Swim Life

Chlorine vs. Currents: 3 Key Differences between Pool and Open Water Swimming For many swimmers, transitioning from a lap pool to open water can feel overwhelming, like entering an entirely different sport. Even though both pool and open water swimming rely on the same fundamental stroke mechanics, ...

When Are Swimmers 'Sick Enough' to Rest Swimmers are trained to be uncomfortable. We wake up before sunrise, dive into cold pools, train through soreness and finish sets when our bodies beg us to stop. Learning to push through discomfort is part of becoming a successful athlete. But that mentality.....

Balancing High School Season: It Might Not Be Perfect, But It's Manageable For year-round swimmers, high school season can be one of the most fun parts of the year. It can also make your schedule a little crazy.  You still have your club practices, your club coach and the goals you have been working...

I Asked Swimmers What Their Version of the “Worst Set Ever” Would Look Like There is a certain moment in practice when the pool deck gets unusually quiet. Warmup is over, the pre-set is done, and everyone has finally earned a short break. For a few minutes, the deck feels almost peaceful. Swimmers g...

Building a Swim Community: I Let My Whole Swim Team Pie Me - Here’s Why My fellow coaches and I stood in a line, about to meet our fate. Our young swimmers and their parents roared with laughter as pies flew through the air. One by one, they hit each coach in the face. With whipped cream in my hair ...

12 Questions You Should Ask During College Recruiting Process By Ashley Illenye (Archive) Each year, high school seniors must make one of the biggest decisions of their young adult lives: Where they will spend the next four years of their lives and educations. Recruiting trips primarily decide where...

From Tech Suit to Tri Suit: 5 Reasons Why Competitive Swimmers Make Great Triathletes It isn't unusual for competitive swimmers to take on the challenge of a triathlon. Here are five reasons why swimmers are often successful at making the transition. 1. We Like to Compete Once a competitor, always a...

The Inglorious Truth About the First Week Back at Practice Nothing is quite as humbling as that first week back at swim practice. After weeks of relaxing, traveling, and enjoying life out of the pool, going back to practice can be painful. You walk onto the pool deck, mesh bag in hand, and the famil...

Patrick Sammon, Michael Andrew Find GoPro Belonging to NBA Player Jaylen Brown in Ocean When swimmers Patrick Sammon and Michael Andrew retrieved a lost GoPro from the ocean in Hawaii, they hoped that posting the footage to social media might reconnect it with its original owner. They didn’t expect ...

How to Balance the Transition to the Fall Season By this point in the year, many high schools have begun their fall semesters. The summer heat begins to dwindle, classes pick up and swimming kicks off its next season. Although it’s a transition many swimmers have experienced for years, it can still ...

The Race That Didn't Go Your Way: How to Respond to Adversity There are few feelings in swimming that sting quite like missing a cut by one hundredth of a second.  You touch the wall, look up at the scoreboard, and immediately begin doing the math. One more dolphin kick off the wall. One cleaner bre...

Swimming's Most Unique Stroke? The Reasoning Behind Top Breaststrokers' Similarities, Differences When Van Mathias swims breaststroke, the pool is silent. The 25-year-old, who has broken American records in the 50 breaststroke and 100 breaststroke this year, glides through the water with ease, no mo...

World Drowning Prevention Day: Keeping Children Safe Around Water Led by The World Health Organization (WHO), World Drowning Prevention Day (July 25, 2026) is recognized as a way to encourage water safety and limit drownings, which claim the lives of 300,000 children around the world on a yearly bas...

Why Quiet Confidence Matters Most Before Championship Season  As championship season approaches, the atmosphere around the pool begins to change.  Practices become more intentional. Conversations shift from technique and volume to taper, qualifying times, and championship goals. Swimmers start check...

Go for a Swim for These 6 Mental Health Benefits By Proteeti Sinha Researchers have found that swimming promotes both physical and mental well-being; this isn't news to anyone who regularly frequents the pool deck. But there are additional benefits that you may not be aware of that extend beyond the...

Friday FunDay: 5 Unique Swimming Relays to Make Practice Fun Are you tired of the endless back and forth of swimming during practice? Craving the thrill of competition that's more about teamwork than swimming the fastest time? Luckily, you can dive into the exciting world of fun swimming relays! For...

By Katie Lively, Swimming World College Intern If at first you don’t succeed, it’s probably not worth the effort, right? That was how I felt all through elementary school, and looking back, it’s not surprising. I followed in the footsteps of many kids who find their niche at a young age: I was reall...

5 Strategies to Build Excellent Team Culture The cultivation of great team culture is critical to a team’s success. Anytime a swimmer is looking for a new swim team, it's likely that one of their primary concerns will be how well the team gets along, as teamwork makes the swimming experience far mor...

No Simple Answers: When Hormones, Cancer and Sport Collide By Leann Rossi I’ve learned more about hormones in the past few weeks than I ever expected to in my lifetime. When my biopsy results came back, the explanation was both simple and devastating: my estrogen was feeding the cancer. Suddenly, so...

Simone Manuel Leads World's Largest Swimming Lesson at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon On Thursday, nearly 600 kids from five Central Florida nonprofits participated in The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, learning critical water safety skills from Disney lifeguards and Olympic go...