Unless you tell anyone, no one will know.

try making them use kickboard

I'm also a swimmer and sometimes have this same problem, although it's not unique, just try to not think about it, and just think about splits and times, and don't overthink anything. If you can, count down instead of up, and sometimes singing a song helps, or thinking about out of swimming things, such as what your going to do that weekend, or homework or so on. good luck!

If you can tighten your goggles, try that. also, so goggles have to straps... try putting one above your bun and one below! i always wear mine out of my cap, that way it there is a malfunction during a race i can rip them off instead of having them filling up with water, digging into my face, etc. Basic diving form: make your self as stream-lined as possible, that means keep your legs together & straight, point your toes, arms extended, chin tucked it slightly (which will help keep your goggles on also). What you can do it go to a public swim and watch other divers, to see how they do it, as well as practice! good luck with everything!

Do swimming sets that teach you how to race. In a race, you should start off slow and speed up as you go. So, your swimming practice sets should be PRACTICE and should be structured so that you go faster and faster as you do your sets. Here are bunch of suggestions for swim sets using interval training as intervals are the BEST way to get into better shape and to lose weight. Consider doing a set of 20 x 50yds swims starting a new one every minute. Do a similar set while only kicking (20 x 50 on 1:20). Do sets where you mix up the strokes. Do 10 x 100/2 or 2:15 while swimming IM's (individual medley). On an 100 IM, you swim one length of fly, one back, one breast and one length of free. Do 12 x 75 on 90 seconds (1:30). Do some 8 x 125/2 mins. You have several variables to use while planning ... Variable #1 ... Swim or only kick or just pull with arms Variable #2 ... how many #3 ... how far #4 ... time interval (if you are doing 50's on a minute and it takes you 42 seconds to swim, you get 18 seconds rest and then you'll be starting a new swim (or kick or whatever) one a minute after the last swim). Thus, the time interval is one minute. #5 ... Which stroke or combination of strokes including IM? With all of those variables you have a myriad of combinations. Here is another example: S 1 x 200/4 S 2 x 100/2 S 4 x 50/1 repeat that set 5 times and that is 3000 yds. Or ... S 1 x 200/4 S 1 x 150/3 S 1 x 100/2 S 1 x 50/1 repeat 6 times and THAT is 3000 yds. Of course, in the above sets, throw in kicking instead of swimming on the 100's or the 50's. Add a few seconds to the intervals I gave when you kick.

The technique you talked about is called treading water, you kick your feet and use your arms and hands to keep you afloat. The hands part is as you fan your arms back and forth you angle your hands so the water pushed you up out of the water. I think that floating on your back is much more energy saving. It is just like doing the back stroke, but you just float in one place, a little foot kicking is all you need to stay somewhat horizontal. I believe the most energy saving swimming stroke is the back stroke and the side stroke. These are commonly used in swim survival, the breast stroke is only used during shark week!

Here are some suggestions on how to get the water out of your ear: First NEVER >>> NEVER …. NEVER put a cotton swab in your ear … NOT EVER. It even says on the box that the cotton swab is for EXTERNAL USE ONLY … look at the box! Second, having water in your ear does not mean you have swimmer’s ear. Swimmer’s ear is a bacterial infection of the ear canal and the most common cause is removing the wax with cotton swabs. -Create an ear drying solution. A good solution is a 50:50 mixture of 5% acetic acid (household vinegar) and isopropyl alcohol (95% is best due to less water in the mixture). The acid in this mixture acts to break down the cerumen (earwax) that may be holding in some water in the ear canal. - After tilting your head so the waterlogged ear faces down, place the tip of your index finger in the cuplike spot at the bottom of your ear, and position your thumb behind the ear on the cartilage above your earlobe. Hold firmly and wiggle your ear to straighten the ear canal and dislodge the water. -An alternate method is to stand on one foot and tilt your head so the offending ear faces the ground. Hop on one foot until the water drains out. -Another method is to lie down on your side with the clogged ear facing down. Gravity may cause the ear to drain naturally. -Place your finger in your ear and make a vacuum with your finger by pushing and pulling rapidly. In a moment the water should come out of your ear very quickly. -Pretend you are gnawing on some food. Tilt your head to the side that doesn't have water in it and then quickly tilt your head to the other side. -Face affected ear down and then with your palm push in and out until water begins to come out. -The Pawan Suri method of removing water from the ear: Tilt your head to the side with the affected ear facing up. Now drip a small amount (5-10 drops) of water into the affected ear (from a cup or the palm of your hand). As the water enters your ear canal, you will feel a "give" as it breaks through the "air-lock" that is trapping the water. Now tilt the head the other way and let all the water drip out....you ear is now clear. -Contact a doctor if none of the above work.

Ive always jumped on the leg corresponding with the ear.

Contrary to two previous answers, you MUST breathe IMMEDIATELY after your break-out. Secondly, eating protein will do NOTHING to improve your swimming. Third, carbohydrate loading (which was described by one message) will do absolutely nothing for a swimming race unless the race lasts for more than 30 minutes. So, what can you do to hit 56.6? Below is a long VERY SPECIFIC explanation of how to swim a 100 yard race. If you apply what I wrote, your time will drop. Swimmers & coaches don't plan a clear race strategy. My explanation is long as it addresses how to determine your swimming speed and how you'll feel at each part of the race. Keep in mind you don't run out of energy in races< 2 hours. However, waste products (lactic acid or LA) in short races accumulate quickly & interfere with muscles relaxing & you tighten up. The key to speed is NOT building LA from going too fast at the beginning of your race. When LA builds, muscles lose power as the LA inhibits the muscle's ability to relax as evidenced by the end of your race when you feel TIGHT. You can especially see fatigue during the last 10 yds of 100s as people lose power & fade. Those who maintain power don't get tired. To maintain power you can't have LA interfering w/ muscles relaxing. So, how fast should you go on the first 25 to avoid LA accumulation so you can maintain stroke length & power right to the end? Here's how to plan a race: 1. You must have a thorough warm-up (w/u) of 1200-2000 yds or more completed w/in 5 minutes of your race. 2. On the first 25 of your race you MUST start breathing every stroke cycle (1 left, 1 right arm) as soon as you breakout from your start. DO NOT hold your breath on the first 25. The air you breath in 'now' doesn't reach your muscles for about 30 seconds. If you don't breath @ the beginning of your race, around your 50 there is no fresh oxygen reaching your muscles & LA causes you to begin to fatigue early. 3. Determine how fast you should be going on the first 25 of your race & practice that speed, off the blocks, in w/u. The formula for determining that speed is to take your goal time &, if needed, change it into seconds. Due to your start add 1.2 seconds to your goal. Divide by 4. That time is what each of your last THREE 25's should be. Then, subtract 1.2 seconds (the start) from the time you should be doing for the last three 25s. That’s your time for your first 25. Here's what it looks like. Remember, to adjust the numbers for your times. Let's use your goal of 56.6. Add 1.2 + 56.6 = 57.8. Divide 57.8 by 4 which= 14.45. You should be doing 14.45 for the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th 25s of your race. For the first 25, subtract 1.2 from 14.45, which is 13.25. 13.25 is what your first 25 should be. You must learn what 13.25 "feels" like & also learn how difficult it is to go slow. As part of your warm-up you should do 25s from the blocks & see if you can hit 13.25 seconds. In a race you'll be hyped & there is no LA in your muscles so you feel very fresh & not fatigued. So 13.25 will feel like you're going slow, but that is OK. HOLD BACK on the first 25 & as described earlier BREATHE right after you breakout. Breathe every stroke cycle for free, every other stroke for fly. Backstrokers must consciously breathe. As you come into your first 25 turn, BEFORE the turn, start to speed up your kick & your stroke rate A LITTLE! If those against whom you're swimming are of comparable speed, you'll likely be a bit behind. But being slightly behind at this point of the race is OK as in a short while you're going to be feeling much fresher than they are which will pay off at the end of your race. In order to now hit 14.45, your second 25 should feel as if you've sped up slightly over the first. In order to hit 14.45 on your third 25, keep your stroke long & be working at catching everyone without sprinting. Your goal before the 75 is to be tied or very close to catching those who were leading. Thus, at about 70 yards into your race you've got to be building into an all out sprint & go for it before your 75 turn. Maintain long & strong stroke. The key is that during your race you must work at speeding up B-4 the end of each 25 &, at a minimum, hold that speed for the next 25. Use your kick & really sprint it home on the last 30. I tell my swimmers you should never be going faster in your race than you can maintain for the remainder of the race. Therefore, the first part of your race is the slowest because you cannot hold a fast time for the entire race. Then, as you get closer and closer to the end of the race you swim faster and faster as you can hold the faster time over a shorter remaining distance. LA, however, is starting to build and will counter your efforts which will make your splits the same. Let me know if you use this strategy& how it works for you. Contact me at academicjoq@yahoo.

I would do activities to strengthen your core. In swimming, almost everything involves using your core, so you need to strengthen that up a bit. You can do: 3 sets of 20 crunches on a yoga ball, 3 planks holding for 30 seconds with 10 seconds rest in-between, or leg lifts. Until you can start swimming and practicing, that's what I'd do.