Swimming drills at home for 18 year olds

An 18 year old can practice endurance, race mindset and streamline & breakouts at home with 27 swimming drills picked for the age. Keep a session to about 50 minutes, up to 5 days a week, with rest days between. Why: Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week (NATA youth sport specialization recommendations).

A parent's page for an 18 year old: the drills that work at home, one session to follow, what changes this year and how much is healthy. Free, no account.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated November 5, 2026

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At a glance

At 18: 27 swimming drills the app opens for an 18 year old work at home, across 6 skills.
How long: One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for an 18 year old.
How often: At most 5 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 18 hours for an 18 year old, with two rest days a week.
What you need: Most used: mat (6 of the 27 drills), notebook (3), resistance band (3), bench or sturdy step (1), flat surface (1), jump rope (1), light medicine ball (1), light resistance band (1). 6 drills need nothing but space.
Safe at home: One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

27 at-home drills

Swimming drills for 18 year olds to do at home

Every drill below is one the app opens for an 18 year old and one that works at home: a room, garage or yard, one parent as the partner, no venue. Each drill's page has the steps, a diagram where the setup can be drawn, three ways to make it a game and a log to print.

endurance

Endurance

race mindset

Race Mindset

streamline & breakouts

Streamline & Breakouts

speed

Speed

starts & turns

Starts & Turns

Dry-Land Start PopAges 7 and up · 8 min

A 44-minute session

A home swimming session for an 18 year old

A warm-up, 3 drills and a cool-down, 44 minutes in all. Do it up to 5 days a week, with rest days between.

1Swimming Warm-Up, Ages 14 and UpA 12-minute moving warm-up for swimming players 14 and up: moving stretches, strength, single-leg control, cuts and build-up runs, then swimming moves at practice speed.12 min
2Jump Rope RoundsSmall jumps on the balls of your feet.10 min
3Animal WalksStrong middle, steady hands.8 min
4Streamline Wall StandTall and tight like a pencil.6 min
5Swimming Cool-Down Stretches, Ages 14 and UpA 8-minute cool-down for swimming players 14 and up after training: stretches for the legs, hips, arms and chest, each held 20 to 30 seconds, never to pain.8 min

At 18

What changes in swimming training at 18

The app opens the same 27 at-home drills at 18 as at 17; the ones below are a different selection from that list.

Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 18 hours for an 18 year old, with two rest days a week.

The week

Fitting swimming into a week at 18

At 18 the limit is 18 hours of organized sport a week. If you count home sessions against it to be safe, 5 sessions of 50 minutes is 4.17 hours, which leaves 13.83 for team practice and games. Even 5 days at the app's longest, 75 minutes, is 6.25 hours.

The research behind it

Ages 13 to 15 are the "specializing years", after the sampling years of 6 to 12.
Côté and Vierimaa 2014
Organized sport should total no more hours a week than the child's age in years, with two rest days a week.
NATA youth sport specialization recommendations

Questions and answers

What swimming drills can an 18 year old do at home?

27 drills the app opens at 18 work at home. A few to start with: Side Plank Reach, Animal Walks and Band Shoulder Strength. One child and one parent in a room, garage or yard. Never tackling, contact, diving or head-first falls, no stunts or loaded lifting, and nothing that needs a coach, rink, pool or court. Stop when anything hurts.

How long should an 18 year old practice swimming at home?

One home session of about 50 minutes; SSTracker never plans more than 75 minutes for an 18 year old. At most 5 training days a week, with rest days between. Organized sport in all: no more hours a week than the child's age (NATA), so at most 18 hours for an 18 year old, with two rest days a week.

What do you need to practice swimming at home at 18?

Most used: mat (6 of the 27 drills), notebook (3), resistance band (3), bench or sturdy step (1), flat surface (1), jump rope (1), light medicine ball (1), light resistance band (1). 6 drills need nothing but space.

What changes in swimming training at 18?

The app opens the same 27 at-home drills at 18 as at 17; the ones below are a different selection from that list.