Am I slow for a 13 year old?

Question
QUESTION: Am I a slow swimmer for a 13 year old?
I just turned 13 in November, here are my times:

100 Breast 1:22.90
100 Free 1:14.19
200 Breast 3:00.19
50 Free 33.74

These are my most recent times from my meet last weekend. I am a pretty good breaststroker but my free sucks.

These are my 50's
50 Breast 39.44
50 Fly 45.33
50 Back 35.40

SCY times

ANSWER: Hi Hannah,

You're not slow. You're about in the middle. You're right, too...the breast times are better than your freestyle times.

There are other questions (better ones) to ask yourself than just comparing your times to others, or to some National Standards that you're trying to make (B, A, AAA, etc.). Here are some questions that you should be asking...

1. How long have you been swimming? It usually takes about 3 years of year round swimming before you can get an idea of what a swimmers speed potential is. And sometimes it's longer.

2. How much do you swim? Year round, summer only, an hour a day, or two hours a day, and how many times a week. If you're swimming a lot (two hours, five times a week, year round) then you might expect to be faster. If you're swimming a little (one hour a day, three times a week, summer only) then you're a head of schedule.

3. How are your strokes and are you taking lessons? Swimming is all about technique first. Most swimmers need lessons (even Olympic swimmers get them!). Some coaches are better at teaching stroke technique than others. If you need stroke lessons and all you do is swim swim swim, you might not improve.

4. You're only 13 which means physically some 13 year olds will be like 16 year olds and some will be more like 11 year olds. When you're 18 it will all even out but now, there are huge differences between swimmers.

5. Finally, and this is the most important part. You should swim because you're having fun, with friends, like the challenge and discipline the sport brings. If you're swimming for some other reasons (need to win, parents, scholarships) then it doesn't matter what your times are.

Best of luck. Let me know if you have more questions or want some tips on how to swim faster.

Ron

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks!! Okay, I have been swimming for 4 years, year round.  I practice an hour and 45 minutes 5 days a week. I think I think I need to work on technique. When I am swimming freestyle, my kick is hard and my pull is slower, or my kick is slower and my pull is harder. I don't know if it is coordination, or I need to just kick or pull more at the same time. I want to reach my A times so I can move up and go to elite meets. Can you give me tips on freestyle technique? Also, do you know what times you need to have to swim in high school? I want to swim on the high school swim team, but I don't want to try-out if I don't have a chance. I think my height has a big impact on my swimming, I am 5' 1" and 95 pounds. My arms are longer than my height, and my pull is really good, so I don't know why I'm not as fast. Thanks in advance for the tips. I am going to keep working at it! :)

ANSWER: Ok, first thing is as an incoming freshman swimming a 1:22 in the 100 breast is good for most high schools. I coached a championship girls team and we had some freshman faster, but they swam varsity. On Frosh/Soph or JV you would be AWESOME. No doubt about it. And you'll get a lot faster and have a ton of fun on varsity. And I coached some teams where you would have been varsity right away. It really depends on the team.

Second, your size probably does have an effect (sorry :(  ). There's nothing you can do about it so don't worry. 1) There's a lot of great swimmers who are smaller 2) You might get taller. 3) You will get stronger and faster. 4) Breaststroke is not as critical on height as freestyle.

Third, if you can get a video on youtube I can watch it and give you some specific pointers (hows that for cool?). I bet your streamlines, turns and pulldowns need work for all the strokes. Just by improving on those you can drop a second in your 50s and two secs in the 100s.

To improve streamlines (the most important part)practice your streamlines on land. Do them in a mirror so you can see if there's any space between your ears and arms. STRETCH OUT and suck in your stomach and squeeze your butt and toes (it makes a difference). Stretch from your shoulder blades to get the most distance. Then do the same thing on your stomach, back and even sides.

Streamlines take strength so you have to practice them. They also take speed, so practice getting into the position very quickly. I used to tell my swimmers to do ten of them every time they brushed their teeth. Then spend five to ten minutes working on them off of the walls. Do them from sit dives, standing dives, push-offs, and turns. Do them on your stomach, back, and sides and always practice for going as far as possible. (Your head should look straight down to the bottoms, not looking up).

Practice those till you can get 12 yards from a push without a stroke or 15 from a dive. Then I will help you with some of your freestyle problems. Go get em!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Before practice I read these tips on streamline, and it really helped a lot!!! My turns, pull-outs, and streamline definitley helps me catch up at practice, also I got past the flags with a good streamline! I don't have a recent video of my free or any other strokes... :( I will try to get one ASAP and post it on YouTube :) today my coach said my butterfly was a little late when I was breathing. Do you know how to get the right timing? Also, in backstroke flip turns, I have trouble holding my breath and I start swimming right after the turn instead of doing dolphin kicks off the wall... And in freestyle, I have trouble going fast the whole time for a 200 at practice. I try to kick harder, but I get tired easily. How could I fix that? Thanks for your help! I can tell I am improving at practice! :D

Answer
Rule of thumb for freestyle is always streamline, kick and take the first stroke and you should be past the flags...actually your feet will be at about the flags. As a question on how to do a breakout for freestyle and I'll write the instructions for you. You'll like it!

As for timing in fly: You lift your head when your arms are under your body, and you keep your head up (chin forward) till your hands are past your hips and out of the water. Try swimming one arm fly with alternating front breathing and side breathing. When you breath to the side it's like freestyle and you'll do it right. Then try to get the same timing in front.

Another tip is to do some strokes without breathing and feel when your shoulders go up and down. The breath is in the same rhythm...as you shoulders come up, your chin goes forward. As your shoulders drop (the arms are recovering) you put your face in the water.

For running out of air...you're probably not breathing enough during the swim. Coaches always say to breathe every other but it doesn't work if you need the air. Try breathing more going into the wall, so you can breathe your second stroke out of it (the most critical). Also, when you're practicing your streamlines, do them for dolphin kick as well as flutter.

As for the 200...no one can do a 200 all out. Only a few can do a 50 all out and they are like Olympic guys. So you have to learn to pace your 200s...in practice and in meets. There are many ways to do it and I would do what your coach says (unless he says to go all out because that's flat out wrong).

Here is one of my favorite ways...
50 at about 80% working on being relaxed, good stroke. Build into the first turn to about 85-90%...
Then maintain that stroke and pace, saving your kick.
Then the last 50, you get going to about 90-95% and use your legs to help you get more power, speed and turn-over.

You can use the same technique in practice...just back everything off 10 to 50%. You can even practice this during warm-up.

Hope this helps!