Past Clinic: 200’s & 500’s Race Strategy Swim Camp
Houston Swim Club Sharpstown
8307 Augustine Dr,
Houston,
TX 77036
A description of what was covered at this past clinic is below the upcoming clinics.
Upcoming Swim Clinics and Camps
Within 250 miles of Houston, TX.
Past Clinic
Introduction
April 10 & 11
Race Strategy: 200's & 500's Swim Camp – The 200 and 500 are considered more distance races which means that there is a lot more pacing that must happen throughout the race without sacrificing overall speed. Your swimmer must be able to adjust their tempo, distance per stroke, breathing pattern, and more throughout the race to adapt to the increasing fatigue. Any swimmer can be a fast and efficient distance swimmer through strategy, mental strength, and practice!
STARTS WILL ALSO BE COVERED ON BOTH DAYS!
Your Elite Clinicians for this camp are Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith and National Champion Maxime Rooney! Clark and Maxime 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.
Suggested Participants
Clark and Maxime will lead two sessions for each group based on time standards.
[popup_trigger id="112080" tag="span" classes="blue-link"]For Time Standards AND Session Times >>> CLICK HERE[/popup_trigger]
Curriculum
DAY 1 (SATURDAY): SWIMMING A FAST 500
The 500 is unique because it requires an immense amount of focus and intensity! 20 lengths is a long time to maintain a fast pace. Olympic gold medalist Clark Smith and National Champion Maxime Rooney will work with participants to understand the splits, technique, and even the mental components to racing an elite level 500 freestyle. Your swimmer will understand better how to effectively set a pace that is challenging, but still possible to maintain. Even the minor improvements a swimmer can make on every lap will add up to big time drops after attending this session.
- PACING: Many swimmers start out their 500 too fast and end up getting slower by the end. Other swimmers might start out too slow and end up still having leftover energy after they finish! Learning how to properly pace a 500 to maintain the fastest splits possible takes studying and practice. Clark and Maxime will work with your swimmer to help them better understand themselves and what they're truly capable of so that they can split their 500 like a pro!
- TECHNIQUE: Your swimmer must find the balance between their distance per stroke and tempo that maximizes their speed, efficiency, and endurance for the entire duration of the 500. Their technique must be something they can not only achieve, but also maintain! Your swimmer will engage in drills to gain a deeper understanding of their freestyle to harness the best stroke length and rate possible for their 500.
- STRATEGY: Does your swimmer have a plan for how many dolphin kicks to do off of each of the 19 turns in their 500? How about their breathing pattern? How strong should their kick be throughout? These important questions must be answered and every swimmer should dive into their 500 with a plan. Work with Clark and Maxime to develop a race strategy that plans out each length so that your swimmer will approach their 500 with confidence and enthusiasm!
- MENTAL COMPONENT: The 500 requires a mental toughness unlike any other race. You have to have the ability to push through the fatigue that will inevitably hit and maintain the focus required to finish strong. Clark and Maxime will give your swimmer tools to achieve and maintain a strong mindset for all 20 laps of the 500 free.
DAY 2 (SUNDAY): SWIMMING A FAST 200
Races over 200 yards and meters are some of the most fun to swim and to watch because of the wide variety of strategies that swimmers can use. Some swimmers will take the race out very fast and hope to hang on at the finish, some will save their energy and finish strong, while others will hit consistent splits to balance those two strategies. Clark Smith and Maxime Rooney will help participants see which strategy works the best for their swimming as well as how to implement that plan for faster racing.
- 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: Every swimmer strategies their 200 yard races differently, and Clark and Maxime will demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of these main approaches. Whether your swimmer likes to go out hard or finish strong, having a pre-race strategy will help make sure they are ready to swim each race confidently!
ASK QUESTIONS
Swimmers and parents are invited to ask Clark and Maxime questions during a Q&A session. Gain insight into their training regimen, diet and nutrition, and recovery tactics.
WATCH THE CLINICIANS
Observe Clark and Maxime 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 two of the best swimmers and coaches in the world! They'll work on holding onto their form while challenging themselves.
Take a photo with Clark and Maxime, 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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