Why Swimming is One of the Most Misunderstood Sports

No no, I don't play football. I don't play soccer, basketball, baseball, or lacrosse. I swim. Swimming is a sport? Yes, in fact, it's one of the hardest sports. But how could swimming be tough at all? It's just floating around for a while right? Wrong!

A typical swimming practice lasts around 2 hours, both in the morning at 4 AM and in the afternoon at around 3 PM. The practice hours of other sports like soccer and baseball aren't so close. Swimming practice hours aren't the toughest (ice skaters are getting ice time at midnight!), but they are pretty tough. And that's not the major tough part. The practice hours only work if the practice itself is good.

Swimmers aren't meant to be 'buff' like other sports players. They are meant to be 'lean'. Swimming isn't just about brute strength, like hitting a baseball can be. Swimming requires proper technique, endurance, vitality, stamina, flexibility, and a well balanced body. Michael Phelps, when compared to other athletes like Warren Sapp of the Oakland Raiders, is considered to be puny. He's definitely not short, but by muscle and mass, Phelps definitely falls short. Still, Michael Phelps is good at swimming because the sport doesn't require that large mass.

Training for swimming is also much harder than people will think. Age group swimmers can train to about five or six miles everyday. Even if it's not a straight five miles, sections of the practice will involve all-out effort after energy is slowly drained by the smaller and easier sets. This builds the endurance part of the swimmer. Olympic swimmers can work out up to 14 miles a day, but sometimes they can go as low as 8 miles.

Technique takes years to build. The proper way to each of the four strokes requires close attention to every detail. People might seem like they're moving arms and legs really fast, but someone who is taking four times as less strokes could be going four times as fast. Technique in swimming is less about strength and more about taking advantage of your personal ability and water's characteristics in comparison with air.

Swimming isn't broadcasted on TV much because people simply don't recognize swimming as a proper sport. It certainly is a sport, more so than people will ever give credit for! Next time you see a swimmer, don't say "Swimming is a stupid 'sport'...", but instead see them on an equal playing field with football players, basketball players, baseball players, and lacrosse players. They're all athletes anyways!