Whoever Wins the Start Wins the Race

About this episode

This episode discusses the importance of the start in swimming races and how to coach swimmers for better performance in the first 15 metres.

Three Key Learning Points: * First movement matters - what part of the swimmer’s body moves first usually determines the success of their first 15 metres. * The “little hole” - hands together, feet together, body in streamline before entry. * The “ three kicks” - kick fast underwater, kick fast to the surface, kick INTO the stroke. There’s a lot of talk on the internet about swimming speed - what pure speed is, how to develop it, how to coach it. Feel free to go internet-deep-diving for what it’s worth. But here’s an old saying that still holds up: He or she who wins the start wins the race. In a 50, whoever wins the start usually wins the race. Sure, sometimes a swimmer’s start might be a bit ordinary and they have to pick it up over the back end of the race, finish strong and come through the field to win - but in most cases the first 15 metres decides who’s on the podium - and often who’s on top of it. So how do you actually coach a better first 15? First movement counts!! When I’m teaching coaches how to coach starts I stand on the side of the pool and we watch the swimmer closely. The question I ask coaches is: “ what part of the body moved first?” If their first movement is…

People in this episode

Host: Wayne Goldsmith

Topics covered

• swimming starts
• race strategy
• coaching techniques
• swimming speed
• first movement

Keywords

• swimming
• starts
• first movement
• coaching
• speed

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