Just Keep Swimming

By: Hannah Deighan

Just Keep

Swimming

By: Hannah Deighan

Table Of Contents1. What Is This Book Even About?2. Strokes3. Events4. Equipment5. BONUS CHAPTER!6. So What Did You Learn?

S W I M

What Is This Book Even About?

Do you play a sport? Imagine doing your sport while holding your breath, soaking wet, and wearing a skin tight rubber cap. Swimming is a very unique sport and is the most rewarding experience in the end. Sure you have to hold your breath and sometimes feel like you may have raisins for fingers and toes, but unlike track or soccer, there's no ball or fancy uniforms, and swimming is mostly individual. In football you can’t score without the help of other teammates to pass to or to block the other team. In swimming your team can cheer you on but can’t really do anything to make you swim faster and if it’s a duel meet, score. As my coach says, “There is no magic potion that can make you swim faster. You are the only one who can change that. I can’t go in the water during the race and kick your legs or move your hands in the right position. You are the only one who can make you go faster”. In this book you will learn the different strokes, how to prepare for a meet, some helpful equipment and much more.

Strokes-Butterfly Butterfly in my opinion is the hardest stroke to learn and to swim. It takes a lot of muscle and strong abs. Your arms start at your sides and you swing them around your head above the water. Then you put them back down into the water, to your sides and you start the cycle all over again. The kick for this is dolphin kick. Your legs are perfectly straight and your ankles and knees are touching. Then you move your legs up and down. For each butterfly stroke there are 2 kicks. 1 when you are moving your arms over your head, and 1 when you are pulling them back to your sides, You breathe with your head straight. Some people breathe every stroke and some breathe every other. Some people even breathe every 5 or 6 strokes.

Backstroke- Backstroke is much easier than butterfly in my opinion. You lie on your back and move your arms one at a time from your sides, up out of the water and back to your sides. For this stroke you will do flutter kick. Flutter kick is where you have your legs straight and move them up and down one at a time breathing the whole way.

Breaststroke- Breaststroke takes the least amount of energy to do and is my favorite stroke. It is very different from all of the other strokes. You start on your stomach, with your hands stretched out in front of you. First you bring your hands around with them still in the water, at the same time, bending your arms until they reach your chest. Then shoot them back forward. While doing a breaststroke kick. Breaststroke kick is where you start with your legs straight and bend your knees bringing your feet up so they are as close to touching your butt as possible. Then bring your legs back together so your ankles and knees are touching. You lift your head up to breathe every single stroke when you are bringing your arms around and put your face back into the water as soon as your hands touch your chest.

Freestyle- Freestyle is also known as Front Crawl. In the events that are freestyle you are technically allowed to swim any stroke you want. If you are swimming for points then you usually swim the stroke most people refer to as freestyle. Freestyle is pretty much backstroke on your stomach. Your face is in the water and you are doing flutter kick. Your arm moves from your hips, out of the water, around your head, back into the water, and down to your hips. You do this one arm at a time. You breathe to the side as you take a stroke. It is good to get into the habit of breathing to both sides, otherwise the arm you keep breathing on will get strained. I personally breathe every 3 strokes in practice and depending on how long I am swimming in a meet I will breathe every 7, 5, or 3 strokes.

Events

Meters/Yards

Strokes Lengths in a 50 Yard/Meter pool

Lengths in a 25 Yard/Meter pool

25 All 1 1/2

50 All 2 1

100 All 4 2

200 All 8 4

400 All 16 8

500 All 20 10

1000 All 40 20

1 Mile All 70 35

There are many events in swimming and everyone has a favorite. Some pools are measured in meters, others in yards. Most pools are 25 meters/yards long, but some like the Olympic pools are 50 meters/yards long.

There is also an event called the Individual Medley or IM for short. It is all of the strokes Fly, Back, Breast, and Free in that order. In a 200 IM you do a 50 Fly, 50 Back, 50 Breast, and a 50 free. Same with 400 IM. 100 Fly 100 Back 100 Breast 100 Free.

Equipment

Suits- There are many different kinds of suits out there, all designed for different purposes. In practice you usually just wear a normal 1 piece practice suit with nothing special about it. For championships some people wear something called a Speed Suit. A speed suit is a really tight suit made of a water repellant material so you don’t add an extra 2 pounds to you because your suit soaked up all a ton of water. Imagine wearing something around 10 sizes smaller than the size you normally wear. That is what a Speed Suit feels like. They are meant to eliminate drag so you can swim faster. Speed Suits are normally very expensive, so if you don’t want to spend a fortune on one, some people just buy a suit that is smaller then their regular size. When you warm up at a championship meet some people wear a drag suit. A drag suit is just a big droopy old suit used to create drag so it is harder to swim and so in your race it feels much easier.

For a successful swim you need a lot of equipment

Goggles- You don’t really need goggles but it is really good to have them. What goggles you use is really up to your preferences. I prefer vanquishers but you can choose whichever kind you like best

Cap- There are 2 types of caps. Latex and Silicone. I prefer silicone because it is a lot thicker and doesn’t pull out your hair as much. However Silicone is more expensive. In the pictures below you can see the Silicone is a lot thicker than the Latex one.

Latex

Silicone

BONUS CHAPTER!(A personal experience of my state meet)

I breathed heavily as I stepped on to the red diving block. I looked at the girl next to me. She was about 5 times my size and was looking down at me with fierce eyes of disapproval. My heart beat fast as I quickly looked away. The official spoke slowly into his microphone “Take your mark”. She pressed the black button and a sharp beep noise pierced my ears as I dove into the water. I put my legs together as I moved them fast up and down. I pulled my arms down as my head reached the surface. I stretched my arms down to the side and took a big kick as I pulled my arms back down. Pull, kick, pull, kick. Finally I reached the wall. I touched it quickly and pushed off on my back in streamline, my heart racing. I kicked and kicked until I got to the surface. Air. I gulped it down like ice cream. I pulled my arms down to my side and stretched my arms back one by one. Finally my hand touched the wall. I turned onto my stomach and pushed off the wall. I pulled my arms down to my sides as I did a dolphin kick. I put my hands back into streamline and my head reached the top of the water. I swam breastroke to the end of the pool, my lungs feeling swollen. With all the energy I had left I pushed off the wall and kicked as fast as I could as I pulled. The other side of the pool seemed so far away. At last it was just a few yards away. I kicked as hard as I could as I jammed my hand into the touch pad on the wall. I lifted my head out of the water and tried to make out my time on the score board through the hundreds of bodies standing in my way. I quickly got out the water before my time disappeared. 59.09!!!!! That is the best time I have ever gotten. I am smiling so hard. I look up at my dad in the stands and he looks as happy as I do. I walk across the pool happy as can be. I get to the side of Coach Anne and she looks thrilled. “Nice Job” she tells me. She gives me a high five. “Way to represent the family”. I go over to the awards section. The lady is calling names from 8th place to 1st. I get into my place in line. “And now events 20-30 will be presented their awards during this 15 minute break” says a voice over the speaker. First the girls 11&12 100 IM. They call everyone from 8th place to 2nd place. “And the state champion of the girls 11&12 100 IM is Hannah Deighan” I run up to the block practically screaming. I cannot explain how happy I was. I jumped up onto the 1st place podium as someone places a HUGE medal around my neck. I am the happiest person in the world. I pose for everyone who wants a picture, and that truly was the best day in my life.

So What Did You Learn?

You learned about different strokes and events, some equipment you can use so your swim is more successful, and a personal story of my experience as a swimmer. You also learned that even though in the beginning, swimming may not be the most enjoyable sport, but in the end is the most rewarding experience, that I never want to stop.

Glossary

Dolphin Kick- The kick used in butterfly, where your legs are together and you move them up and down.Flutter Kick- The kick used in freestyle and backstroke where your legs move up and down one at a time.IM- Short for Individual Medley. All of the strokes swam in one race going Fly, Back, Breast, FreeSpeed Suit- A very tight suit made to eliminate drag.

• http://bbtc.wikia.com/wiki/Big_Brother_Tinychat_Wiki

Sources

• http://www.clker.com/clipart-blue-green-waves.html

• http://community.tribesports.com/challenges/swim-500-m-using-butterfly-stroke

• http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2008/08/coughlin-sets-w.html

• http://www.enjoy-swimming.com/learn-swimming.html

• http://www.sithtech.net/photographyzto/Freestyle-Swimming-Strokes.html

• http://www.swimmisports.com/browse.cfm/speedo-fastskin-fsii-recordbreaker/4,452.html

• http://www.swimmisports.com/

• http://metroswimshop.com/product.FIN_7827_Orange(12).htm#.VVkUTmdFDug

• http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-Elite-Latex-Swim-Cap/dp/images/B00074USY2

• http://www.johnlewis.com/speedo-plain-silicone-swim-cap-junior-green/p479091