■ FOUNDATIONAL CUES — “Do the Simple Things Well”
• Fast swimming starts with perfect basics.
• Let’s nail the easy things — streamline, kick, breathe.
• Hold your shape: line, core, glide.
• Fast out of walls, calm in between.
• Every wall’s a free meter — take it.
• Good swimmers swim between the flags. Great swimmers swim under them.
• Push off like you mean it.
• Streamline until it hurts.
• Stay long before you go fast.
• If you can’t do it slow, you can’t do it fast.
■ PERFORMANCE FOCUS — “Race Readiness Mindset”
• Train like you race, race like you train.
• Fast hands, calm head.
• Every length counts — own it.
• Build pressure, not panic.
• No wasted strokes.
• Make the next one your best one.
• Strong, smart, simple.
• You don’t need to go faster — you need to go better.
• Control the controllables.
■ TECHNICAL EMPHASIS — “Skill under Fatigue”
• Feel the water — don’t fight it.
• Hold your line through the turn.
• Breakout clean — no bubbles, no brakes.
• Kick to the surface, don’t pop.
• Streamline first, think later.
• Fast to the wall, faster off it.• Shoulders quiet, hips do the work.
• Relaxed recovery, ruthless underwater.
■ MINDSET & CHARACTER — “The Person → Athlete →
Performer”
• Awareness starts with noticing — what did that length feel like?
• Confidence is earned, not given.
• Consistency beats intensity.
• Effort is free — technique is choice.
• Great teammates make great swimmers.
• Own your lane, own your standard.
• Be calm when others rush.
• Reset, refocus, repeat.
FAVOURITE ONE-LINERS (borrowed wisdom)
• Do the easy things right — streamline and stay underwater. — USA Junior Team Coach
• Every length is a chance to be better. — Bill Sweetenham
• Don’t count the laps, make the laps count. — Bob Bowman
• Discipline is doing what you need to do when nobody’s watching. — Greg Troy
• Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. — Wyatt Earp (via elite sprint coaches)
• You can’t fake fitness. — Common coaching truth
• It’s not who goes fastest; it’s who slows down least. — Craig Robertson, Swim England
