Competitive swimmers are invited to participate in one session, two, three or all four sessions! Plus, there is a special clinic for younger swimmers (ages 8 and younger) on Saturday. Your swimmer is going to improve at this intimate high performance camp.

Scroll down to read more about the curriculum at each session.

Suggested Participants

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Claire will be leading 4 sessions for competitive swimmers and a bonus session for younger swimmers (designed for swimmers ages 8 & under).

Curriculum

SESSION 1: STARTS AND UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING

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 Claire Donahue will share her experience on how she found time to practice and improve her starts both in and out of the water and some of her most effective strategies to execute this explosive and athletic movement.

STARTS: 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. Claire 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.
UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING: The not-so-secret weapon of elite level swimmers is their underwater dolphin kick. Claire is known as one of the best underwater dolphin kickers in the world and she specializes in teaching swimmers how to unlock their potential in this important skill.

SESSION 2: 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 Claire Donahue.

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. Claire 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 Claire Donahue 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!

8 & UNDER SESSION: STREAMLINES, BODY POSITION, DISTANCE PER STROKE

This session is designed for swimmers ages 8 & under! Claire will work with the participants at this session to create a strong foundation of technique. The skills covered will be establishing a proper body position, enforcing a strong streamline, and creating distance per stroke for stronger, more efficient, and faster racing!

STREAMLINE: A proper streamline is so much more than just putting your arms together over your head! Participants in this session will work with Claire Donahue to engage their whole body from fingertips to toe tips for the tightest streamline possible! The streamline after the start and every turn is the fastest a swimmer is ever moving in a race! Don't waste it!
BODY POSITION: Swimming with the proper head position, posture, and core engagement will allow a swimmer to cut through the water with less drag! Establishing a strong foundation in every stroke is so important to be able to build speed and power as your swimmer grows and develops!
DISTANCE PER STROKE: Claire Donahue focuses on two key areas to maximize distance per stroke: the catch and the kick. Swimmers will work with Claire to learn how to grab onto the water in each stroke with an early catch so that each arm pull takes them further. She'll also teach them to use their kick for increased efficiency for faster racing.

SESSION 3: 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 Clarie Donahue 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. Claire 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.

SESSION 4: 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 - Claire 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.

ASK QUESTIONS

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

WATCH THE CLINICIAN

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

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

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

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