Race tactics tips for young swimmers

Do you coach development and age group swimmers and they don’t know how what to do during a race? This post is about general guidelines for constructing tactics for the 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m events. Of course there will be adjustments from one coach to another, one swimmer to another, and one stroke to another, but these guidelines are the general rule of thumb that coaches and their young swimmers should follow. These tactics should be practiced in daily training so that swimmers arrive at a meet knowing their race plans and feeling comfortable about what they want to do.

50 m

Most young swimmers cannot control their technique at top speed; sprints often become competitions to see who can splash the most. Coaches and swimmers should focus on the following:

• Take the race out fast but under control. Swimmers should build into their race tempo over the first several strokes.
• Use long, fast, and relaxed strokes, with a strong kick for control and power.
• Win the close races. There is an art to getting a hand on the wall first, and this art should be practiced every day, not just at meets.
• On freestyle and butterfly, learn to race the 50s with as few breaths as possible.

100 m

Most young swimmers tend to chop their strokes and try their hardest from the first stroke. But the 100 m distance, even in short course, lasts too long for swimmers to maintain top speed the whole way. Racing a good 100 requires an intelligent building of speed.

• Go out fast, emphasizing long strokes. Remember to breathe the first 25 m.
• Swimmers should power the second 25 but keep their strokes long. A pull isn’t effective if the arm slips quickly through the water but the body stays put.
• Hit the legs hard when coming off the wall.
• Swimmers should increase their stroke tempos, and maximize their kicks for the last 25 m.
• Win the close races.

200 m

Racing a good 200 m requires great mentality combined with intelligence. Too many swimmers treat the 200s as distance races, going out too slowly, swimming too slowly in the middle, and finishing too slowly. These events need to be approached as long sprints.

• Swimmers should start fast but long and relaxed. On freestyle, they must remember to breathe (ideally with a breathe-every-three pattern).
• Lay off the legs for the first 100 m. This means that swimmers should not focus on them and should not overkick. They should save them for the last 100m.
• Attack the 100 m turn and the third 50. Almost everyone backs off on the third 50 of a 200 m race.
• Maintain distance per stroke at the end. Focus on holding good stroke mechanics when fatigued.

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