Don't worry about your time right now. Just getting out and putting in the yardage is the key right now. Go at your comfortable speed and up your yardage each week. After a couple months go by you'll find that your times are decreasing rapidly.

I had my son put together a workout for me last summer that worked pretty well. He started me with a slow 600 yards broken down as 100 Free, 100 breast, 100 back, 100 fly (I couldn't do this for a long time so I just practiced the kick with a kickboard and dropped it to 50 yards) and then ending with 200 free. He had me rest as needed between strokes but told me the goal was to do the 600 slowly without rest. As the summer progressed that 600 was my warm-up and then he had me doing 50 free sprints in sets of 5-10. He started me by saying I had to take off for the next one at the top of the next minute so if I took 45 seconds to do the sprint I got 15 seconds rest. After the sprints he added 200 back and some fly work in short sets. He always had me cool down with a slow 100-200 free. By the end of the summer I was feeling comfortable in a slow mile swim.

Have you tried counting strokes? Try doing a couple of 25's, each time trying to decrease your stroke count by 1.

I agree with you that something is terribly with his stroke, but 6-8 yos swimming 14 seconds? They must be fast where you're from.

Let's not make him feel worse than he needs to. For a beginning swimmer, 35 secs on a 25 isn't THAT bad.

I did competitive swimming when I was a kid. 7-12 years of age. When I was 8 I remember being able to swim a 25 yard free without taking any breaths,as that was my goal. not sure what my best was but probably around 13 or 14 seconds. Maybe around 15. When I was 9-10 the distance changed to 50 yards, so there was a turn involved, and my best freestyle was around 30 seconds. By the time I was 11 and 12, I know I had all strokes under 30 seconds except the breaststroke (I was so slow in the breaststroke).

I spoke to my brother who did competitive swimming a few years ago:

1. His best stroke was breaststroke. That's also my most comfortable stroke. I don't think that is a coincidence.

Also, I was at the pool, timed a guy who was swimming free. He was going painfully slow. But very relaxed. Well, he did the 25yd in 35 sec. So now I know 35 sec is dang slow.

There was a fat lady doing the breastroke with her head above the water the whole time. I hate fat people who can just swim along effortlessly like they have a lifejacket on.

I spoke to my brother who did competitive swimming a few years ago:

1. His best stroke was breaststroke. That's also my most comfortable stroke. I don't think that is a coincidence.

Also, I was at the pool, timed a guy who was swimming free. He was going painfully slow. But very relaxed. Well, he did the 25yd in 35 sec. So now I know 35 sec is dang slow.

There was a fat lady doing the breastroke with her head above the water the whole time. I hate fat people who can just swim along effortlessly like they have a lifejacket on.

I was modest in swimming ability despite having devoted too much time.

By high school, my fifty times were 22 in free, 23.7 in fly, 27 in back and something horrible in breast (30 maybe). Again we had sophomores who later became AA beating me. Nowadays if I break 30 for fifty free or fly I'm ecstatic. At least in pushing off the wall.

I swam 25 yards in 23 sec with the Crawl, and was no more exhausted than my 35 sec time from the other day.

I think one of the main differences might be my efficiency. instead of drawing my hand down below my body, I tried to keep my hands close to my body, as I am pulling water. Cause I watched a chick do that who looked like a good swimmer.

Have got to work on breathing more deeply however. I think I am making progress.