Past Clinic: High Performance Racing Camp

Bay Club Redwood Shores
200 Redwood Shores Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065

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

Upcoming Swim Clinics and Camps

Within 250 miles of Redwood City, CA.

Starting Apr 06, 2024

Sonoma Valley High School Aquatic Center

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Starting Nov 25, 2023

George F Haines International Swim Center

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George F Haines International Swim Center

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Crow Canyon Country Club

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Past Clinic

Introduction

Two-Day, Four-Session Swim Camp for swimmers ages 9 to 13!

At this high performance swim camp, your swimmer has so much they can learn from Olympic gold medalist Nick Thoman. He will be in the water teaching four sessions, each with a distinct curriculum. Nick is known as a phenomenal, attentive teacher and is one of the most experienced clinicians with Fitter and Faster.

Scroll down for more details on the curriculum! Sign up for one, two, three, or SAVE by signing up for ALL FOUR sessions!

Suggested Participants

SAVE: Sign up before prices increase or the sessions fill up.

Nick will be leading 4 sessions designed for swimmers ages 9-13!

Curriculum

SESSION 1: FREESTYLE AND BACKSTROKE

Freestyle and backstroke have a lot in common including the body position, rotation, and an early press back into the water! Working on both strokes together deepens a swimmer's understanding of the importance of these aspects. Your swimmer will learn drills and skills to race faster in both free and back with Nick Thoman.

  • FREESTYLE: Participants will reinforce a straight and solid body line so that they can cut through the water with less drag. Practice keeping a still and low head position (especially during the breath!) while driving a strong flutter kick. Nick will also teach participants how to get an early and powerful press backwards on the water in the arm pull to get more out of every stroke. From the 50 to the mile, your swimmer will learn skills that will allow them to drop time in every freestyle race.
  • BACKSTROKE: Engaging your core not only allows you to swim stronger, but it also allows you to hold the proper body position. Olympic gold medalist Nick Thoman will help swimmers learn the importance of rotation and how to use it to their advantage for more power in each stroke. The arm pull in backstroke should press the water all the way through using the whole arm to achieve maximum propulsion. Backstrokers are often the fastest kickers on their teams, find out why and learn to have a stronger kick!

SESSION 2: STARTS FROM THE BLOCK AND BACKSTROKE STARTS

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 Nick Thoman will share his experience on how he found time to practice and improve his starts both in and out of the water and some of his most effective strategies to execute this explosive and athletic movement.

  • STARTS FROM THE BLOCK: How you set up on the block including proper hand and foot placement can allow your swimmer to explode forward with a lot of explosive power. Nick 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.
  • BACKSTROKE STARTS: Getting into the right ready position with a straight back, hips high on the surface of the water, and feet positioned to get maximum power is extremely important to being able to execute a fast and clean backstroke start. Nick will work with swimmers at this session to achieve a beautiful back arch over the water so that they can have an advantage in every backstroke race!

SESSION 3: BREASTSTROKE AND BUTTERFLY

The short axis strokes are butterfly and breaststroke! These are very similar and challenging strokes to master due to the importance of rhythm! Participants at this session will learn not only how to have a stronger pull and kick, but also WHEN each movement should happen so that they can swim more connected and with more efficiency!

  • BUTTERFLY: Perfect the complexities of balancing power and fluid rhythm in one of the most dynamic athletic movements. Elite butterfliers maintain forward momentum by setting an immediate high catch with a perfectly timed kick. They are committed to a breathing pattern, perfecting their distance per stroke, and maintaining a horizontal body position - Nick will help your swimmer become committed to these same skills to make them their habits every time they swim fly!
  • BREASTSTROKE: Your swimmer will begin with a strong understanding of the timing of the kick and pull and begin to utilize the same strategies world class breaststrokers use to minimize their footprint in the water. Participants will learn the skills of swimming in a horizontal plane, keeping the hips high throughout the entire cycle and utilizing a small but powerful kick while generating power forward with their recovery.

SESSION 4: FLIP TURNS, OPEN TURNS, AND FINISHES

Races are often won and lost because of the quality of turns and finishes of the competitors. Many people don't realize this, but the push-off and streamline from the wall after a turn SHOULD BE the fastest a swimmer will go while in the water other than the streamline after a dive. Even elite level, swimmers often add in extra movements on their turns and finishes that slow them down and even cause them to lose races that they could have won. At these sessions, Olympic gold medalist Nick Thoman will work with each participant to maintain their momentum at these key points in a race.

  • 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. Nick 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!
  • FINISHES: Races can be won and lost by hundredths of a second. Many races come down to the very last stroke. Your swimmer will learn how to drive their legs, elongate their arms, and keep their head down so that your swimmer doesn't waste any time or strokes as they approach the wall.

ASK QUESTIONS

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

WATCH THE CLINICIAN

Observe Nick 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 two of the best swimmers in the world! They'll work on holding onto their form while challenging themselves.

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

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

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