Easy, Steady, Strong
Swim the same distance at three effort levels and learn what each feels like – easy, steady and strong (never all-out) – so swimmers can choose a pace on purpose.
- Stages
- Swimming – Stage 9, Swimming – Stage 10
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Endurance & Pace
- Equipment
- Pace Clock
- Age
- 9–99 years
- Group size
- 1–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 6 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2, Game / Consolidation
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- No all-out sprints; allow rest between lengths.
What it develops
- Hold an even pace over repeated swims
- Plan and control pace for a longer swim
How to run it
- Swim one length easy (could chat), one steady (breathing harder but in control) and one strong (working, technique still good).
- Note the time or stroke count for each.
- Discuss which effort you could keep going for five minutes.
- Teacher calls an effort at random for the next three lengths; swimmers show it.
Teaching cues
- Strong is not sprint.
- Technique first at every effort.
- Know how each pace feels.
Make it easier
- Use widths and two efforts only.
Make it harder
- Swimmers predict their time for each effort.
- Hold 'steady' for a longer continuous swim.
Common faults
- Strong becomes thrashing.
- Easy and steady look the same.
Corrections
- 'Strong but smooth.'
- 'Easy means you could swim it all day.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Call the effort for each length as swimmers set off, following the teacher's random order, and note times on the whiteboard.