Indianapolis, IN Swim Camp Series (Ages 12 & over)
Pike High School
5401 W 71st St,
Indianapolis,
IN 46268
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Introduction
Fitter & Faster is producing two, 2-day swim camps for competitive swimmers ages 12 & over at Pike High School in Indianapolis, Indiana in October & December of 2024! Please click here for the swim camp page for ages 9 to 11!
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA SWIM CAMP SERIES (Ages 12 & over)
-> Fast Starts, Turns, Underwaters & More Swim Camp (October 12 & 13)
-> Race Strategy: Fast 200's & The IM's Swim Camp (December 29 & 30)
Click the “Curriculum Menu” below for details about each Swim Camp!
-> Availability in each session is limited to 24 participants to ensure the highest level learning experience.
-> SAVE when you purchase an “Entire Camp Bundle” for your swimmer.
Select a curriculum below
FAST STARTS, TURNS, UNDERWATERS & MORE SWIM CAMP: October 12 & October 13, 2024
The momentum generated from explosive starts and turns are the FASTEST that top age group swimmers and elite swimmers are moving in a race! The more efficient, powerful and hydrodynamic your swimmer is, directly impacts their speed and distance they travel in the water before taking their first stroke! This swim camp will be led by Elite Clinician and Olympic Gold Medalist, Nick Thoman!
- Day 1 (Saturday, October 12): EXPLOSIVE STARTS, UNDERWATERS & BREAKOUTS: The better a swimmer’s technique is off the starting block, the more speed they will carry into the water. Day 1 of this swim camp will help your swimmer improve their start, underwater dolphin kicking and breakouts! This sequence is not only the fastest part of every race, but it is also the part of the race in which elite swimmers cover the most ground with the most efficiency.
- Block Starts: To ensure an explosive start, a swimmer needs to set themselves up properly on the block. The elite clinicians will work with participants on the optimal positioning of your swimmer’s entire body to allow for a quick reaction time and optimal speed.
- Water Entry: Starting the race with a smooth entry into the water will boost your swimmer's speed and carry the momentum generated off the block or wall. Becoming skilled at the water entry is crucial for any start and significantly contributes to your swimmers' overall race!
- Streamline: The streamline - when done properly - is the fastest a swimmer travels while in the water. Proper streamlines are even faster than underwater dolphin kicking. Even the most elite swimmers in the world are constantly working on improving their streamline. Your swimmer will get tips to improve their streamline and a better appreciation of what they need to do on every single wall in practice and in races.
- Initiating Underwater Dolphin Kicking: Top age group and elite swimmers maximize their streamline on every single lap. They don’t start their underwater dolphin kicking while they’re still achieving maximum speed in their streamline! They also don’t want to start the underwater dolphin kicking after their streamline has begun to slow. Your swimmer is going to learn how to time when to begin their underwater dolphin kicking.
- Powerful Underwater Dolphin Kicking: There are a few different techniques that swimmers use when underwater dolphin kicking. The common theme of these techniques is that the best swimmers kick up and down with equal power. We will show your swimmer the different techniques that elite swimmers use and teach them how to implement.
- Number of Underwater Dolphin Kicks: Figuring out the optimal number of kicks off each wall, for each race, is essential to fast swimming. Elite swimmers want to spend only the absolute necessary amount of time underwater to establish speed with each length. They want to avoid losing their breath and taking weak kicks.
- Breakouts: Many swimmers add movement within their breakout that creates drag and destroys all of the speed created during their underwaters. Participants will work on timing their breakouts to explode into each lap.
- Day 2 (Sunday, October 13): FASTER FLIP TURNS, OPEN TURNS & FINISHES: Quick, powerful turns and finishes are crucial to fast times and winning close races. The top age group and elite swimmers aren't using walls just for turning around - they are used to generate speed and momentum going into the next lap. Elite swimmers are constantly working their turns and looking for areas to improve them. Today, we're going to work with your swimmer on taking this crucial part of every race (and practice) to the next level!
- Momentum: At the elite level of swimming, walls aren’t just used for turning around - they are used to generate speed and momentum going into the next lap. Outside of the elite ranks, most swimmers stop or slow down while going into the wall, which kills their momentum! We will work with participants on the intricacies of approaching every wall at top speed and seamlessly initiating their “turn”.
- Flip Turns: The fastest swimmers use walls to generate speed and momentum going into the next lap. Outside of the elite ranks, many swimmers stop or slow down while going into the wall, which kills their momentum! We will work with participants on the intricacies of approaching every wall at top speed and seamlessly initiating their “turn”.
- Open Turns: Elite butterflyers and breaststrokers utilize speed from their last lap to create momentum and even more speed at the beginning of the next lap. Their open turns are actually not “turns”, but more like high-speed pivots. Participants in this session will work on these techniques to have much faster open turns!
- Streamline, Underwater Dolphin Kicking, Breakout Progression: At this session participants will continue to work on the progression covered on Day 1.
- Finishes: Setting yourself up for a fast finish is very similar to setting yourself up for a strong turn in any race. Races are won and lost by hundredths-of-a-second at every swim meet. Many races come down to the last few strokes. At this camp, your swimmer will learn techniques to set themselves up for a well-timed finish when they are still about 10 yards from the wall.
RACE STRATEGY: FAST 200's & THE IM's SWIM CAMP: December 29 & December 30, 2024
Over 2 days, our swim camp will unravel the complexities of IM and 200-race strategies for your swimmer. They'll explore various approaches to optimize their performance, from mastering stroke transitions in the IM to maintaining speed and power throughout the 200s. They'll learn to analyze their strengths and weaknesses and tailor their race plan for maximum success. This camp is an opportunity for your swimmer to unlock their full potential in these demanding events and achieve their best times.
- Day 1 (Sunday, December 29): FAST 200's IN ANY STROKE: “How should I swim this race?” How many times have you heard this? Swimmers of all ages and abilities have the same question. Races of 200 yards and meters are some of the most fun to swim and watch because of the wide variety of strategies that swimmers use. There are many different ways to swim a fast 200 in every stroke. The name of the game is understanding all the different ways to execute the race and seeing what works best for your swimmer!
- Strategies: At this camp your swimmer will learn various strategies that elite swimmers have executed with top results. Before your camp you will be emailed links to several elite level races of 200 yards or meters across all strokes, along with a brief summary of each. At the camp we will discuss and practice those strategies.
- "Easy Speed": Establishing stroke length with the proper tempo after the breakout is essential to setting up a strong 200 in any stroke. Going as fast as we can with ease is the key to “easy speed”. We don’t want to kick or pull too hard on the first 50. This will cause early fatigue. Swimmers will work on techniques to swim as fast as they can in all strokes with “ease”.
- Control: Your elite clinician will teach participants how to manipulate their speed and energy at different points in a race.
- Front-end & Back-End Speed: The first 100 (front-end) and second 100 (back-end) of the 200 can be broken up to ensure an effective plan. Some swimmers go out really fast and hang on, while others control the first 100 and try to back-end the race at full speed. Testing new strategies at this camp will give your swimmer confidence in their next race.
- Underwater Kick Count: Figuring out the optimal number of kicks off each wall is essential to a fast 200. A swimmer wants to spend only the absolute necessary amount of time underwater to establish speed with each length. We want to avoid losing our breath and/or taking weak kicks.
- Breathing Pattern: Establishing a breathing pattern will help the swimmer stay focused and relaxed on their own swim. It will also help them finish the race with enough oxygen to close the race at full speed.
- Establishing A Plan: A racer should have a plan for the race before it is swum! What’s your plan for front-end and back-end speed? How much time will you spend underwater before your first breath? How often will you breath each length?
- Test The Plan In Practice: Now we test it! Swimmers will do a complete short set at the end of the session to practice racing the plan and stroke under race conditions. We’ll get off the blocks and practice some front end swims, push some back end swims, and race some straight 200’s.
- Confidence: One of the essential elements to dropping time and swimming fast is being willing to try new strategies when swimming a race. It’s ok to feel nervous and a little bit uncomfortable before your race! Entering a race with a strategy will help your swimmer with their confidence… and that confidence will help propel them to the results they aim to achieve.
- Day 2 (Monday, December 30): THE IM's: Go out hard or go out strong? Which IM leg should be pushed harder? These are critical questions that can make or break your swimmer's IM race. Our clinicians will guide your swimmer through various pacing strategies, helping them understand when to hold back and when to unleash their full potential. Your swimmer will learn how to adapt these strategies to their strengths, weaknesses, and racing style, ensuring they race smarter AND faster!
- IM Strategy: Every IM swimmer has a different strategy that they have developed over years of practice and racing. At this session, our Elite Clinicians will work with swimmers to develop a deeper understanding of utilizing their own unique strengths and weaknesses to build a customized race plan that will help them swim faster!
- Stroke Length: There are many ways for a swimmer to adjust their strokes to maximize efficiency or speed. Lengthening distance per stroke at critical times in an IM can help conserve energy. Swimmers can also prioritize tempo in their stroke to try to accelerate or finish strong! Elite athletes know themselves and how they need to adjust their strokes. Participants will learn how to seamlessly change these elements within their strokes to maximize the effectiveness of their strategy.
- IM Racing: Many swimmers have different strategies while racing, especially when in the IM’s! Swimmers will need to adjust their racing strategy based on how they stack up among their competitors during the race. Swimmers will work with their elite clinicians on balancing energy expenditure while competing against others to find the ideal combination for IM races!
- Strategy Reinforcement & Training: Swimmers will work with our clinicians on finessing different IM racing techniques learned during the session. They will also go through a training set developed by our clinicians and the Fitter and Faster coaching team to help swimmers maintain their strategy and technique through fatigue!
- IM Transitions: The back-to-breast transition has a couple of ways that swimmers can approach it. Our elite clinicians will work with participants to finesse their IM transitions and explore different types of transition turns to have the tools to go from the backstroke to the breaststroke leg the fastest way possible!
START TIMES:
- OCTOBER: Check in 2:30 PM. Camp: 2:45-5:45 PM
- DECEMBER: Check in 1:30 PM. Camp: 1:45-4:45 PM
ASK QUESTIONS
Swimmers and parents are invited to ask the clinicians questions during a Q&A session. Gain insight into their training regimen, diet and nutrition, and recovery tactics.
WATCH THE CLINICIANS
Observe 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
Throughout the camp, swimmers will practice what they've learned with some of the world's most elite Swimmer Clinicians and coaches!
Take a photo, get autographs, and chat with your clinicians!
Nick Thoman
Size matters so much less when you have great technique... and your clinician is living proof of that. At one point, Nick Thoman was known as the world's greatest short course swimmer in the world. His starts and turns were a weapon - he was shorter than most of his top competition, but HE was the world record holder in the 100 short course meter backstroke AND he is an Olympic gold medalist. Learn to weaponize great technique, no matter your size or strength, to improve at this clinic with Nick Thoman!
Elite Clinician
Fitter and Faster clinicians are Olympians and National Team members who have achieved at the highest level of the sport of swimming... and who have the unique skill to teach what they know from a technical perspective to swimmers of all ages and abilities.
Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!
