How is team unity and spirit important in swimming?

Question

I'm not talking about Medley relays, cuz i know teamwork is important in those. But in those individual 100M swims, how can team unity help?

Answer 1

Okay having swam year round competition for 15 years and swam in high school swimming four of those years (captain senior year). Let me explain the difference between a team in both the competitive career swimmer and a high school swimmer.

Most competition meets last 8-10 hours Sat and Sun (if not longer) and also about four hours Friday evenings. You don't see an entire team no matter how tight they are, out there cheering. Swimmers are focused on themselves, staying rested, getting primed for the next event or BSing with friends. You will find that your immediate circle of friends will be on the end of your lane cheering or cheering from the sidelines depending on the pool set up and rules. Team spirit isn't like it is in a high school. Sure everyone wears their team suit and cap on race day but its not about spirit its about allowing others to identify your team narrowing down who you are. Team unity is key in this type of swimming career. Everyone has one goal, personal bests. You push yourself in workouts with your teammates. You play together you eat together, and you work together. Your teammates are your life. When you spend two plus hours everyday and then at least two weekends a month you go to a meet, there isn't a lot of room for non swimming friends. Your teammates are your competition, but they are also the people you can be you with and enjoy a balance of fun in life. Our team used to rent out a water park (go figure) annually and just hang together. After most meets we would all go to a restraunt together. We stayed at each others houses. It was just the way the world worked.

High school swimming is something else entirely different. You are worried about team unity AND spirit because every swimmers win or loss means points to the team. Meaning what school won the meet. You want the swimmers on the team to get along so that they work that much harder to do their best. It's why you do team cheers- to show spirit and to psych out the other team. Every swimmer matters. I was the best on my team, but I was no any more important than the slowest swimmer because if I had an off day I could lose MAJOR team points, but if my slow swimmer had a great day and took fourth she earned way more points than if she was last. Everyone on the team effects the outcome of the meet. Also you find that those meets are much shorter and there is not such a demand on any one swimmer (figure in regular competiion swimming you can usually swim five events a day unless that has changed over the years as i've been out of the loop about 13 years (not including relays), but in high school [and this does depend on where you go to school) you could only see swimming two or three events at most.

The bottomline is that year round competition is very individual, you don't care what your team mate does, you care about only you. and in high school, your team mate affects you and your team so being there to root them on really matters to help them be all they can be (no this isn't the army)...

Answer 2

It helps me because when I am in the last half of my 500free and I think im not going to make it and I look up and see my teammates cheering me on the fatigue just melts away and I get a 2nd wind. It also makes the whole meet and practice processes more fun! You make life long memories that make you laugh just thinking about them. Like on time the night before my teams State Championships, we were staying in a hotel with 3 other schools there for the meet and we ended up having the police called because the one room that was occupied by non-swimming related people said it was too loud. So we ended up having a policeman come to every room and have a talk with us about we need to respect peoples wishes and how that was a warning next time he will be taking us with him! It was CRAZY but soo much fun! Then the next night we cut each others hair in the room! I wouldnt take those memories back for anything!

Answer 3

purely one which you do no longer dive is backstroke and you have a commence this is kinda like a back dive you throw your head back. Diving is actual important as quickly as you're stable yet working on your stroke is much extra important. the diving is stable for procuring a head commence and in spite of the fact that lots floor you bypass with the help of being interior the air is the dimensions which you do no longer ought to swim and get drained on. do no longer difficulty approximately no longer having the flexibility to dive, the coaches will definately instruct you techniques on a thank you to!!

Answer 4

i think it helps when your entire team is standing on the edge of the pool cheering you on instead of sitting on a bench, on my high school team, unless you just got out of the water, you are up and cheering one of your teammates on, it really creates a great atmosphere and it gets our guys pumped up and ready to go

Answer 5

your teammates cheer for you and in the middle of the race when your down, their cheers help you get motivated again and race for the finish!