Your swimmer is going to improve at this intimate high performance four session camp. Each session has a distinct curriculum designed to improve participants‘ performance in all components of a freestyle race. There will be no more than 24 swimmers in each session!

Session 1: Freestyle Technique & Drills
Session 2: Starts & Underwaters
Session 3: Applied Freestyle Racing
Session 4: Turns & Finishes

Your Elite Clinicians for this camp are Austin Surhoff and Andrew Appleby! Scroll down for more details on the curriculum.

Session Times (Both Days):
Sessions 1 & 3: Check in 8:00 AM, Clinic 8:15 AM-10:15 AM
Sessions 2 & 4: Check in 10:45 AM, Clinic 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

Social Distancing: Fitter and Faster is following all guidelines as it relates to COVID-19 as set by the CDC, NIH and local authorities. This camp will not have more than 4 swimmers per lane (max 24 in each session). We also ask for you to please drop your swimmers off at the sign-in table and to pick your swimmers up after the clinic. If a waitlist is established, please join it. If enough people enter the waitlist we will plan for additional sessions! THANK YOU!

Suggested Participants

Austin will lead four sessions for swimmers ages 11 and over. Sign up for one or SAVE by signing up for all four sessions!

Curriculum

SATURDAY, AUGUST 22

SESSION 1: FREESTYLE TECHNIQUE AND DRILLS

Freestyle is the stroke swam more than any other in races and practices. Creating and cultivating good habits now will not only make your swimmer faster but will also reduce the risk for injuries in the long term. National Champion Austin Surhoff and NCAA All-American Andrew Appleby will be in the water leading participants through a progression of freestyle drills. These will allow them to deepen their understanding of each part of the stroke and help create good habits for fast and efficient freestyle technique.

BODYLINE: Your swimmer's freestyle will never be fast without a strong bodyline. Your swimmer will reinforce good posture and engage their core to have a strong foundation for a faster freestyle.
ROTATION: Participants will learn to utilize their rotation to form more connection and power out of every pull and kick.
KICK: Your swimmer will become a stronger and faster kicker through learning about both the technique and timing of each kick.
PULL: The best swimmers in the world utilize an early vertical forearm to put immediate pressure back on the water. Austin and Andrew will also teach swimmers how to get maximum extension and a powerful finish to the stroke! Learn new drills and exercises to get more power from every stroke.
BREATH: All swimmers know to keep one goggle in and one goggle out of the water when they take a breath, but the length and timing are also important! Austin and Andrew will show your swimmer how to make each breath more efficient for faster freestyle racing no matter what distance.

SESSION 2: STARTS AND UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING

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 many intricacies to performing a start, and it will only improve with practice. Austin Surhoff and Andrew Appleby have spent countless hours practicing starts and underwater dolphin kicking and will show your swimmer how to be explosive and efficient with each movement.

STARTS: Your swimmer’s proper hand and foot placement on the block can allow them to drive forward with a lot of explosive power. Austin and Andrew 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!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23

SESSION 3: APPLIED FREESTYLE RACING

In this session, swimmers will put together the skills they learned in the previous session to practice fast freestyle racing. National Champion Austin Surhoff and NCAA All-American Andrew Appleby will have swimmers practice changing different parts of their stroke to adjust to sprint or distance freestyle events. Swimmers will put these skills to the test in workouts specifically designed to develop different racing plans and emphasize the technique and skills learned earlier in the camp.

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.
RACE PACE: Participants will bring all of the technical elements of freestyle together in a fast and powerful stroke. Practicing freestyle at full speed while maintaining good body position and stroke technique will make it second nature when it comes time to race.

SESSION 4: FLIP TURNS AND FINISHES

Focusing on having faster turns and a well-timed finish is an easy way to drop time and win close races. Elite swimmers maintain their momentum through a quick turn and have a powerful push off every wall. Austin Surhoff and Andrew Appleby will lead participants through a series of drills to have compact, fast turns in any race. It’s easy for swimmers to have lazy turns when they are tired, but by learning the correct technique and practicing daily, your swimmer can gain speed on each turn.

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!
FINISHES: Races can be won or lost by hundredths of a second, and many races come down to the last few strokes. Your swimmer will learn how to use their kick to accelerate into the wall, time their stroke for a perfect arm extension, and keep their head down so they don’t waste any time or strokes as they approach the wall.

ASK QUESTIONS

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

WATCH THE CLINICIANS

Observe Austin and Andrew 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 with Austin and Andrew, get autographs, and ALL PARTICIPANTS receive a FREE Fitter and Faster Collector’s Bag Tag for each day they are at the camp. Collect all 37 and trade with your friends!

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

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