How do you begin competitive swimming at 18?

Answer 1

First, find a swim team to join. If you've never swum competitively, you will need to assess your skill and speed. (Even if you have poor technique or slow speed, this should not deter you! Some of the fastest swimmers started off incredibly slow and, through hard work, became among the fastest in the country.) If your skill level is more remedial, then you will want to join a team that accepts remedial swimmers. Many "club teams" do accept remedial swimmers. So do masters teams, which are like teams for already retired competitive swimmers. Find one of these in your area. If you don't know of any, go to a local 25 yard/meter or 50 meter pool and ask the staff. You can also use the resources of USA Swimming or Swimming World Magazine. If you are skilled, then you can expand your options in terms of what teams you can join. If this is the case, you also might be eligible to teams that only have advanced swimmers, such as most college or university teams.

Regardless of where you go, you will likely have to try out. For a trial, you will be asked to swim for one of the coaches. Each coach has a different idea of what a try out is. Some may ask you to swim only one lap of each stroke. Others may ask for 2 laps of each stroke or 4 laps of each stroke. Some may time you as well. But most are probably looking to see that you have decent to good technique and potential. You don't have to be a Michael Phelps in the try out. They just want to see that you have the potential to be molded into a good swimmer in the future.

After you're on a team, expect to make an increasingly large committment to training as you get faster. In the beginning, you will likely train at least 3 times per week, maybe more. As an 18 year old, it will probably be more, since older swimmers tend to be faster and train more days. It could be 4 or 5 days for a remedial swimmer. As you get faster, expect to train 6-7 times per week at a minimum. If you are serious and want to compete at a more elite level, you might have to train 7-9 times per week (some days, training in both the morning (i.e. before class) and evening (after class)) in addition to "dry land" weight training and conditioning. To be at a top level, you have to make sacrifices to the other activities in your life. You will probably have to give up any other sports you play competitively. It's a choice that you will have to make, but you don't have to worry about it until you get to a high level.

Good luck!