General Tips for Making it to State (High School Swimming)
Former Member
Hey,
Im a junior in high school, and this is my second year swimming on an official swim team. I joined the swim team as a joke my sophomore year, but I now love the sport and want to take it very seriously.
I moved up to JV last year and I'm now looking to move up to varsity this year and do very well in the 200 I.M.
My stroke techniques need lot of work. My *** is by far my best followed by the freestyle. The backstroke and butterfly are pretty much the same.
My *** is pretty decent and my coaches have said I'm doing it right. However with my back and freestyle, my hips are swinging out and I'm fishtailing. My coach tried telling me how to do it, but I'm still doing it. How do I fix this?
With my butterfly, I feel like it's a little strained and it doesn't really flow like I feel it should.
Also my kicking is very very weak. After a 50 freestyle/Back/Fly and i start burning out (especially fly since I don't really know how to do it) *** kick is cake.
My sophomore year I swam the 100 *** at 1:17.21
My times as of now are:
50 Freestyle: 27.3 Seconds
100 ***: 1:26.54
50 Back: 38 Seconds
50 Fly: 32 Seconds
Right now I'm training primarily through weight lifting (Working on all areas of the body,) and some swimming.
I am really looking to go from being a decent swimmer to someone who can place 1st in state (ideally : D)
Any advice would be appreciated.
Parents
Former Member
Razor - I don't want to be too harsh. But I think Rob makes some good points. Your goals are impressive. VERY impressive. Based on your listed times - I'd estimate your 200 IM time today would be in the 2:30+ range. I guessed that time by summing of your best 50 times plus 15%. I used 36 for your breaststroke time assuming your 1:17 100 means you can swim a 35 sec 50 ***.
You are not a heavily trained swimmer so your annual improvements could be significant, but a 10% drop in one year would be a huge accomplishment. If your 200 IM drops from 2:30 to 2:15 this year that is a big drop. But as Rob says - getting to 1:53 would mean going from ordinary to elite status. Garrett Weber Gale was an NCAA All American at Texas and he is an Olympic Trials qualifier. He has a good chance to make the 2008 Olympics. Excelling in the 200 IM requires skill across the board with no major weaknesses and middle distance fitness.
FWIW - my 17 yr. old son, a high school senior, swam a 1:58 200 IM last year as a junior and hopes to go 1:55 this year. He has a good chance to make it. He swims 10 times a week now, and trains about 8,000+ yards per day.
Razor - I don't want to be too harsh. But I think Rob makes some good points. Your goals are impressive. VERY impressive. Based on your listed times - I'd estimate your 200 IM time today would be in the 2:30+ range. I guessed that time by summing of your best 50 times plus 15%. I used 36 for your breaststroke time assuming your 1:17 100 means you can swim a 35 sec 50 ***.
You are not a heavily trained swimmer so your annual improvements could be significant, but a 10% drop in one year would be a huge accomplishment. If your 200 IM drops from 2:30 to 2:15 this year that is a big drop. But as Rob says - getting to 1:53 would mean going from ordinary to elite status. Garrett Weber Gale was an NCAA All American at Texas and he is an Olympic Trials qualifier. He has a good chance to make the 2008 Olympics. Excelling in the 200 IM requires skill across the board with no major weaknesses and middle distance fitness.
FWIW - my 17 yr. old son, a high school senior, swam a 1:58 200 IM last year as a junior and hopes to go 1:55 this year. He has a good chance to make it. He swims 10 times a week now, and trains about 8,000+ yards per day.
