Past Clinic: Explosive Starts, Turns & Underwaters!

Municipal Pool
431 E Bonanza Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89101

A description of what was covered at this past clinic is below the upcoming clinics.

Upcoming Swim Clinics and Camps

Within 250 miles of Las Vegas, NV.

Starting May 04, 2024

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Woollett Aquatics Center

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Woollett Aquatics Center

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Starting Apr 13, 2024

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Past Clinic

Introduction

Fitter & Faster is producing a 2-day swim camp in Las Vegas, NV on May 21 & 22, 2022! SAVE when you purchase a "Full Camp Bundle" for your swimmer's age group. 

This camp will be led by Olympic Gold Medalist and ELITE Clinician: NICK THOMAN!

EXPLOSIVE STARTS, TURNS & UNDERWATERS
     DAY 1: Explosive Starts & Turns
     DAY 2: The Fifth Stroke - Underwaters

Scroll down for more details on the curriculum! Availability is limited to ensure the highest level of learning experience!

SESSION TIMES: 
Saturday, May 21:
12 & under: Check in 9:15 AM, Camp 9:30-12 PM
13 & over: Check in 4:45 PM, Camp 5- 8 PM

Sunday, May 22:
12 & under: Check in 10 AM, Camp 10:15-12:45 PM
13 & over: Check in 1:30 PM, Camp 1:45- 4:45 PM

Suggested Participants

This camp is designed for swimmers with a minimum of one-year of competitive swimming experience all the way up to AAAA times and faster. Swimmers younger than 9 years old are not invited without submitting their times or swimming history to Fitter and Faster.

Curriculum

DAY 1: Explosive Performance: Starts & Turns (May 21)

The momentum generated from an explosive start and turns are the FASTEST that elite swimmers are moving in a race! The more efficient, powerful and hydrodynamic your swimmer is, directly impacts their speed and distance they travel in the water before taking their first stroke!

  • 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.
  • STREAMLINE: The streamline - if done properly - will be 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • TRAINING SET: Swimmers will practice during a swim set developed by our clinicians and the Fitter and Faster coaching team to help swimmers maintain proper technique even when they become fatigued.

Day 2: THE FIFTH STROKE - UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING (May 22)

Why do elite swimmers have faster times in “short course” pools than in “long course” pools? It’s the power they’re able to generate from the walls, leading into the fastest sequence in every lap of a race: streamline -> underwater dolphin kick -> breakout!

  • STREAMLINE: The streamline - if done properly - will be 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.
  • TRAINING SET: Swimmers will practice during a swim set developed by our clinicians and the Fitter and Faster coaching team to help swimmers maintain proper underwater technique even when they become fatigued.

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 with the clinicians, get autographs, and ALL PARTICIPANTS receive a FREE Fitter and Faster GIFT!

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

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