Swimming fast requires good technique, efficiency, power, and a hard working athlete. Participants in this session will advance their skills that apply to fast swimming in every stroke. Swimmers need to establish and cultivate habits to swim as possible with good technique that will position them for success as they mature.

Day 1 (Saturday, July 27): ESSENTIALS OF PACING

“How should I swim this race?” How many times have you heard this? Swimmers of all ages and abilities have the same question. The technique for swimming a fast race changes depending on the distance. Learning to prioritize tempo and length of stroke, while maintaining efficiency has a huge impact on maximizing speed for sprints or increasing endurance for distance races. The name of the game is understanding all the different ways to execute the race and seeing what works for you!

• “Easy Speed”: Establishing stroke length with the proper tempo after the breakout is essential to setting up a strong 100 in any stroke. Going as fast as we can with ease is the key to “easy speed”. We don’t want to kick or pull too hard on the first 25 in the 100 or the first 50-100 in the 500. This will cause early fatigue. Swimmers will work on techniques to swim as fast as they can in all strokes with “easy speed”.
• Pacing/Control: A swimmer’s tempo will change depending on the race that they are swimming. It may also change at different points during the same race! Your elite clinician will teach participants how to manipulate their tempo, speed and energy at different points in a race. This is called Pacing or “Control”.
• Establishing a Plan: A racer should have a plan for the race before it is swum! What’s your plan for front-end and back-end speed? How much time will you spend underwater before your first breath? How often will you breath each length?
• Test the Plan: Now we test it! Swimmers will do a complete short set at the end of the session to practice racing the plan and stroke under race conditions. We’ll get off the blocks and practice some front end swims, push some back end swims, and execute some broken swims to learn what works best for you.
• Confidence: One of the essential elements to dropping time and swimming fast is being willing to try new strategies when swimming a race. It’s ok to feel nervous and a little bit uncomfortable before your race! Entering a race with a strategy will help your swimmer with their confidence… and that confidence will help propel them to the results they aim to achieve.
• Stroke Length: Lengthening their stroke will enable your swimmer to “catch” and hold onto more water to propel them as they swim. Whereas a short stroke is inefficient and not sustainable for very long. The clinicians will work with participants on this important skill for fast swimming.

Day 2 (Sunday, July 28): ESSENTIALS OF SPRINTING

Swimming fast requires good technique, efficiency, power, and a hard working athlete. Participants in this session will advance their skills that apply to fast swimming in every stroke. Now is the time for swimmers to establish and cultivate habits to swim their shorter races as fast as possible with good technique that will position them for success as they mature.

• Body Position: A competitive swimmer’s body position is the key to fast swimming. Most swimmers are NOT hydrodynamic in the water - and that has a big effect on how fast they “allow” themselves to swim - especially as they get older. Let’s find the right body position for your swimmer.
• Stroke Length: Lengthening their stroke will enable your swimmer to “catch” and hold onto more water to propel them as they swim. Whereas a short stroke is inefficient and not sustainable for very long. The clinicians will work with participants on this important skill for fast swimming.
• Tempo: When sprinting short races young swimmers often tend to take too many strokes (“spin their wheels”) and not “hold onto the water”. At this camp we will find the appropriate tempo to maximize their own personal speed.
• Finishes: Races are won and lost by hundredths-of-a-second at every swim meet. Many races come down to the last few strokes. At this camp, your swimmer will learn techniques to set themselves up for a well-timed finish about 10 yards from the wall. A well-timed finish is also a valuable attribute for swimmers competing on relays so that the next person can time their start with precision.
• Sprinting: Earlier in the session, your swimmer worked on body position, tempo and length of stroke. Now, we are going to apply those skills to swimming “all out” on top of the water with efficiency and power.
• Sprinting Application: Swimmers at this session will work on applying their newly developed skills during racing scenarios. As with all the other segments of this camp, the clinicians will provide feedback for your swimmer to take home and apply at upcoming practices and meets.