Relay Start Drills

Step-and-Swing on Land 

One of the key aspects of an effective relay start is timing the swing of your arms with stepping forward on the block. This requires practice to get the timing down. To get a lot of practice in a short amount of time in a safe manner, do step-and-swing on land.  

To do this drill, assume your starting position and then step forward and swing your arms as if you were doing a relay start. Work on discovering a rhythm that feels good to you.  

Wall Step and Swing With Jump 

Once you have a rhythm and effective timing between your arms and legs, practice adding a jump with the wall step and swing with jump drill.  

To do this drill, start on the deck by the edge of the pool. From this position, take a step, swing your arms, and as your arms come through, jump off the side of the pool and into the water. The goal is to time your swing and step, so that the swing of your arms and your step help carry you out over the water. 

Wall Step and Swing With Dive 

Once you’re comfortable stepping and swinging your arms in unison, try wall step and swing with dive. Take it slow at first and stay low while doing this drill. 

To do this drill, do a cautious swing with your arms while taking a small step and then dive into the pool from the side of the pool. As you get more comfortable, begin stepping and swinging more aggressively, leading to a more powerful dive. 

Block Step and Swing With Jump 

The benefit of the relay start is that it allows for a more powerful start. But that’s only true if you’re aggressive with swinging and stepping forward. That can be intimidating, especially on the block. To make it easier, try the block step and swing with jump drill.  

To do this drill, get onto the block, step forward to the edge of the block while swinging your arms, and then jump into the water. The goal is to get as comfortable as possible with being aggressive with your start, aiming to get as far out over the water as possible. 

Bottom Jumps 

Bottom jumps help you learn how to achieve and maintain great body alignment. One of the most important aspects of the start is after you enter the water. You want to keep as much speed as possible by staying streamlined.  

To do this drill, jump up and down in streamlined position in water a little deeper than your height. The goal is to land in the same spot each time. If your body isn’t completely straight when you jump, you’ll move out of position and will struggle to land in the same spot. 

Step and Swing From Wall Into Hole-in-One Dive 

One of the challenges of doing a great relay start is that the extra speed and power you have coming off the block can make it more difficult to enter the water cleanly. This is especially true because the extra movement on the block makes it easier to throw yourself off course.  

The step and swing from wall into hole-in-one dive drill helps you enter the water more cleanly and carry more speed into your race. To do this drill, simply do your arm swing and step forward and dive into the water from the wall. Your goal is to enter with no splash. 

At first, you may have to do a slow relay start with a tiny jump during your start. Just enter the water cleanly. Then introduce more intensity over time, only adding intensity provided you can enter the water cleanly. 

Step and Swing From Block Into Hole-in-One Dive 

One of the challenges of doing a great relay start is that the extra speed and power you have coming off the block can make it more difficult to enter the water cleanly. This is especially true because the extra movement on the block makes it easier to throw yourself off course.  

The step and swing from block into hole-in-one dive drill helps you enter the water more cleanly and carry more speed into your race. To do this drill, simply do your arm swing and step forward and dive into the water from the block. Your goal is to enter with no splash. 

Start off with a very cautious exchange and a very unaggressive dive. Once you’re successful, slowly add intensity to your start while maintaining the perfect entry. It may take a lot of time before you can perform a full-speed start with no splash.  

Dive and Glide 

An effective start generates a lot of speed and then maintains that speed into the water. Relay starts are faster because they allow you to generate more speed. That requires you to be more skilled at entering cleanly and holding your speed.  

A great way to test if you’re effective at doing so is the dive and glide drill. To do this drill, do a relay start and then glide for as long as possible. The goal is to get farther than you do with a regular dive. If you don’t, you know you need to work on creating more speed with the start itself or getting better at maintaining that speed upon entry. 

Timing Drills 

A key aspect of the relay exchange is the timing of when to begin your start. The most effective way to improve this aspect of your start is to practice exchanges with a partner. When your partner swims in, your goal is to initiate your start so that your partner touches the wall when you leave the block. This timing will be slightly different with different strokes and relays of different lengths, so make sure you switch up how your partner is coming into the wall. 

Altered Start 

There are multiple ways to do an effective relay starts. There are different stepping patterns, and you can switch which foot is the lead leg. It can be helpful to learn and perform different patterns because using varied relay starts can help you improve your preferred starting pattern. The more skilled you become at relay starts, the truer this becomes. Don’t be afraid to switch it up occasionally; you’ll likely learn something that helps your start.