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
Without seeing you in person, I wouldn't be as quick to make an assessment about your swimming potential. It depends on your training environment and a lot of other factors.
If you put a bunch of kids in a pool and get them racing, there's a lot that can happen. My alma mater, the Peddie School, has had several boys go 1:53's (and faster) in the 200 IM over the years. One team (1991) had four boys at 1:53 or faster in high school competition, but they were limited to four at their championship meet. Had they been able to include more swimmers, they probably would've had a few more at or below 1:53. Most of those guys started with some swimming background, and they had all the advantages in training, including a tremendous coach.
1:53 is still way above average for high school boys, but not otherworldly when you consider the national public and independent school records are both in the 1:46 range.
Without seeing you in person, I wouldn't be as quick to make an assessment about your swimming potential. It depends on your training environment and a lot of other factors.
If you put a bunch of kids in a pool and get them racing, there's a lot that can happen. My alma mater, the Peddie School, has had several boys go 1:53's (and faster) in the 200 IM over the years. One team (1991) had four boys at 1:53 or faster in high school competition, but they were limited to four at their championship meet. Had they been able to include more swimmers, they probably would've had a few more at or below 1:53. Most of those guys started with some swimming background, and they had all the advantages in training, including a tremendous coach.
1:53 is still way above average for high school boys, but not otherworldly when you consider the national public and independent school records are both in the 1:46 range.
