No, this is not an advertisement.
But when Folsom Wahoos Swim Team head coach Kathleen Kinsey sent me an email about a system she’d developed to help her young swimmers learn to circle-swim, I became insanely jealous that I didn’t think of this as a summer league coach.
For about $20/lane, coach Kinsey has invented a simple system of “lane dividers” that simultaneously help her athletes stay safe, learn the all-important skill of circle-swimming, and helps keep the motivated during practices.
Anybody who has worked with young, novice swimmers knows that keeping them swimming in a straight line can be a huge challenge – on their stomachs or on their backs. Mid-lane collisions are frequent at these younger levels, and can be quite scary. In meets, these bad habits can lead to significant increase in the actual length swum in a 25 yard race. Here’s how to build simple and cheap lane dividers to keep your practices safer, and give your swimmers practice at swimming on a straighter path.
Note: with really young swimmers, there’s often still enough room to pass -even if the lane is split in half!
Shopping List:
- 4 bricks for retaining wall $1.98 each at Home Depot
- 2 cans yellow spray paint $7 for 2
- line from home depot – I purchased 100 feet with a reel and left the reel attached $5 each at Home depot — use the excess line to adjust enough line at each end to wrap around the brick when in use.
- 14 noodles from dollar store
- one cheap broom from dollar store to string the noodles on the line. I alternated bright colors. Take the broom off tie a knot to the loop in the end of the broom and thread the line through the noodles.
- Coach Kinsey’s note: Our pool has a raised deck makes it easy for young swimmers to get to the wall. A flush deck might require a 5 gallon bucket or similar to give the lane divider lift so that swimmers can turn at the wall.
Assembly:
- Write inspirational phrases with waterproof markers on noodles
- String noodles along line (about 7-per-lane seems to be enough, though you could use more if you want a more consistent divider)
- Wrap line around brick. Coach Kinsey Safety Tip: Use the extra line to keep the bricks far away from edge of the pool in the event the kids pull on the center line. We put up safety cones (that we have for dry land) to keep people from tripping over the painted bricks.
Photos:
Yankee is a heckin’ goodgerl who helped her mom shop at Home Depot. 13/10 would enter in the 25 yard doggy paddle. Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
Spray-painted bricks. Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
On-deck assembly. Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
Lane dividers in action. Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
Lane dividers in action Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
Lane dividers in action Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
Inspirational quotes. Courtesy: Kathleen Kinsey
What about in Long Course Pool?
I saw this in action! It was awesome. Very creative!
Love this idea for teaching circle swimming. A simple way I came up with that seems to work is by putting a bracelet (or rubber band) on their right wrist and telling them the hand with the bracelet must stay by the lane line. We switch hands when we do backstroke so their left hand stays by the lane line. After coaching little kids for many years I realized the main issue is that a lot of kids don’t know their left from their right or they do but can’t remember while swimming because they are focusing on swimming. This seems to solve that problem. Cheap and easy way to help them learn.
#1 – I love your idea. Simple, elegant, beautiful.
#2 – I’m fascinated by the fact that this simple reminder keeps them from swerving. I’d always thought it was just a “they’re too spaced out to think about what side of the lane they’re on.” Though, for backstroke, maybe the divider is still a good idea – I can name a lot of teenagers who still can’t swim in a straight line on their backs lol.
Very cool. Very creative!
Well done. We have a more expensive but super functional system we call boundaries that help to form a lagoon. These can be put in place such as is done with this hack. But, our NOODLES are SQUARE in shape. Then when the disk hits the edge, the disk bounces back into the playing area. Also, our line is white plastic chain. And, with the square noodle we have, the center hole is much larger. The chain can easily be threaded by gravity and no need for the broom stick to shove the line down a tiny hole in the core / center of the noodles. Ours is super easy to thread. A nut or washer at the end of… Read more »
This is so awesome! It would be really cool if there were more user submissions with helpful coaching/equipment hacks like this!
Not shocked! I was blessed to be able to swim in college with Kathleen so I have always known she’s creative!
Thanks Cynthia! Necessity is the mother of invention!
if only our lanes were wide enough