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LINEUP STRATEGIES
By Bill McKeon

Once you've produced a lineup that forces your opponents to fight for every ounce of water they win, it's time to think about strategy. The first strategy you should consider is no strategy at all. If your newly devised lineup looks like it will lead your team to victory, leave it alone. On the other hand, if your lineup lacks a winning wallop, you might be able to energize it with the right strategy.

An effective strategy is a plan of action that helps determine the structure and focus of your lineup. It should be positive, imaginative, unpredictable, and unquestionably within the guidelines of good sportsmanship. It can be as simple as assigning selected swimmers to highly unexpected events, or as complex as attempting to orchestrate upsets in predetermined key races.

Your motivation for adopting a lineup strategy should lie in its benefits, not in its beauty. Although the orderly nature of a theme-based strategy makes it appealing, just as the structure and symmetry of an ascending/descending workout set makes it attractive, aesthetic value does not necessarily add to a strategy's effectiveness. In fact, positioning swimmers to conform to a set structure may divert your attention from your ultimate goal - building the strongest lineup possible. Before you commit to a theme-based lineup, be sure it's at least as productive as it is attractive.

The most often seen lineup strategy is built around the even distribution of a team's strongest swimmers. This usually enables a team to score the greatest number of points. However, there are times when the natural talents of individual swimmers conspire to concentrate greater strength at either the front or back end of the meet.

When your lineup lends itself to a front-end concentration of power, you can generate excitement and build momentum by creating an early illusion of exaggerated strength. Although this involves sacrificing some potential second-half points, it is a tactic that can give your team a psychological boost. At the same time, your opponents may begin to question their own capabilities when they are confronted with an unexpected display of overwhelming force. If this gambit goes as planned, the hype will inspire your team to superior performances and enable them to maintain their lead through the second half of competition.

A lineup that naturally leans toward a second-half concentration of power can be exploited by further tilting the balance in that direction. This strategy relinquishes the first half of the meet to the opposition in hopes of turning the tide in the second half. For this flip-flop to work it is imperative that your team is aware of the plan and that your opponent is not. If this ploy is successful, your team will work hard to keep the score close in the first half, knowing they will be making a tremendous surge midway through the meet. Your opponents may be caught by surprise if they let their early accomplishments lull them into a false sense of invincibility.

The most difficult lineup to produce is one that evolves as the meet unfolds. This method should only be used when little is known about an opponent or when it is clear that a match up of key swimmers will decide the outcome of the meet. This strategy has many pitfalls. It confuses your swimmers, who are unable to mentally or physically prepare for specific events. And, since critical lineup decisions must be made quickly and under stressful conditions, mistakes are more likely to occur.

Typically, this lineup opens with a weak to moderate entry in the first several events. This prevents the opposition from evaluating your team's strengths, while giving you a chance to assess their abilities. In the case of a critical match up of key swimmers, you are waiting to detect the inclination of your opponents so you can either avoid or encourage a particular confrontation.

There are countless tactical maneuvers you could employ to give your team a calculated advantage. But ultimately, it will be the unique chemistry of the competition that dictates which strategy will breathe life into your lineup.