Did you know that the fastest that your swimmer is ever moving in a race is after the start and after every turn? At this swim camp there will be three sessions. One session will be for swimmers ages 11 & under focused on explosive starts. Then, there will be two sessions for swimmers ages 12 & older: the first one will be on starts and underwater dolphin kicking and the second session will be working on fast flip turns and open turns.

Leading each session will be National Champion Amy Bilquist and and Sam Hoekstra. Scroll down to read more about the curriculum.

Suggested Participants

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Amy will lead three sessions for swimmers with at least one year of competitive experience. Swimmers younger than 9 years old are not recommended for these clinics without your coach’s suggestion.

Curriculum

Sessions 1 & 2: Starts and Underwater Dolphin Kicking

The start is your opportunity to cover as much ground as possible in a very short period of time, with great efficiency and momentum heading into your underwater kicking and breakout. There are countless intricacies to performing a start and you only get better with practice. Amy Bilquist will share her experiences on how she found time to practice and improve her start both in and out of the water and teach your swimmer some of her most effective strategies to execute this explosive and athletic movement.

Starts: How you set up on the block including proper hand and foot placement can allow your swimmer to drive forward with a lot of explosive power. Amy will work with each swimmer to find their best position on the block as well as how to launch their body forward efficiently into a tight streamline and enter through a small hole.
Underwater Dolphin Kicking: The not-so-secret weapon of elite level swimmers is their underwater dolphin kick. Amy is known as one of the best underwater dolphin kickers in the world and she specializes in teaching swimmers how to unlock their potential in this important skill.

Session 3 (12 & Older Only): Flip Turns & Open Turns

Most age group swimmers add in extra movements on their turns that slow them down and prevent them from carrying their momentum through the turn and into the next length! Even at Olympic Trials, we see many very fast swimmers miss making finals and even the Olympic team because of the quality of their turns! The turns are opportunities for a swimmer to actually GAIN MOMENTUM, when most swimmers usually slow down. At both of these sessions, Amy Bilquist will be in the water instructing and providing feedback to the participants on how to improve their turns so that they can drop time!

Flip Turns: Your swimmer will learn how to carry their momentum through the turn to get in and out of every wall faster. Swimmers will practice accelerating into the wall with long strokes and use their core and arms to get through the turn. They'll practice planting their feet on the wall for a powerful push off in the perfect streamline. Amy will give the swimmers drills and exercises to help them master this athletic skill now as well as in the future!
Open Turns: Think about the open turn differently! Swimmers should not be using an open turn to just touch the wall and push off for the next lap. If they’re doing this, they’re actually stopping and then trying to regain speed. An expertly executed open turn involves spinning backwards. This enables the swimmer to carry momentum into the push off. We're going to teach your swimmer how to cut a lot of time on this turn, helping in all breaststroke and butterfly races.

ASK QUESTIONS

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

WATCH THE CLINICIAN

Observe Amy 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 top speed with one of the best swimmers in the world! They'll work on holding onto their form while challenging themselves.

Take a photo while wearing Amy's medals, get autographs, and receive a free gift!

Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!

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