Did you know the fastest parts of every race are the start and turns? On Saturday, swimmers will work on explosive starts and powerful underwater dolphin kicking. Then on Sunday, participants will focus on fast flip turns and open turns.

Leading each session will be Elite Clinician and Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith! There are two clinic sessions for swimmers ages 12 and up and two clinic sessions for swimmers 11 and under. Scroll down for more details on the curriculum.

This camp is SOLD OUT! Don't worry, we are returning to this location several times this year. CLICK HERE for our April swim camp at IUPUI!

Suggested Participants

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Clark will lead two sessions for swimmers ages 12 & over and two sessions for swimmers ages 11 & under with at least one year of competitive experience. Swimmers younger than 9 years old are not recommended for these clinics without your coach’s recommendation.

Curriculum

SESSION 1 & 2 (Saturday): STARTS & 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. Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith will share his experience on how he found time to practice and improve his start both in and out of the water and share some of his 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 explode forward with a lot of power. Clark will work with each swimmer to find their best position on the block as well as how to launch their body forward 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. Clark is known as one of the best underwater dolphin kickers in the world and he specializes in helping swimmers unlock their potential in this important skill.

SESSION 3 & 4 (Sunday): FLIP TURNS AND 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 their streamline! Even at Olympic Trials we see many very fast swimmers who miss making finals and even the Olympic team because of the quality of their turns! The turn is an opportunity for a swimmer to actually GAIN MOMENTUM, when in fact most swimmers actually slow down. At both of these sessions, Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith will work with each swimmer 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 then using their core and arms to get through the turn. They'll practice planting their feet on the wall for a powerful pushoff in the perfect streamline. Clark 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! You should not be making an open to turn around and swim the next lap. If you're doing this - you're actually stopping and then trying to regain speed again. An expertly executed open turn involves spinning backwards. This enables you to carry momentum into the pushoff. We're going to teach you how to cut a lot of time on this turn... helping you in all of your breaststroke and butterfly races!

ASK QUESTIONS

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

WATCH THE CLINICIAN

Observe Clark 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 breaststrokers in the world! They'll work on holding onto their form while challenging themselves.

Take a photo while wearing Clark's medals, get autographs, and a gift from TYR Sport!

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

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