Why Your Child Trains Hard But Still Is Not Dropping Time

TLDR: If your child is training consistently but the times are not dropping, do not jump straight to “train more”. In swimming, effort only helps when it turns into better movement through the water. The real job is to find where the effort is leaking away — body position, breathing, timing, catch, turns, or technique breaking down under fatigue.

One of the most frustrating things for a swim parent is watching your child put in the work and still not see the result.

They attend training. They do the sets. They listen to the coach. They come home tired. They race again.

And the time still does not move.

I understand why parents get worried at this point. It can feel like something is wrong with the swimmer. Maybe they are not trying hard enough. Maybe they are not talented enough. Maybe they need more sessions.

Sometimes more training helps. But very often, the first question should not be, “How do we add more?”

The better question is:

Where is the Problem?

1. In swimming, trying harder might be counter productive!

Swimming is not like running on land. In the water, if your body position is poor, if the breath lifts the head, if the catch slips, or if the kick is fighting the body line, more effort can create more resistance.

That is why a swimmer can look like they are working very hard but still not move forward efficiently.

Parents often describe it like this:

“He looks like he is trying so hard, but he is not going anywhere.”

That sentence usually tells me the swimmer may not have an effort problem. They may have an efficiency problem.

2. The stroke may be okay only when the swimmer is fresh

A lot of young swimmers look decent at the start of a set.

Then fatigue arrives.

The head starts lifting. The arms get shorter. The kick gets bigger. The turn becomes loose. Breathing becomes rushed. Suddenly, the stroke that looked acceptable for one lap cannot survive a race.

This matters because racing does not reward the swimmer who can do one good lap when fresh. Racing rewards the swimmer who can hold useful movement when the body is under pressure.

When I watch a swimmer who is stuck, I look at what changes first.

Does the breath break down? Does the catch disappear? Does the body line drop? Does the swimmer lose the wall? That first change tells us a lot.

3. Breathing is often taking a Break

Freestyle breathing is one of the most common places where speed disappears.

A swimmer turns to breathe, but instead of a smooth rotation, the head lifts. When the head lifts, the hips often drop. When the hips drop, the swimmer has to kick harder just to recover body position.

This can happen every few strokes without the swimmer realising it.

From the parent’s view, it may look like poor stamina. From a coach’s view, it may be a breathing and balance problem.

4. Fast movement do not always mean useful power

Some swimmers move their arms quickly but do not hold enough water.

They look busy. They feel tired. They may even feel like they are pulling hard. But if the catch is slipping, the arms are not creating useful pressure.

This is where video or close stroke analysis can help. Many swimmers cannot feel this clearly at first. They need to see it, understand it, and then connect the correction to a simple cue they can practise.

5. The swimmer may have too many corrections at once

Another common problem is overload.

The swimmer hears:

• head down;

• kick harder;

• reach longer;

• pull properly;

• breathe earlier;

• don’t cross;

• finish your stroke.

All of those corrections may be valid. But if everything is the priority, nothing is the priority.

Good coaching is not just spotting faults. Good coaching is choosing what to fix first.

The Bottom Line

If your child is training hard but not dropping time, do not immediately assume the answer is more volume.

First, look for the leak.

Is the stroke changing under fatigue?

The breath disturbing the body line?

Are they losing the wall every lap?

Are they moving their arms without holding water?

Do they understand what they are trying to fix?

Once the real limiter is clearer, training becomes more useful.

Final Thoughts from Coach Danny

As a coach, I do not want swimmers to just work harder blindly. I want them to understand what is holding them back, fix the current priority, and bring that correction back into training and racing.

That is how effort starts becoming speed.

If your swimmer is already training and you are not sure what is holding them back, start with Effiswim’s coaching pathway page:

https://www.effiswim.com/swimofferings

TIll the next one,

Coach Danny Yeo