This exclusive swim camp is designed for competitive swimmers to refine their technique and racing skills in all backstroke races. Participants will continue the ongoing process of perfecting technique to efficiently move through the water with power.

Your Elite Clinician for this camp is Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith and SEC Champion Robyn Clevenger! Clark and Robyn are known for their detailed technical knowledge and are exceptional at teaching swimmers of all ages and abilities. Scroll down for more details on the curriculum.

Session Times (Both Days):
11 & Under: Check in 9:00 AM, Clinic 9:15 AM-11:45 AM
12 & Older: Check in 12:45 PM, Clinic 1:00 PM-4:00 PM

COVID-19 Notes: This swim camp is dependent upon the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Illinois Department of Health, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity as well as local county regulations. This camp will have limits on the number of swimmers per lane to maintain social distance. 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! Fitter and Faster's COVID-19 Procedures

Suggested Participants

Clark and Robyn will lead two sessions for each age group. It is not recommended for swimmers with less than 2 years of competitive swimming experience and swimmers younger than 9 years old are not recommended for these camps without your coach’s approval.

Curriculum

DAY 1 (SATURDAY): HIGH PERFORMANCE BACKSTROKE TECHNIQUE

Your swimmer understands the core components of backstroke, now begin to master the subtle skills that will help your swimmer to compete at a higher level. Participants will practice using their core to create rotation as well as a stable and balanced stroke, build a powerful pull with a strategic use of stroke rate, and use their kick as a dominant propulsive force.

BODY POSITION: Participants will work with Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith and SEC Champion Robyn Clevenger to feel and understand how to maintain a neutral spine and head position for less drag and better full body connection in backstroke.
ROTATION: The fastest backstrokers in the world use a powerful rotation to create more power and increase their tempo. Learn how much to rotate, when to rotate, and how to use it for maximum speed and power.
KICK: Have you ever noticed how many swimmer's knees break the surface when they kick in backstroke. This means that the swimmer is kicking with their knees which is less efficient than kicking from their hip. Your clinician will help swimmers maintain maximum propulsion with the proper kicking technique.
PULL: It is very important for swimmers to bend their elbow very early in the pull so that they can get an early catch for an immediate and powerful press back into the water.

SUNDAY (DAY 2): BACKSTROKE APPLIED SPEED AND RACE STRATEGY EXECUTION

Take your backstroke racing to the next level by learning different strategies for approaching any race. Clark Smith and Robyn Clevenger will work to take the solid backstroke foundation developed on day one and teach sprint and distance variations for fast racing specific to any backstroke event. The session will end with a strategically crafted training set to highlight fast and efficient backstroke technique.

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.
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.
PACING: When racing, many swimmers will prioritize tempo over distance per stroke, which causes them to take a higher number of shorter strokes on each length. This is a very inefficient way to swim and can cause a swimmer to race much slower and fatigue quicker. At this session, Clark and Robyn will help participants refine their stroke count and tempo so that they can utilize their strengths to race faster in any distance!
KICK COUNT: Counting dolphin kicks off of each wall is another way your swimmer can switch up their strategy in butterfly races. By tracking how long they stay underwater, they will have a better streamline and breakout on each turn!
TRAINING BACKSTROKE: Also included in this session is an elite workout designed by Clark, Robyn, and the Fitter and Faster Coaching Team. This workout is specifically designed to challenge your swimmer’s backstroke and help identify strengths and weaknesses in their training, which will ultimately transfer into becoming a better racer!

ASK QUESTIONS

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

WATCH THE CLINICIANS

Observe Clark and Robyn 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 Clark and Robyn, 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!

Search all of our clinics...or request a clinic in your area