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You have made it to the very end of your race. You have less than 15 meters left of a 50, 100, 200, 400, etc., in any given stroke. Don't dare let up now. Finish as hard as you possibly can! You will be so glad you did!
5 TIPS to keep your finish STRONG:
- Keep thy breath held! Coaches see this mistake time and time again: One, two, three breaths into the wall!?! We have seen you swim a 25 or 50 under water! Give it your all and don't breathe one single time from the flags in! It will save precious time! You can do it!!! PRACTICE holding your breath.
- Keep thy hips up! Don't sink into your finish. Keep your streamline held within your stroke without letting your back arch. Never sag into the finish. Instead, keep your core strong and held in. PRACTICE this every chance you get.
- Keep thy kick rapid! Do not let up on your kick for a single second. Once you are in the home stretch to the wall - TURN IT ON TO MAXIMUM INTENSITY! We should see a major change in kick rate. There should be a white cloud of water behind you, driving you full speed ahead into the wall. PRACTICE finishing with this kind of kick into the wall. It feels much different than gliding.
- Keep thy arms reaching! Stretch out your stroke when you are approaching the wall. Time it so that you don't have to take short, choppy strokes. You want them to be long and fully extended. Attack the wall and stab it! PRACTICE every time you have the opportunity.
- Keep thyself practicing finishes during practice! Otherwise, you won't know how it really feels to come into the wall as fast as possible. Did you hear the part about PRACTICING your finish during practice? :)
Watch the videos below and see how well you think this group PRACTICED finishes. What do you see executed well? What could could be improved?
THANK YOU SWIMMERS!
