Racing rules for young swimmers

Everyone has seen swimmers who train well but melt under the pressure of meets, and everyone has seen swimmers who do not train well but who love to race. Personality determines how kids think about racing and how they think when they are racing really matters. For swimmers at this age two are the most important things when it comes to fast and consistent racing: confidence and competitiveness. Swimmers who work hard and smart in training, who are used to setting goals and working to reach them and who are getting better every day will generally be confident in their abilities. To nurture competitiveness, both coaches and swimmers should try to create a love of it and competing in practice. Swimmers should race all the time, and they must learn to take pleasure in the contest.

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