6 struggles of being a flyer

1 – “What events do you swim?” “100 and 200 fly” “”What’s ‘fly’?”

Fly is short for butterfly. You’re so used to shortening the strokes, you forget that other people don’t know our lingo. While ‘breast’, ‘back’, and ‘free’ are a little bit more obvious, people usually have no idea what you’re talking about.

2 – Choice sets are basically death

Choice and best stroke sets are a scary thing. The idea of choosing another stroke is a tempting one, but you’ve learned your lesson. You tried to choose a different stroke for the first round, but then your coach asked you when you’re going to do fly, and you had to do it on round 3, when you were already exhausted and could no longer move your arms.

3 – You have big shoulders

Butterfly strengthens your shoulders like no other stroke. It is quite possible that people will be able to tell that you’re a flyer just by looking at you. Make no mistake: the shoulders are a mark of honor.

4 – People are fascinated

“Butterfly? But isn’t that the hardest one?” Yes, it is. “I tried that once. It’s so hard!” Yes, it is. “Wow, you must train so much!” Yes, I do.

5 – 200 fly is a necessary evil

Even if your speciality is the 100, you’re basically expected to regularly swim/be good at the 200 fly. If you’re a flyer, you’re a flyer. End of story.

6 – Underwaters are your best friend

You’ve learned that the fastest and most effective way to save your arm strength is underwaters. In fact, my coach once told me “the less swimming, the better”. I think that pretty much says it all.