Commentary

Based on the TikTok Trend: We're Swimmers, Of Course We ... (Fill in the Blank)! Many of us have seen the TikTok trend, “We’re girls, of course we ALWAYS have a hair tie around our wrist!” Why not transition this trend to make it swimming-related? Read along for 10 relatable, “we’re swimmers…” phras...

The 7 Sins of Swimming (From the Archive - Originally Published 2017) By Chandler Brandes There is no such thing as a perfect swimmer. As swimmers, we sometimes (although rarely) make mistakes. We may DQ, forget our heat and lane, or even accidentally-on-purpose rip our cap at the exact moment a har...

Dryland Mania: Out-of-the-Pool Drills to Help You Succeed in the Water “Coming to practice is only part of being a great swimmer.” Those were the words my coach always used to tell me. Sure, swim Practice represents the best opportunity for a swimmer to get better. Through building strength and spee...

Army-Navy and College Swimming's Attendance Boom: A Significant Shakeup December 6 was a typical Thursday night in West Point, New York, with hundreds briskly shuffling in to watch their Knights compete. The stands were packed shoulder-to shoulder, anxious in their anticipation of the big event. Thi...

Breaking Through Plateaus: Keep the Faith - Your Day Will Come One stroke, two strokes—kick, pull, breathe. My heart pounded as I swam for the wall. I knew that this was the swim that  would be different, this is the swim where my hard work would finally pay off. I touched the wall, and slowly looke...

Holiday Gift Ideas From a Swimmer: We Know What We Want...and Can Use By Casey McNulty & Edie Sawyer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXhgy7f-SFA&feature=youtu.be It’s that time of the year again. The holiday season is upon us, which means it is time to start forming your list of gift ideas, to finis...

5 of the Hardest Winter Training Sets Winter training… aka, every swimmer’s worst nightmare. Winter training is known to be the hardest week of practice during the swim season. The part that makes it so difficult is the high intensity workouts and the increase in yardage. Listed below are five of th...

A Special Week: Gretchen Walsh Achieves Greatest Short Course Performance Ever Surprised by the sheer dominance that Gretchen Walsh imposed on the world's best sprinters at the Short Course World Championships? Then you haven't been paying close enough attention to the 21-year-old's trajectory over ...

5 Signs a Swimmer Has Taken Ownership of Their Sport (Archive) By Brad Jones One common trait that you will consistently see in successful senior level swimmers is that they have complete ownership of their swimming. Over my years of working with high school kids on the Bellingham Bay Swim Team, I’v...

Meet Warmup: A Step-by-Step Process to Get Ready to Race Once swimmers are no longer considered age-group or club swimmers, that means they are usually on their own when it comes time to warming up at meets. Without the guidance of their coach telling them exactly what to do, swimmers sometimes feel...

6 Meet Day Nutrition Strategies Swimmers Should Know Among the most important things an athlete can do is set goals, and with these goals come standards. Proper training, sleep, and nutrition are vital necessities for success in any sport. But balancing these priorities can be challenging when jobs,...

Bypassing Short Course Worlds a Difficult But Sensible Decision for Leon Marchand, Kaylee McKeown and Others Four months after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, another swimming competition will bear the title of global championship as World Aquatics hosts the biennial Short Course World Champio...

Why Being an IMer is the Perfect Situation (From the Archive) By Cathleen Pruden Full disclosure: I am a 400 IMer and I absolutely love it. It took me a while to come to terms with my fate as an IMer. I struggled with the fact that I didn't have a "prime" stroke. It wasn't until being well rounded s...

A Letter to Swim Coaches Everywhere: Thank You From the Archive (Thanksgiving Tradition) Dear Coach, I would like to begin this letter by asking you a question. A simple, one-word question: Why? Why did you pursue this career? Why do you wake up at the most ungodly hours every day, just to inevitabl...

Coaching Masters Swimming: A Different Sport With Many Needs to Meet (From the Archive) Commentary by Jason Tillotson When we think of swimmers and the American swimming community, we think of early morning practices, a full day of school or work then a return to the Olympic-sized ice box for an aft...

8 Types of Coaches: Where Does Your Coach Fit? Over my many years of swimming, I have experienced a lot of different coaches, all who have had a different coaching style. From club to high school swimming, and from high school to college swimming, I have learned how to adapt to different coaches and...

6 Important Things Learned During a Swimming Career I’ve been what you would call a swammer for about a month now. While I probably will pull a comeback at some point and make my return to the pool as a Masters swimmer, at the moment I’m branching out and trying other things. Currently, it's weightl...

10 Types of Teammates Found on Every Team; Which One Are You? The fun part about being on a team is being surrounded by teammamtes, individuals who offer different personalities. I am sure someone’s face comes to mind when you think of the coach’s pet, or the warmup sprinter and even the Save up Sal...

How to Support A Swimmer After A Poor Race (Coaches' Examples Included) By Abby Boone, Swimming World College Intern Every swimmer has come to the wall at the end of a race and been unhappy with their swim. Whether they are sad or mad, whether there are tears or frustration, each swimmer turns to th...

4 Swimming 'Icks' and How To Be the Best Practice Swimmer The pool glows a vibrant blue as you step on the pool deck for practice, excited for a great day. You have the opportunity to spend time with friends, maybe have an easy set, and get better at the sport you love. Life couldn’t be better, unti...