Championship Preparation: Starts, Turns & More Swim Camp (Ages 9 to 12)
Aquajets Aquatic Center
6545 Flying Cloud Dr,
Eden Prairie,
MN 55344
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Introduction
Fitter & Faster is producing a 2-day swim camp and a special video filming & analysis session for competitive swimmers ages 9 to 12 at the Aquajets Aquatic Center in Eden Prairie, Minnesota on December 28 & 29, 2024! Please click here for the camp page for ages 13 & over!
CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION SWIM CAMP (Ages 9 to 12)
-> DAY 1 (Saturday, December 28): Starts, Underwaters & Breakouts
-> DAY 2 (Sunday, December 29): Flip Turns, Open Turns & Finishes
EXCLUSIVE: VIDEO ANALYSIS
Saturday, December 28 (6:30-8:30 PM): Sign up to get the same video analysis as the Pros! Competitive age group swimmers and adults will have their strokes filmed at strategic angles below the surface! After the filming your video will be analyzed with voice over and graphics on the actual video.
Click the “Curriculum Menu” below for details on the swim camp & the video analysis session.
-> Availability in each session is limited to ensure the best learning experience.
-> SAVE when you purchase the “Entire Camp Bundle” for your swimmer.
Select a curriculum below
CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION: STARTS, TURNS & MORE SWIM CAMP: December 28 & December 29, 2024
Help your swimmer get ready for championship season by enrolling them in our camp! They will refine their swimming skills, boosting their technique, efficiency, and power to prepare for upcoming meets. This camp is the perfect opportunity for your swimmer to cultivate successful habits and compete in their events with top-notch speed.
- DAY 1 (Saturday, December 28): STARTS, UNDERWATERS & BREAKOUTS: The better a swimmer’s technique is off the starting block, the more speed they will carry into the water. Day 1 of this swim camp will help your swimmer improve their start, underwater dolphin kicking and breakouts! This sequence is not only the fastest part of every race, but it is also the part of the race in which elite swimmers cover the most ground with the most efficiency.
- 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.
- 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 block or wall. Becoming skilled at the water entry is crucial for any start and significantly contributes to your swimmers' overall 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: 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.
- DAY 2 (Sunday, December 29): 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. Today, 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: The fastest swimmers use walls to generate speed and momentum going into the next lap. Outside of the elite ranks, many 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”.
- 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!
- Streamline, Underwater Dolphin Kicking, Breakout Progression: At this session participants will continue to work on the progression covered on Day 1.
- 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.
VIDEO FILMING & ANALYSIS: December 28, 2024
Since so much of the stroke happens below water – it is incredibly important to see what’s going on below the surface! Small adjustments to your stroke can lead to big time drops! This is your opportunity to get beautiful footage of your stroke and get analysis from an expert… and you can review with your coach as well!
- ANALYSIS: Our Fitter and Faster expert will use a video analysis application to record their comments on your technique. They will use slow motion, pause the video at specific points, and draw on the swimmer's video all while explaining where opportunities for improvement are. Each stroke will have approximately 3 to 5 minutes of expert commentary that you can review with your coaches at home!
- DRILL RECOMMENDATIONS: You will receive recommendations for drills to correct the technique of each swimmer.
- SIGN UP: Select to have one stroke filmed. Or, SAVE by choosing to have all four strokes filmed. The "multi-stroke options" are for individual swimmers and cannot be split.
- ARRIVING AT THE POOL (Retain your order number): You will receive an e-mail approximately one week before the filming session with the specific time for your swimmer to check in, warm up, and be filmed. Please retain your order number - this is how swimmers will be identified on that schedule. When you arrive at the pool, you will be greeted by Fitter & Faster staff who will provide you instructions on the filming process.
- WARM UP: Participants will have an opportunity to warm up before filming.
- FILMING: Our camera operator will have you swim two 25s at a strong pace of each stroke purchased (1 stroke or all 4 strokes). The filming of each stroke will take about three minutes. The video will capture a side angle and a front angle below the water to get an accurate view of your technique.
- SESSION LEGNTH: Depending on the number of strokes you are getting recorded, your session time will run between 5 and 15 minutes.
- TIMELINE: All videos will be analyzed and returned within 14 days of the camp. The analyzed videos along with the original video will be sent via email for you to keep!
START TIMES:
- DAY 1 (Saturday): Check in 11 AM, Camp 11:15-1:45 PM
- DAY 2 (Sunday): Check in 9 AM, Camp 9:15-11:45 AM
- Depending on the number of strokes you are getting recorded, your session time will run between 5 and 15 minutes
- You will receive an email a week before the filming session with the specific time for your swimmer to check in, warm up, and be filmed.
- Swimmer's scheduled time will be between 6:30-8:30 PM.
- Elite Video Filming & Analysis is for ALL swimmers ages 9 & Over, including adults!
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 9 to 12. 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 9 and would like for your child to be considered for the younger sessions of this camp, please complete this questionnaire. If you are looking for the 13 & over swim camp page, CLICK HERE!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
Swimmers will get to practice what they've learned by taking their stroke to your top speed with some of the best swimmers and coaches in the world! They'll work on holding onto their form while challenging themselves.
Take a photo, get autographs, and chat with your clinicians!
Ryan Coetzee
Ryan Coetzee maintains a focused learning environment for Fitter & Faster Swim Camp participants by setting clear boundaries to allow the swimmers to have fun and improve their skills. “Kids are at the camps to get something they’re not getting in their regular practice, and I want to ensure they leave with something.”
Scott Colby
Scott Colby is a former Performance Development Advisor for USA Swimming, where he spent thirteen years interacting with athletes and coaches at USA Swimming Championship meets providing feedback and detailed video analysis of strokes and races. He says, “A lot of times it’s not obvious what problem a swimmer may be having until you analyze video of their stroke. Given that opportunity, you may be able to see and fix something that makes the athlete more efficient in the water.” He goes on to say that video analysis is not about training volume over time, but about “one or two things you can do tomorrow to get faster.”
Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!
