Weekend Edition: What Would a 9-Year-Old Swimmer Do?

Almost every fast swimmer you've ever seen started the same way. As a kid, in a pool, doing a whole lot of things that didn't look like much at the time.

Ask any college swimmer what they did at 9 years old and you'll hear a familiar list. Kick sets. Streamlines. Breathing drills. All four strokes. Lots of 25s at different speeds. Nobody was talking about their high elbow catch. They were building the foundation everything else would sit on.

That's not an accident. Learning to swim at a high level starts with the basics, and swimmers spend years on them for a reason.

The Stuff They Spend Years On

Kicking. Young swimmers kick a lot. With a board, without one, on their backs, on their sides. Not because the kick is the main engine of freestyle, but because it holds the legs up, keeps the body balanced, and lets the whole stroke work as one unit. A swimmer with a good kick doesn't drag their legs behind them.

Streamlines. Off every wall, arms behind the ears, hands stacked, body tight. It teaches a swimmer what it feels like to be long and narrow in the water, which is the same body position they want while swimming. It's also free speed every time they push off.

Breathing patterns. Breathe every three. Breathe every five. Breathe to the left, then the right. This is how swimmers learn to exhale underwater, stay relaxed, and breathe balanced to either side without losing their line or their rhythm.

All four strokes. Backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly each teach different ways to move through the water. Timing in breaststroke. Rhythm and core connection in fly. Balance and length in back. Together they build a feel for the water that makes freestyle better.

Different speeds. Fast 25s, easy swimming, and everything in between. Kids learn early what fast feels like and what easy feels like. That range is what lets them change gears later in their careers.

None of these are glamorous. All of them teach the same thing: how to move through the water efficiently. That's what being a good swimmer really means.

Then There's The Triathlete

Most triathletes start swimming as adults. They sign up for a race, realize the swim is their weakest leg, and go looking for answers. And most of the answers out there point straight to the advanced stuff. Perfect your catch. Get a high elbow. Fix your hand entry.

So that's where they start. They work on a high elbow catch while their legs drag, they skip kicking because they "don't kick in a race," they push off the wall and start swimming right away, and they swim every length at the same speed.

It's like learning guitar by starting with a two-minute solo. You might learn the solo. But you won't really know how to play.

The catch matters. But a great catch on a body that's fighting the water won't take you very far. Swimmers learned to stop fighting the water first. That's why their catch works.

But I'm Not 9

I know. You don't have years of age group practices behind you, and you don't have time to swim every day. You've got a job, a bike, a run schedule, and maybe three swims a week if the week goes well.

But not having time for everything isn't the same as having permission to skip the foundations. It just means you have to be choosy. The good news is the fundamentals don't need extra sessions. They fit into the ones you're already doing.

Here's how to borrow from the way swimmers learned.

Streamline off every wall. Tight arms, hands stacked, a few seconds of glide before your first stroke.

Kick every session. Even 200 to 400 meters. It's what keeps your legs up and your body working as one unit.

Practice breathing patterns. Some lengths breathing every three, some every two, some to your weak side. Race day doesn't care which side you prefer. Pro tip: I use longer breathing patterns during recovery sessions to make the cardio harder without adding muscle fatigue.

Swim something other than freestyle. A few lengths of backstroke or breaststroke in your warm-up builds balance and feel, and gives your shoulders a break.

Change speeds. Swim some of it fast and some of it genuinely easy. One speed all the time teaches your body one speed.

It takes effort to be good at swimming, but the good news is the effort itself is a gift that makes the improvement feel like a real accomplishment.

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