Past Clinic: Comprehensive Backstroke Racing Swim Camp for Ages 9 to 11
Texas Ford Aquatics
8353 Legacy Dr,
Frisco,
TX 75034
A description of what was covered at this past clinic is below the upcoming clinics.
Upcoming Swim Clinics and Camps
Within 250 miles of Frisco, TX.
Past Clinic
Introduction
Fitter & Faster is producing a 2-day swim camp for competitive swimmers ages 9 to 11 at Texas Ford Aquatics in Frisco, Texas on December 7 & 8, 2024! CLICK HERE for the swim camp page for ages 12 & over.
COMPREHENSIVE BACKSTROKE RACING SWIM CAMP (Ages 9 to 11)
-> Day 1 (December 7): Backstroke Technique
-> Day 2 (December 8): Backstroke Racing and Training Skills
Scroll Down for More Information on the Swim Camp Curriculum!
-> Availability in each session is limited to ensure the highest level learning experience.
-> SAVE when you purchase “Entire Swim Camp Bundles” for your swimmer.
Select a curriculum below
COMPREHENSIVE BACKSTROKE RACING SWIM CAMP - December 7 & 8
Over 2 days, swimmers will work with Fitter and Faster’s world-class clinicians to strengthen their backstroke technique, and apply racing and training tactics that will lead to better performances in their competitions! This swim camp will be led by Elite Clinician and Olympic Gold Medalist Nick Thoman!
- DAY 1 (Saturday, Dec 7): BACKSTROKE TECHNIQUE: Cultivating good habits to swim high-level backstroke begins as soon as you learn the stroke. Even if your swimmer is already in high school, it’s never too late to begin practicing techniques that will drastically improve their efficiency, power, and times. Today, your swimmer will work on techniques to strengthen their bodyline, catch, kick, and pull, resulting in faster backstroke races.
- Bodyline: 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 or wiggling. Participants will learn and practice proper posture and core engagement 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.
- DAY 2 (Sunday, Dec 8): BACKSTROKE RACING AND TRAINING SKILLS: On Day 1, participants practiced high-performance backstroke techniques. Now, let’s leverage these skills to develop strong racing and training habits. Learning to prioritize tempo and stroke length, while also maintaining efficiency, has a huge impact on maximizing speed in backstroke.
- Stroke Length: 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 session, 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”.
- Backstroke Starts: The fastest part of every single race is the start - that’s no different for backstroke! Your swimmer is going to learn and practice starting a high-performance backstroke race. We’re going to work on a “clean”, fast water entry in which the athlete carries the momentum from the start into their streamline, underwater dolphin kicking, and breakout.
- 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 START TIMES:
- DAY 1: Check in 1 PM, Camp 1:15-3:45 PM
- DAY 2: Check in 8:45 AM, Camp 9-11:30 AM
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
Throughout the camp, swimmers will practice what they've learned with some of the world's most elite Swimmer Clinicians and coaches!
Take a photo, get autographs, and chat with your clinicians!
Nick Thoman
Size matters so much less when you have great technique... and your clinician is living proof of that. At one point, Nick Thoman was known as the world's greatest short course swimmer in the world. His starts and turns were a weapon - he was shorter than most of his top competition, but HE was the world record holder in the 100 short course meter backstroke AND he is an Olympic gold medalist. Learn to weaponize great technique, no matter your size or strength, to improve at this clinic with Nick Thoman!
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