Past Clinic: Individual Medley Race Strategy
Texas Ford Aquatics
8353 Legacy Dr,
Frisco,
TX 75034
A description of what was covered at this past clinic is below the upcoming clinics.
Upcoming Swim Clinics and Camps
Within 250 miles of Frisco, TX.
Past Clinic
Introduction
APRIL 17 & 18, 2021
Race Strategy Camp: The IM's – Fast racing is all in the details. Over two days, swimmers will focus on each component of racing fast in the IM! Saturday will cover strategy and pacing for the butterfly and backstroke legs, underwater dolphin kicking, and open turns. Then on Sunday, participants will work on finishing strong in the breaststroke and freestyle legs of the IM, breaststroke pullouts, and the crossover turn.
Session sizes are limited to no more than 24 participants to ensure the highest level learning experience and social distancing!
Your Elite Clinicians for this camp are Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith and NCAA All-American Ryan Harty! While teammates in college, Clark and Ryan helped the University of Texas to multiple NCAA titles. Now, they are teaming up with Fitter and Faster to teach and cultivate the next generation of swimmers to become champions in and out of the pool. Scroll down for more details on the curriculum.
Suggested Participants
Clark and Ryan will lead two sessions for each group based on time standards.
[popup_trigger id="112811" tag="span" classes="blue-link"]For Time Standards AND Session Times >>> CLICK HERE[/popup_trigger]
Curriculum
DAY 1 (SATURDAY): BUTTERFLY & BACKSTROKE IM STRATEGY
Many swimmers struggle with how to pace the first half of an IM so that they're racing as fast and efficiently as possible without spending too much energy. Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith and NCAA All-American Ryan Harty will help participants to understand the proper pacing for butterfly and backstroke so that they can race faster in each of their IM races. He will also work with the swimmers on underwater dolphin kicking and open turns to get in and out of every wall faster!
- BUTTERFLY to BACKSTROKE IM STRATEGY: In this session, Clark and Ryan will work with participants to find the right balance of rhythm, length, and power to maximize the speed of the butterfly and backstroke legs of their IM. He will help swimmers understand themselves better so that they can start fast without spending all of their energy. This is a very strategic skill that can make a big difference in your swimmer's IM.
- UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING: Many swimmers push off the wall and simply go through the motions of dolphin kicking without creating much power. At this session, Clark and Ryan will work with each swimmer to learn the proper muscle activations, size, and frequency of their underwater dolphin so that they can accelerate through the breakout faster than ever before.
- OPEN TURNS: Technique for a great open turn starts over 5 meters out from the wall by making sure that swimmers time their last stroke to touch at full extension. Then from there the open turn is a backwards spin initiated by driving your knees aggressively into your chest and tucking your chin. This process allows a swimmer to carry their momentum through the turn and into an even faster streamline.
DAY 2 (SUNDAY): BREASTSTROKE & FREESTYLE IM STRATEGY
Finishing strong is so important to racing a fast IM. The key is finding the right tempo on the breaststroke and freestyle lengths to allow a swimmer to accelerate to the finish without losing momentum. This session is all about the pacing and strategy on the last half of the IM as well as breaststroke pullouts and the fastest turn your swimmer can do to transition from back to breast: the crossover turn.
- BREASTSTROKE to FREESTYLE IM STRATEGY: Building speed through the back half of an IM is all about understanding how to increase tempo while maintaining length. Clark Smith and Ryan Harty will work with participants to play with their tempo and length in both breaststroke as well as freestyle for a more efficient finish to their IM races.
- BREASTSTROKE PULLOUTS: The best breaststrokers are faster under the water than on the surface! Learn the components and sequence of movements that make up a fast underwater breaststroke pullout. With the proper body position and timing, a swimmer's pullout will take them almost to the other side of the pool faster than you could imagine.
- IM TRANSITIONS: The crossover turn is the fastest way to transition from back to breast in an IM race. It has made headlines lately with even the top swimmers getting disqualified for doing it incorrectly. Clark and Ryan will ensure that participants are aware of the rules and able to execute the crossover turn FAST and EFFICIENTLY.
ASK QUESTIONS
Swimmers and parents are invited to ask Clark and Ryan questions during a Q&A session. Gain insight into their training regimen, diet and nutrition, and recovery tactics.
WATCH THE CLINICIANS
Observe Clark and Ryan swim at full speed and demonstrate a progression of perfectly executed drills to achieve powerful, efficient and fast swimming.
PUT YOUR SKILLS TO THE TEST
Swimmers will get to practice what they've learned by taking their stroke to your top speed with two of the best swimmers and coaches in the world! They'll work on holding onto their form while challenging themselves.
Take a photo with Clark and Ryan, get autographs, and ALL PARTICIPANTS receive a FREE Fitter and Faster Collector’s Bag Tag for each day they are at the camp. Collect all 37 and trade with your friends!
Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!
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