101 Tips For Super Swimmers
Wayne Goldsmith and Helen Morris
- Train regularly
- Always carry a drink bottle filled with water
- If training in the morning, pack your swim bag the night before
- Eat less fat
- Eat more fresh fruit
- Stretch every day-even if you are having a day off
- Practice kicking
- Thank your coach after each training session
- Make a friend with a younger swimmer in your club-the younger swimmers look up to you
- Breathe every two or three strokes in butterfly at training instead of breathing on every stroke
- Touch the wall with both hands simultaneously at the end of every fly and breast lap
- Don't breathe inside the flags
- Drink fewer soft drinks
- Carry spare parts for your goggles
- Carry a spare set of goggles
- Wear shoes and socks to and from every training session
- Take responsibility to set your own alarm if going to morning training
- Take responsibility for drying your own wet swim gear
- Get to training early and start stretching by yourself
- Get more sleep
- Watch less TV
- Streamline past the flags in all strokes
- Learn one new skill every week
- Ask your coach for advice every day
- Start your homework before afternoon training
- Thank your parents for taking you to training
- Don't pull on the lane ropes
- Don't walk on the bottom of the pool when the coach isn't watching
- Write your name on all your swim gear
- Help put club and squad gear away
- Go to club nights and treat them seriously
- Help your club raise funds
- Win Every Workout
- Count your strokes without being told to
- Shower after workouts and use conditioner for your hair
- Turn your swim caps inside out after use and sprinkle them with baby powder to keep them in good condition
- If you can, walk or ride your bike to training
- Keep a log book
- Get in the water the FIRST time the coach asks you to
- Ask your coach for permission to lead the lane at least three times every week
- Don't share drink bottles
- Have something light to eat immediately after training when your body really needs it.
- Do sit-ups and push-ups at home by yourself every day. Start with doing 5, then do one extra every second day.
- Learn five motivational sayings that can help you get through tough times
- Ask your coach to make it harder, not easier
- Don't ask your coach if you can use fins in fly
- Don't finish short of the wall-there are no gold medals for 48-metre swims
- If you have heroes on the National Swim team, write to them and tell them
- Set goals
- Review goals
- Set more goals
- Never, ever quit
- Learn from losing
- Watch senior swimmers warm up at meets-learn from the best
- Cheer for your teammates at swim meets
- Believe in yourself
- Do a full, legal underwater breaststroke pull EVERY lap of breaststroke in training
- Eat more fresh vegetables
- Say hello and smile to swimming officials. Without them, there can be no swim meets and they usually are giving up their time for nothing so that you can race.
- Keep up to date with changes in national and world records
- Double-check swim meet entries
- Wear clean team gear to every swim meet
- Get any medications checked by a doctor to make 1
- certain they don't contain banned substances
- If travelling long distances to a meet, carry your first two meals with you so you are less likely to resort to junk food
- Streamline
- Take every opportunity to swim down the middle of your lane rather than circling
- Learn to negative split (i.e., swim the second half of a race faster than the first half)
- Be confident
- Ignore
- of what other swimmers tell you in the marshalling area
- Congratulate people who beat you
- Take your own nutritious food to swim meets
- Don't smoke
- Have an interest other than swimming
- In the morning, wake your mom or dad and ask them if they can take you to training-don't wait for them to wake you
- Never challenge your coach in front of the rest of the squad (particularly in front of the younger swimmers). If you disagree with something, politely approach your coach after the session and discuss things sensibly. Challenging the coach in front of the team can only end one way-you lose!
- Support your club captains
- Don't follow too closely to the swimmer in front of you in training. Allow at least a 5-second space.
- Wear sunscreen at outdoor training sessions
- Don't ask mom and dad for junk food or presents every time you do a PB. Do things better because you want to.
- Keep your head still in backstroke
- Do kick sets with a goal. For example, kick 50 metres within 10 seconds of your best swim time, kick 40 metres in your 50 metre swim PB.
- Learn to enjoy longer swims. Endurance work lays the foundation for great speed and increased recovery ability.
- Swim individual medleys at meets
- Remember your coach's birthday!
- Improve your turns
- Improve your starts
- Improve your finishes
- Don't look for shortcuts
- Learn to swim slowly
- Always warm up
- Always swim down
- Take your dryland training as seriously as you take your pool training
- Learn to kick powerfully in both directions in fly
- Do some long distance backstroke work. It teaches an early catch and good body rotation.
- Work on weaknesses-strengths can take care of themselves
- Target weak events (females: medley, middle distance freestyle, backstroke,
- metre form strokes; males: medley, backstroke,
- metre form strokes). Your chances of success are greater.
- Cut back on lollies, chips, chocolate, and cookies
- Edit your own music tapes with your favourite music to listen to before your race
- Teach a younger swimmer in your club to do something better in their swimming
- Clean your swimming bag out and replace any out of date, mouldy, or smelly items
- Finish your breaststroke kick with your feet together