Why Long Course Meters (LCM) Matters for Club Swimmers

What USA swimming club swimmers and their parents should understand about the value of 50-meter training.

Most American club swimmers spend the majority of their year racing and training in short course yards (SCY). That’s the course most age-group championships, high school meets, and college seasons take place.

So many families naturally ask:

“If all the “important” meets are in yards, and my goal is to swim in college… why swim long course meters?”

“What’s the point of a 50-meter pool for kids and teens?”

It’s a great question, and the answer is simple:

LCM builds stronger, faster, more complete swimmers—physically, technically, and mentally.

Below is a short list of why LCM matters more than most people realize.

1. LCM Builds Better SCY Swimmers (Yes, Really)

Long course isn’t just harder; it’s more developmental.

More time swimming, less time at the wall

With walls twice as far apart, swimmers spend significantly more time:

• Holding technique

• Maintaining body position

• Keeping core engaged

• Controlling breathing

• Executing full, uninterrupted stroke cycles

This isn’t just “conditioning” it’s strengthening the neuromuscular patterns that create fast, efficient swimming.

Better technique under real pressure

In LCM, the water tells the truth.

Swimmers can’t mask technical flaws with extra walls or long underwaters. They must learn to:

• Catch better water

• Maintain distance per stroke

• Keep rhythm

• Control tempo

These skills transfer directly, and powerfully, back into SCY racing.

LCM = more “time under tension”

Longer distances between walls increase muscular engagement throughout the entire stroke. That leads to:

• Stronger shoulders and lats

• Better core stability

• Improved aerobic power

• A smoother, more connected stroke

Parents often notice a jump in their swimmer’s SCY performance after a summer of long course training because of these exact adaptations.

2. The Physiological Advantage: Why LCM Meets Make SCY Races Feel Easier

Let’s put it simply:

If you train or race in the “big pool,” the “small pool” feels shorter and easier.

Here’s why:

Longer continuous efforts build aerobic capacity

During LCM training and meets, swimmers sustain effort for longer stretches without breaks. This builds:

• Higher VO₂ capacity

• Better lactate tolerance

• More efficient oxygen use

• Greater ability to hold pace

When that same athlete jumps back into a 25-yard pool, the shorter intervals between walls and breaths make the race feel significantly more manageable.

More meters = greater mechanical efficiency

LCM racing forces swimmers to hold technique even as they fatigue. Mechanically efficient swimmers:

• Slow down less in the second half of races

• Maintain stroke length longer

• Produce more speed with fewer strokes

This is why swimmers who train LCM often drop time quickly once SCY season returns.

The psychological advantage

When swimmers are used to a 50-meter pool, a 25-yard pool feels “quick.”

Walls come up sooner.

Laps feel shorter.

Races feel manageable, even fun.

This psychological ease can be the difference between tightening up at the 150 and powering through it.

3. “Ignition”: The Talent Code Principle That LCM Helps Create

In The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle explains a concept called Ignition, a spark of motivation that flips a switch inside an athlete. It’s the moment they see what’s possible and think:

“That could be me someday.”

LCM plays a unique role in creating ignition for young swimmers.

Training the way Olympians race

Every Olympic event.

Every World Championship race.

Every international competition.

All swum in LCM.

For swimmers ages 11–18, practicing in a 50-meter pool connects them to the sport’s highest level. It creates:

• Inspiration

• Intrigue

• A sense of identity (“real swimmers do this”)

• Increased motivation

• Purposeful effort in practice

This isn’t just emotional, it becomes developmental.

Ignition fuels the desire to work harder, to improve technique, to stick with the sport during tough years, and to reach for more ambitious goals, even if the goal isn’t the Olympics.

LCM helps create that spark.

4. LCM Is Pure Swimming (And That’s Why Kids Improve So Much)

Long course removes frequent stops and resets. That produces a more honest and more immersive version of the sport.

Fewer walls = fewer interruptions

Swimmers work on:

• Rhythm

• Timing

• Efficiency

• Stroke control

• Pace awareness

Parents might notice that after LCM season, swimmers often look smoother, stronger, and more relaxed in the water.

A deeper connection with the water

Many kids actually enjoy long course once they get past the “this feels far” phase. It can feel:

• Calming

• Rhythmic

• More like open water

• More connected to the nature of swimming itself

LCM helps swimmers fall in love with the sport again, not just the racing, but the movement of swimming, and shouldn’t that be what it’s all about?

5. College Coaches Love LCM Backgrounds

Even though college competition is in SCY, coaches value swimmers who train and race LCM because those athletes usually have:

• Better technique

• Stronger aerobic bases

• More long-term durability

• Better pacing

• Higher growth trajectories

A great LCM foundation makes swimmers more recruitable, not less.

6. What This Means for Swimmers and Parents

LCM isn’t extra work.

It isn’t a distraction from SCY goals.

It isn’t “only a summer thing.”

LCM is a strategic advantage for every young swimmer.

It creates:

• Better technique

• Better fitness

• Better confidence

• Better SCY performance

• Better long-term development

• Stronger motivation (Ignition!)

When a swimmer learns to thrive in a 50-meter pool, their potential expands dramatically.

Final Thought

The swimmers who embrace LCM, who see it as an opportunity rather than an inconvenience, develop faster, race smarter, and enjoy the sport more deeply.

So, the next time an LCM practice or meet appears on the schedule, don’t ask:

“Do we have to swim long course?”

Instead ask:

“How much stronger, faster, and more confident can this make us?”

Because the answer is:

A lot.