Swimming is A Straight Line Sport

By Wayne GoldsmithSWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You know how swimming coaches love repetition?Say this to yourself 100 times…“Swimming is a straight line sport”.“Swimming is a straight line sport”.“Swimming is a straight line sport”….you get the idea.In this sport, in training - and of course in competition, you dive and start straight, swim straight, turn straight, push off straight and finish straight….everything about swimming is straight lines.Yet, I often see swimmers in practice dive, start, swim, turn, push off and finish in “circles”, owing to the fact that most swim teams have to squeeze many swimmers into each lane and avoiding colliding with each other is of paramount importance.However, in competition, being able to swim in straight lines is a critical swimming skill and it contributes significantly to achieving PBs and swimming fast.Here’s three practical tips for straight line swimming:* As much as possible dive, start, swim, turn, push off and finish in straight lines. It’s not always possible - but try to remember to keep coming to the middle of lane throughout practice as often as it’s safe to do so.* When swimming multiple laps, as soon as you’ve passed the feet of the last swimmer in your lane, come to the centre of the lane and practice turning, pushing off and finishing in a straight line.* Try to avoid pushing off in diagonals! If necessary give swimmers a little more distance between each other so that when they get to the flags at each end, they can come to the centre of the lane and practice turning and pushing off straight!Safety is of course our number 1 priority! There will be times when the lanes are full and it’s almost impossible to swim straight - but try to create training environments which prepare swimmers to be successful in competition and a big part of that is learning to swim in straight lines. Wayne Goldsmith.Copyright Wayne Goldsmith. All Rights Reserved. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit swimminggold.substack.com/subscribe