Hi, my 7 seven old son is a very good swimmer. I am proud of his achievement at his young age and in many events (see below his times) he is among the top in the country at his age group. One of his weakness is his diving. Actually he is getting better now compare to when he was 6. When he is in “take your mark” his head is looking down and he likes to dive deep into the water and takes time for him to come up. His coach says it takes him 7 sec to come up. His coach tells him many times don’t look down when you dive out but look forward streamline then head down to the water. I see many other kids (at his age or older) dive well in the meet. Do you think diving will come natural when he grows up or is there any drill or technique I can show him. Right now I don’t want to push him too hard on diving at his age.
This is his times in SCY.
Free: 50yd 35 to 36 sec, 100 yd 1:22 sec, 200 yd 2:50
Back (his best stroke): 50yd 40 to 41 sec, 100 yd 1:23.
Fly: 50yd 41sec, 100 yd 1:33
*** (his worst stroke): 50 yd: 52sec
IM: 100yd 1:30, 200 yd 3:08
Former Member
I am not sure his coach is giving good advice. I think looking ahead is the wrong thing to do.
Watch this video to watch several elite swimmers. In all the starts the head goes down between the arms almost immediately. The angle of entry is relatively steep and the body goes cleanly into the water.
But I would not worry too much with a 7 yr. old. His times are very good and he will naturally improve over time. It is possible that his depth on the start is simply related to a lack of speed off the block. He may not get much power/height so he dives directly into the water.
Your son's times are fast enough that they tell me that he has a good feel for the water. My 8 year old daughter is pretty quick but still does the same thing as your son: she launches herself skyward and then "deep sea dives" and finally pops up 5-7 seconds out. Truth be told, most of the faults in competitive diving starts come from hitting the water at too shalow an angle. So, I am ok with the little ones diving a bit deeper since that is what the ultimate goal is anyway. (My daughter has been taught to look straight back to her legs when she is set on the block.)
When he comes up, is he at least equal or ahead of the other swimmers? That is the test. Or does he frantically catch up and then pass them?
Eventually, your son will start figuring out a midpoint and hit that magical "hole" in the water that allows him to fire down then up into his breakout stroke. But he is so young! Just let him enjoy his deep sea diving! I love watching the young kids do all of those crazy things. It is what makes a meet so much fun.
My philisophy on the young kids (10u) is to not be too concerned with their times and let them enjoy the experience. Some are fast, some are slow. Some of the slow ones suddenly get fast. If they enjoy workouts and like their coach and teammates, that is what will keep them swimming.
There will be plenty of workouts ahead when your son is older that will be packed full of drill after drill that will hone his technique. He will figure out the proper start as he watches and is nudged towards the right technique, but allow him to find it using his own mind as well. That way, it will stick and become an accomplishment that he will truly own.
The Butterfly video by Michael Phelps and Bowman does a good job of demonstrating starts. I think you can buy it at USA Swimming's website shop.
Rob
Hi Rob, thanks for your suggestion. In general he is 99% came last out of the water in the meets then he catchs up. I think most of the pressure is really from me that I want him to improve and swim faster. He is still young just let him be enjoying with his teammate. I am sure one day he will fill out that magic dive. I am very proud of what he is doing at his age.
My son's coach holds out a noodle and has them dive over it. He's only seven so I would not sweat it. He'll eventually get it probably because his body matures not because of any coaching.
