Past Clinic: High Performance Speed & Power Camp
MacColl YMCA
32 Breakneck Hill Rd,
Lincoln,
RI 02865
A description of what was covered at this past clinic is below the upcoming clinics.
Upcoming Swim Clinics and Camps
Within 250 miles of Lincoln, RI.
Past Clinic
Introduction
SEPTEMBER 4-5, 2021
High Performance Speed & Power Camp- Sign up for individual sessions or SAVE when you purchase a Bundle!
Swimmers ages 11 & under will work on racing skills and strategy for their 50s and 100s races. Skills include starts, flip turns, underwaters, and racing strategy. Swimmers ages 12 & over will focus on developing power in their stroke technique and how to get ready for every practice and race with a dynamic warm up on Saturday. Then on Sunday, they will learn how to increase speed in any race even when they’re tired, dryland training, and important muscle recovery strategies.
Session sizes are limited to no more than 24 participants to ensure the highest level learning experience!
This camp will be led by Olympian Amini Fonua who swam at the highest level and is an exceptional teacher with talent for explaining and demonstrating the technique required for fast racing!
Scroll down for more details on the curriculum!
Session Times (Both Days):
11 & Under: Check in 7:30 AM, Clinic 7:45 AM-10:15 AM
12 & Over: Check in 10:45 AM, Clinic 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
Suggested Participants
The Elite Clinicians will lead two sessions for each age group. This camp is recommended for swimmers with at least one year of competitive swimming experience. Swimmers younger than 9 years old are not recommended without their coach’s approval.
Curriculum
AGES 11 & UNDER - DAY 1 (SATURDAY): SWIMMING A FAST 50
Swimming the 50 is all about perfectly executing the details of the race and swimming with explosive power. The start is your swimmer’s opportunity to cover as much ground as possible in a very short period of time with great efficiency and momentum heading into the streamline and breakout. There are countless intricacies to performing a start, and it will only improve with practice. Our elite clinicians have spent countless hours practicing starts and underwater dolphin kicking and will show your swimmer how to be explosive and efficient with each movement.
- SPRINTING: Sprinting is all about swimming with “controlled aggression!” Olympian Amini Fonua will demonstrate how to swim with power, while also being relaxed - having too much tension will make your swimmer slip in the water and slow down. Swimmers will observe how to tweak their stroke to make them quick yet efficient - increasing tempo, shortening the breath, and a strong connected kick will lead to an explosive race!
- STARTS: Your swimmer’s proper hand and foot placement on the block can allow them to drive forward with a lot of explosive power. Amini will work with your swimmer to find the best position on the block as well as how to launch their body forward efficiently into a tight streamline and enter the water through a small hole.
- UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING: The fastest swimmers know how to weaponize their dolphin kicking. It is absolutely, undeniably, the fastest way to move through the water! Whether you dolphin kick on your stomach, side, or back, understanding the importance of streamlined, underwater speed is vital for every swimmer!
AGES 12 & OVER - DAY 1 (SATURDAY): DEVELOPING POWER AND DYNAMIC WARM UP
Developing power is one way for your swimmer to continue to get better in the water! While strength training helps swimmers get stronger, working on power exercises in the water helps to strengthen swimming specific movements. Developing power will help your swimmer be more efficient and stronger in the water!
- IMPROVING POWER IN STROKE TECHNIQUE: Swimmers are taught to decrease their resistance in the water for a faster stroke, but ADDING resistance causes swimmers to alter their technique and highlight any deficiencies. Removing that resistance then allows swimmers to feel those differences in technique and build power in their stroke technique.
- RESISTANCE TRAINING: One of the best ways to build power in freestyle and butterfly is to add resistance. Many swimmers use expensive equipment such as power rack to add resistance, but there are many inexpensive items like hand paddles and rubber tubing with a belt have the same effect. Even swimming with a T-shirt and shoes in the water can help add resistance and develop power!
- DYNAMIC WARM UP: Get ready for every practice and competition with a short dynamic warm up routine! A combination of light cardio exercises and dynamic stretches, this is an excellent way to get the blood flowing to the muscles and loosen joints to prepare for training and racing. Being properly warmed up will also help prevent injuries.
AGES 11 & UNDER - DAY 2 (SUNDAY) SWIMMING A FAST 100
Swimming the 100 requires a unique strategy and planning for fast racing. Technique is tweaked to provide more power for the event, and taking advantage of the start and streamline off each wall has a larger impact. Trying to find the perfect balance between staying underwater, maintaining speed on the surface, and keeping a strong breathing pattern is difficult, but Amini Fonua will help you learn how!
- DISTANCE PER STROKE: One way to increase efficiency is to take fewer strokes. Counting the number of strokes and improving technique to decrease that number will save energy. On the other side, it may be faster to take more strokes per length, especially in shorter events.
- TEMPO: Your swimmer’s tempo is how fast or slow they complete each stroke. Having a slower tempo allows swimmers to conserve energy by taking fewer strokes, while a faster tempo is more tiring but much faster. Changing tempo based on event distance and fatigue level will help your swimmer swim as fast as possible.
- PACING: Pacing for races 100 yards or meters can be broken up many ways. Glenn will present different strategies on how to swim 100s: some swimmers focus on each 50, balancing “front end speed” and “back end speed”. Experimenting and learning new techniques will allow your swimmer to improve their 100!
- FLIP TURNS: Your swimmer will learn to carry their momentum through the turn to get in and out of every wall faster. Swimmers will practice accelerating into the wall, using their core and arms to get through the turn, and planting the feet on the wall for a powerful push off in the perfect streamline. Swimmers will learn drills and exercises to help them master this athletic skill!
AGES 12 & OVER - DAY 2 (SUNDAY): SPEED, DRYLAND, AND RECOVERY
Swimmers can greatly change their race strategy by adjusting just two aspects of their stroke - distance per stroke and tempo. For example, it might be faster for one swimmer taking long slow strokes, while another swimmer may be better suited for more strokes at a higher rate. Amini will also review some dryland exercises designed especially for developing strength and power in swimmers as well as techniques for recovery from dryland and swimming workouts.
- DISTANCE PER STROKE: One way to increase efficiency is to take fewer strokes. Counting the number of strokes and improving technique to decrease that number will save energy. On the other side, it may be faster to take more strokes per length, especially in shorter events.
- TEMPO: Your swimmer’s tempo is how fast or slow they complete each stroke. Having a slower tempo allows swimmers to conserve energy by taking fewer strokes, while a faster tempo is more tiring but much faster. Changing tempo based on event distance and fatigue level will help your swimmer swim as fast as possible.
- DRYLAND FOR SWIMMING: Dryland training is designed to build strength, increase flexibility and to become a more well-rounded and agile athlete. Swimmers will learn age appropriate, simple body weight exercises that will strengthen their core and major muscle groups to complement the training done in the pool.
- MAINTAINING TECHNIQUE THROUGH FATIGUE: When your swimmer gets tired, it’s the easy choice to revert to sloppy technique in order to make the interval and finish the set. Choosing to focus on technique through fatigue is the difficult decision, but more beneficial in the long run. Your swimmer will learn from their clinicians how to handle fatigue in practice and races.
- RECOVERY: While training is important for swimming faster and gaining strength, recovery is just as important to make sure that you can keep training at a high level. While you can buy fancy products to help you recover, some of the most important things like getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and stretching before and after practice are free!
ASK QUESTIONS
Swimmers and parents are invited to ask their clinicians questions during a Q&A session. Gain insight into their training regimen, diet and nutrition, and recovery tactics.
WATCH THE CLINICIANS
Observe your 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 your clinicians, get autographs, and ALL PARTICIPANTS receive a FREE Fitter and Faster Swim Cap!
Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!
Search all of our clinics...or request a clinic in your area
