry about the length of this, I got it as short as I could...
I started swimming summer-league only as an 11-year-old, I was very slow at the time but have improved a lot since then. My goal was always to make it to the county meet, which I never actually did except in relays. We only swam 50's of each stroke, 100 free, and 100 IM. I alwyas assumed I was a sprinter because I did okay in the 50's and didnt' have the endurance to do a good 100. This past year was my freshman year, and I joined my college club team, swimming about 3 days a week for an hour, uncoached. This summer is my last summer of eligibility for summer league, and my 50's are about the same as last year. My 100's have improved a lot - 6 seconds off my 100 IM since last summer. Now I think I may be more of a middle-distance swimmer than a sprinter, especially since my summer league coach keeps telling me my strokes are not powerful enough for a good sprint. Now that my goal in swimmming can't be to do well in the county meet, I'm having trouble figuring out what my goals should be. My best stroke is backstroke, but I've really started enjoying the IM lately.
So basically, I think I may be a middle-distance swimmer, trying to figure out my goals for the next few years, and don't have a coach to help me. Any advice?
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Former Member
Thanks for the advice. For various reasons, I cannot join a different club or attend Master's meets, but I do have the opportunity to swim in probably 3-4 meets a year with my college club team (50's and 100's of strokes). My current plan is to focus on technique for most of the fall, and then work on endurance for the rest of the year. I was thinking about trying to track my times for 100's and 200's of all strokes, plus 100, 200, & 400 IM over the year, swimming each in practice for time every 1-2 months. At the end of the year, I'll look at my improvement and see what events I want to focus on. Does this sound reasonable?
Thanks for the advice. For various reasons, I cannot join a different club or attend Master's meets, but I do have the opportunity to swim in probably 3-4 meets a year with my college club team (50's and 100's of strokes). My current plan is to focus on technique for most of the fall, and then work on endurance for the rest of the year. I was thinking about trying to track my times for 100's and 200's of all strokes, plus 100, 200, & 400 IM over the year, swimming each in practice for time every 1-2 months. At the end of the year, I'll look at my improvement and see what events I want to focus on. Does this sound reasonable?
