Fitter & Faster is producing a 2-day Championship Preparation Swim Camp at Mercer County Community College in Princeton, New Jersey for competitive swimmers ages 10 to 14 years-old on February 10 & 11, 2024! This camp will help your swimmer improve their performances at “last chance qualifier meets” and at their Championship Meets!

CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION SWIM CAMP (Ages 10 to 14)
DAY 1 (Saturday, February 10):
-> Session 1: The Fifth Stroke - Underwaters
-> Session 2: Explosive Starts
DAY 2, (Sunday, February 11):
-> Session 3: Fast Flip Turns, Open Turns & Finishes
-> Session 4: Executing on Race Day: Success Through Commitment to Accountability

Scroll down for details on the curriculum!
-> Availability in each session is limited to 24 participants to ensure the best learning experience.
-> SAVE when you purchase the "Entire Camp Bundle”.

START TIMES:
DAY 1 (Saturday, Feb 10):
Session 1: Check in 11:30 AM, Camp 11:45-2:15 PM
Session 2: Check in 2:45 PM, Camp 3-5:30 PM

DAY 2 (Sunday, Feb 11):
Session 1: Check in 10 AM, Camp 10:15-12:45 PM
Session 2: Check in 1:15 PM, Camp 1:30-4 PM

Suggested Participants

Our top priority is to provide a world-class learning experience for all participants at all of our camps. This camp has sessions for swimmers ages 10 to 14. Participants will range from one-year of competitive swimming experience to AAAA times and faster. If you are the parent of a child under the age of 10 and would like for your child to be considered for the younger sessions of this camp, please complete this questionnaire.

Curriculum

DAY 1 (Saturday, February 10)

Session 1: THE FIFTH STROKE - UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING

We are going to work with participants during this session to improve the fastest sequence in every lap of every race race: streamline, underwater dolphin kick and breakout! The techniques covered in this session will help participants improve their times in every race.

STREAMLINE: The streamline - when done properly - is the fastest a swimmer travels while in the water. Proper streamlines are even faster than underwater dolphin kicking. Even the most elite swimmers in the world are constantly working on improving their streamline. Your swimmer will get tips to improve their streamline and a better appreciation of what they need to do on every single wall in practice and in races.
INITIATING UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING: Elite swimmers want to maximize their streamline on every single lap. So, they don’t want to start their underwater dolphin kicking while they’re still achieving maximum speed in their streamline. They also don’t want to start the underwater dolphin kicking after their streamline has begun to slow. Your swimmer is going to learn how to time when to begin their underwater dolphin kicking.
POWERFUL UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING: There are a few different techniques that swimmers use when underwater dolphin kicking. The common theme of these techniques is that the best swimmers kick up and down with equal power. We will show your swimmer the different techniques that elite swimmers use and teach them how to implement.
NUMBER OF UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKS: Figuring out the optimal number of kicks off each wall, for each race, is essential to fast swimming. Elite swimmers want to spend only the absolute necessary amount of time underwater to establish speed with each length. They want to avoid losing their breath and taking weak kicks.
BREAKOUTS: Many swimmers add movement within their breakout that creates drag and destroys all of the speed created during their underwaters. Participants will work on timing their breakouts to explode into each lap.

Session 2: EXPLOSIVE STARTS

The better a swimmer’s technique is off the starting block, the more speed they will carry into the water. Session 2 of this swim camp will help your swimmer improve their start, underwater dolphin kicking and breakouts!

BLOCK STARTS: To ensure an explosive start, a swimmer needs to set themselves up properly on the block. The elite clinicians will work with participants on the optimal positioning of your swimmer’s entire body to allow for a quick reaction time and optimal speed.
BACKSTROKE STARTS & WATER ENTRY: Your swimmer is going to learn and practice starting a high performance backstroke race. We’re going to work on a “clean”, fast water entry in which the athlete carries the momentum from the start into their streamline, underwater dolphin kicking and breakout.
RELAY EXCHANGES: In relays, reaction time is crucial! At this camp your swimmer will learn skills that the best swimmers in the world use to time the “exchange” just right! If we react too quickly, we’ll start before the other swimmer finishes - and we’ll get disqualified. If we start too slow, we can lose our positioning in a race! Learning the proper technique for a well-timed start and an explosive relay dive will make your swimmer a valuable teammate.

DAY 2, (Sunday, February 11)

Session 3: FASTER FLIP TURNS, OPEN TURNS & FINISHES

Quick, powerful turns and finishes are crucial to fast times and winning close races. The top age group and elite swimmers aren't using walls just for turning around - they are used to generate speed and momentum going into the next lap. Elite swimmers are constantly working their turns and looking for areas to improve them. During session 3, we're going to work with your swimmer on taking this crucial part of every race (and practice) to the next level!

MOMENTUM: At the elite level of swimming, walls aren’t just used for turning around - they are used to generate speed and momentum going into the next lap. Outside of the elite ranks, most swimmers stop or slow down while going into the wall, which kills their momentum! We will work with participants on the intricacies of approaching every wall at top speed and seamlessly initiating their “turn”.
FLIP TURNS: Flip turns are an opportunity for your swimmers to increase momentum in the middle of a race! Flip turns in which the athletes slow down or have “mechanical” movements negatively impact the speed at which a swimmer comes off the wall. We will work with your swimmer to produce fast flip turns so that they can explode off the walls at maximum speed.
OPEN TURNS: Elite butterflyers and breaststrokers utilize speed from their last lap to create momentum and even more speed at the beginning of the next lap. Their open turns are actually not “turns”, but more like high-speed pivots. Participants in this session will work on these techniques to have much faster open turns!
FINISHES: Setting yourself up for a fast finish is very similar to setting yourself up for a strong turn in any race. 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 when they are still about 10 yards from the wall.

Session 4: COMMITMENT TO ACCOUNTABILITY

Success is a choice made repeatedly each day in practice. Great swimmers hold themselves accountable every single day. This accountability can range from broad areas such as effort and attitude to details like streamline and breathing. This session is designed to help swimmers learn tools to hold themselves accountable and get the most out of every single workout. We will reinforce the habits from session one and expand the scope in the midst of a rigorous practice.

PUTTING IT IN PRACTICE: The majority of the teaching will be done in the context of a pool workout. There is no better learning than putting things into practice. GOOD HABITS: We will start by having teammates hold themselves and each other accountable for the great habits we built in the first session of the camp. PEER COACHING: The workout will then involve new technical skills and engage the swimmers in giving feedback on the execution of drills to one another. Swimmers will work on staying focused on and reminding one another to follow the intent of the workout such as consistent kicking and negative splitting. EFFORT ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE POWER OF TEAM: The workout will conclude with a challenging set and provide opportunities for the swimmers to encourage one another and feel the power of a team working together to achieve greatness. They can take this special feeling home to their club or school.
MINDFULNESS: Mindfulness is being aware of and intentional in your actions at all times. We will work to help swimmers understand why they are doing what they are doing and be aware of it consistently. What is your purpose? How do your actions reflect your purpose? How do your actions impact those around you? We will tackle all of these questions.
CORRECTION WITHOUT SHAME: Strong negative emotions associated with errors only serve to either reinforce the error (similar to reviewing video of poor technique) or lead to feelings of hopelessness and further errors. The key is for the swimmer to allow themselves to be corrected without feeling shame. Successful people take note of corrections and make the corrections without shaming themselves.
ENLISTING YOUR COACH: The purpose of a coach is to help swimmers achieve their goals. This partnership is easy to lose sight of in the day to day. Listening and acting on a coach’s advice at practice will not only help a swimmer be better, but will also increase the amount of feedback they receive in the future. We will teach athletes the skill of accepting feedback and how to get the most out of the coach-athlete relationship.
ENLISTING YOUR TEAMMATES: Did your swimmer forget to put their head down at the finish? Are they having a difficult day and feeling checked-out at practice? A teammate can be the first line of accountability back to engagement. We will teach your swimmer how to empower their teammates to help hold them accountable. We will also teach them how to help hold others accountable in a productive and positive way.
THE POWER OF TEAM: The gold standard in accountability is a full team invested in one another's success and holding one another accountable. Our training session will build and demonstrate the power of a team.
COMMITMENT TO ACCOUNTABILITY: Your swimmer will leave the camp committing to hold themselves accountable in practice each and every day. They will also be committing to helping those around them who make that choice also.

ASK QUESTIONS

Swimmers and parents are invited to ask the clinicians questions during a Q&A session. Gain insight into their training regimen, diet and nutrition, and recovery tactics.

WATCH THE CLINICIANS

Observe clinicians 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

Throughout the camp, swimmers will practice what they've learned with some of the world's most elite Swimmer Clinicians and coaches!

Take a photo, get autographs, and chat with your clinicians!

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