This 4-session camp is designed to enhance all aspects of backstroke racing. In the first session, swimmers will focus on underwater techniques, including dolphin kicks and streamlining to maximize speed. The second session will refine backstroke technique, emphasizing the pull, body rotation, and kick to improve propulsion and efficiency. In the third session, swimmers will learn about tempo, pacing, and energy management. Finally, the fourth session will concentrate on starts, turns, and finishes to improve transitions. By the end of the camp, swimmers will have significantly enhanced their technique and racing skills, leading to better performance in competitions.

Session 1: THE FIFTH STROKE - UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING

In the first session, our Elite Clinicians will work with participants to enhance the fastest sequence for each race lap: streamlines, underwater dolphin kicks & breakouts. Finessing these techniques not only reduces drag and enhances efficiency but also contributes significantly to overall speed and performance in the water!

• 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: Top age group and elite swimmers maximize their streamline on every single lap. They don’t 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: BACKSTROKE TECHNIQUE

To excel in the backstroke, refining essential techniques like body line, catch, kick, and pull is essential. Swimmers will work with our Elite Clinicians during this session to finesse their skills, ensuring faster and more efficient performances in backstroke races!

• BODY LINE: A competitive swimmer’s bodyline is the key to fast swimming. The name of the game is to eliminate all extra movement of the body including even the slightest bobbing, wiggling. Participants will learn and practice proper posture and engagement of their core to have a strong foundation for better technique - creating a full-body connection for more hydrodynamic and efficient backstroke.
• ROTATION: Backstroke is fastest and most efficient when a swimmer’s body is “rotating” around their spine with each stroke. This part of swimming Backstroke has a big effect on maintaining a proper bodyline. Participants will practice activating their core muscles to form a powerful connection from head to toe with every stroke - resulting in faster backstroke!
• KICK: A swimmer’s kick is the motor behind their Backstroke! There are obviously proper and improper ways to kick which we will review at the camp. Just as important, however, is practicing the complexities of how and when swimmers need to “shift gears” in their legs to become stronger and faster racers.
• PULL: Just like in freestyle, the pull in backstroke keeps a swimmer balanced and accelerating forward. Essentially the best swimmers are creating a paddle with every stroke. The clinicians will work with participants to establish an early vertical forearm “the catch”, enabling the swimmer to put immediate pressure back on the water. Properly completing the stroke keeps the swimmer moving forward efficiently and fast.

Session 3: BACKSTROKE RACING & TRAINING SKILLS

During session 2, participants practiced high-performance backstroke techniques. Now, let’s leverage these skills to develop strong racing and training habits. Learning to prioritize tempo and length of stroke while maintaining efficiency significantly impacts maximizing speed in backstroke.

• LENGTH OF STROKE: A long 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: Tempo is the rate at which a swimmer is moving their arms and legs. When sprinting short races many swimmers often tend to take too many strokes (“spin their wheels”) and not “hold onto the water”. At this camp we will explore different tempos that suit your swimmer for their backstroke races.
• PACING/CONTROL: A swimmer’s tempo will change depending on the backstroke 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”.
• SPEED SET: At the end of this session your swimmer will do a short and fast swim set to practice everything they have learned over the past two days.

Session 4: BACKSTROKE STARTS, TURNS & FINISHES

Backstroke starts, turns, and finishes are vital for maximizing speed and maintaining momentum throughout the race. A strong start, efficient turns, and a precise finish can significantly impact a swimmer's overall performance. In backstroke this is perhaps more true than any other strokes as they are unique to the stroke and often less practiced. This session is designed to help swimmers work directly with our world-class clinicians, who will provide expert guidance to fine-tune these essential skills. Through focused drills and personalized feedback, swimmers will gain the confidence and technique needed to enhance their backstroke performance.

• Backstroke Starts: During this session, swimmers will work closely with elite clinicians to actively learn and practice high-performance backstroke starts. Participants will refine their foot, arm, and body positions, focusing on the technique of powering off the wall with an arched form to seamlessly slice through the water with maximum efficiency.
• Water Entry: Starting the race with a smooth entry into the water will boost your swimmer's speed and carry the momentum generated off the wall. Becoming skilled at the water entry is crucial for any start and significantly contributes to your swimmers' overall race!
• Flip Turns: Flip turns are an opportunity for your swimmers to increase momentum in the middle of a race! We will work on maintaining backstroke speed into the wall and teach your swimmer how to develop confidence in using the flags to time the initiation of the turn. Your swimmer will learn to get immediately into the flip, maintain a tight tuck, and exit the wall with a strong push off and great body position.
• Streamline, Underwater Dolphin Kicking, Breakouts Reinforcement: At this session participants will continue to work on the progression covered during session 1.
• 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. Our clinicians will also work with your swimmer on how to lunge straight towards the wall, making use of a dolphin kick but minimizing any vertical motion which wastes time and energy.