Friday Fun: Pool Games Perfect for Summer League Teams and Young Swimmers
Sometimes, an age group, high school or summer league swim practice needs a little extra variety. Not the normal mix of distances, strokes, drills and kicking but a chance for swimmers to enjoy themselves and relax while still letting their competitive juices flow. Game day is perfect for at the end of a particularly hard practice or maybe at the end of a Saturday morning workout. These ideas can work either within a normal practice setting or just with a group of teenagers and pre-teenagers hanging out during free swim time.
Sharks and Minnows
An old classic! One person is the shark, and everyone else is a minnow, at least until the shark tags them. The sharks and minnows start from opposite ends of the pool, and this can be done in any setup, with widths of a six-lane pool and a diving well as perfect options.
Different pools can utilize various rules for sharks and minnows, such as whether either side is allowed to dive into the pool or if everyone must start in the water. Typically, a minnow only becomes a shark if they are lifted up to the surface and tagged on the head, but in other cases, perhaps for younger swimmers, a simple head tag above the water or underwater will do. Any minnow remaining on the wall when the shark touches the wall automatically become sharks.
Handstand Contest
Pretty simple: who can hold a handstand in the pool for the longest? This one would require relatively shallow water, and any swimmer who can do it perfectly for 20 seconds should come up for air and be declared a winner to avoid shallow water blackout or other forms of oxygen deprivation. But handstands are a good test of core strength, so such a contest could be a quick break between sets during practice.
Go
This is another game with plenty of variations, but the simplest version goes like this: All the swimmers stand on the side of the pool, and they must react as quickly as possible when they hear the coach say the word “go.” That can be in the setting of “take your mark, go!” or within another word, such as “going,” “gopher” or “ago.” After the coach says “go,” the last swimmer to dive into the pool is out. Any swimmer who dives in early, perhaps when the coach says a similar word, is out. Anyone who jumps in is out. Keep going until there is a winner.
Rabbit
Time to race! The best format for this game is widths of a six or eight-lane pool (or even smaller). All the swimmers line up on the side of the pool, and the coach calls out the stroke for each lap. The last swimmer to get across the pool doing that stroke and climb out of the water completely is eliminated. Keep going until there is a winner. If there are too many swimmers or a time constraint, this game can be played with the last two swimmers being eliminated each round. Rabbit is a great activity designed to trick swimmers into practicing racing without the typical constraints of a black line and intervals.
Fruit Basket Turnover
This game is played with three teams, with groups of swimmers lined up on different sides of the pool. Number the swimmers, and match up each group based on abilities. For instance, all 1s should be about the same speed and strength, all 2s and so on. The coach calls out a number and throws a small foam ball into the pool. The ball is interchangeable, but you want one that floats. The swimmers dive in and compete with their counterparts on the other team to try to pin the ball to their team’s wall. A coach could also call two or three numbers at a time and force swimmers on the same team to work together.
While in the water, swimmers can only touch the ball with one hand, and they cannot grab the ball or take it underwater. The team whose swimmer gets the pin earns two points. If a swimmer commits a rule violation (such as taking the ball underwater), their team loses one point while the other two teams each gain a point.
The coach can also call “Fruit Basket,” which means everyone jumps into the pool and competes together to pin the ball on their team’s wall. When “Fruit Basket” is called, swimmers cannot dive and must enter the pool feet-first. Diving would be a safety concern with so many swimmers. If anyone dives in, their team loses three points while the other teams each gain three points. Variations of “Fruit Basket” could be boys or girls only or just swimmers of a certain age.
Marco Polo
We finish with another long-lasting staple of summer, Marco Polo. One swimmer closes his or her eyes and says “Marco,” while the others respond “Polo.” The “Marco” swimmer tries to use the sound of the others’ voices to tag someone, and whoever is tagged becomes the new “Marco.” This game won’t wear out swimmers like some of the others listed above, but at least the rules are easy to explain.