Why Young Swimmers Race Different Strokes

Parent Guide Series - March 2026

As swimmers gain more racing experience, parents often see them competing across a range of strokes and events.

A swimmer who performs well in freestyle may also race backstroke or butterfly. Others may appear in the 200IM or longer events that stretch their skills.

This can naturally prompt the question:

If a swimmer has a strongest event, why not focus on that race?

Age-group swimming is designed to build complete swimmers, not early specialists.

Common Questions Parents Ask

Parents often wonder:

Why isn’t my swimmer racing their best stroke?

Why are they swimming events they are not strongest in?

Wouldn’t they win more medals focusing on one event?

These are completely reasonable questions.

At younger ages competitions are not only about results. They are also an important part of the learning process that helps swimmers develop the range of skills needed for long-term progress.

Young Swimmers Need Broad Technical Development

In the early years of competitive swimming the priority is to develop balanced and adaptable swimmers.

Racing multiple strokes helps swimmers build:

• Coordination

• Balance in the water

• Body awareness

• Technical understanding across all strokes

Each stroke teaches something different.

Backstroke improves body alignment and posture in the water. Breaststroke develops timing and rhythm. Butterfly strengthens coordination and power.

This wider technical foundation becomes extremely valuable later in the sport.

Different Events Build Different Abilities

Racing a range of events also develops different physical and racing skills.

• Sprint races teach swimmers how to generate speed and power.

• Middle distance races develop pacing control and rhythm.

• Longer races build aerobic endurance and mental resilience.

Individual medley events are particularly valuable because swimmers must manage different strokes, transitions and pacing within one race. For this reason many development pathways, including the Bluefins pathway, place strong emphasis on IM racing during the early years.

Swimmers who gain experience across different events often become more adaptable and confident competitors.

For example, a swimmer who currently performs best in 50 freestyle may still race backstroke, butterfly or IM. Those races develop body position, coordination and pacing skills that often strengthen their freestyle over time.

Competition Is Part of the Learning Process

Training develops skills. Racing teaches swimmers how to apply them.

Through competition swimmers learn:

• How to manage nerves

• How to pace a race

• How to prepare before an event

• How to recover between swims

• How to adjust their strategy

• How to deal with disappointment and try again

Not every race goes to plan. Swimmers sometimes experience frustration or difficult results.

Learning how to handle those moments is an important part of the sport.

Poolside this learning process is often visible. Some races end with excitement and personal bests. Others end with frustration or disappointment. Supporting swimmers through both moments is part of coaching. Over time swimmers learn to reset, reflect and prepare for the next opportunity.

These lessons cannot be fully developed in training alone.

This is why competitions are used as part of the development process rather than simply as a way to measure results.

Specialisation Comes Later

Most swimmers gradually begin to specialise during the teenage years.

As swimmers grow and training volume increases their strengths become clearer. Some swimmers develop natural sprint speed while others show greater endurance.

This process takes time.

Early specialisation can limit development because swimmers miss important learning experiences across different strokes and events.

For this reason swimmers are encouraged to experience a range of strokes and distances during the earlier stages of development.

The Bigger Picture

Sometimes a swimmer may race an event that is not their strongest today.

That is often intentional.

The aim is not simply to maximise short-term results. The aim is to help swimmers develop the full range of skills that support long-term improvement.

In age-group swimming the most important question is not:

“What event will they win today?”

It is:

“What will help them become a stronger swimmer in the years ahead?”

Key Coaching Principle

A swimmer who develops skills across multiple strokes and distances often becomes stronger, more adaptable and more resilient later in the sport.

The early years of swimming are about building capability rather than chasing early results.

Written by Spencer Turner

Head of Swimming, Basingstoke Bluefins Swimming Club