Winter Swim Camp Series for Ages 10 to 12
The St. James
6805 Industrial Rd,
Springfield,
VA 22151
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Introduction
Fitter & Faster is producing two swim camps for competitive swimmers ages 10 to 12 at the state-of-the-art facility at The St. James in Springfield, Virginia in November and December 2024! Click here for the swim camp page for ages 13 & over.
WINTER SWIM CAMP SERIES (Ages 10 to 12)
-> Comprehensive Freestyle Racing Swim Camp (November 30 & December 1)
-> Championship Preparation: Starts, Turns, Underwaters & More Swim Camp (December 27-29)
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
COMPREHENSIVE FREESTYLE RACING SWIM CAMP: November 30 & December 1, 2024
Get your swimmer ready for championship season with this three-day swim camp! Participants will work with our world-class clinicians to sharpen the fastest parts of every race: starts, turns, underwaters, finishes, and more. These improvements will help your swimmer gain confidence and perform their best at upcoming meets!
- DAY 1 (Saturday, November 30): FREESTYLE TECHNIQUE: Cultivating good habits to swim high level freestyle begins as soon as you learn the stroke. Even if your swimmer is already in high school, it’s never too late to begin practicing techniques that will drastically improve their efficiency, power, and times. Today, your swimmer will work on techniques to strengthen their bodyline, catch, kick, pull, and breathing pattern.
- Bodyline: A freestyle race is going to be fastest with the proper bodyline. Even the slightest adjustment of the chin, neck, and/or back can make a huge difference. As swimmers mature in the sport and grow physically, their body position shifts and often bad habits are created. Participants will learn and practice proper posture and engagement of their core to have a strong foundation for better technique - creating a full-body connection for more hydrodynamic and efficient strokes.
- Rotation: Freestyle is fastest and most efficient when a swimmer’s body is “rotating” around their spine with each stroke. This part of swimming freestyle has a big effect on maintaining a proper bodyline. Participants will practice activating their core muscles to form a powerful connection from head to toe with every stroke - resulting in faster freestyle.
- Kicking: A swimmer’s kick is the motor behind their freestyle! There are obviously proper and improper ways to kick, which we will review at the camp. Just as important, however, is practicing the complexities of how and when swimmers need to “shift gears” in their legs to become stronger and faster racers.
- Pull: The pull in freestyle keeps a swimmer balanced and accelerating forward. Essentially, the best swimmers are creating a paddle with every stroke. The clinicians will work with participants to establish an early vertical forearm, “the catch”, enabling your swimmer to put immediate pressure back on the water. Properly completing the stroke keeps the swimmer moving forward efficiently and fast.
- DAY 2 (Sunday, December 1): FREESTYLE RACING AND TRAINING SKILLS: The technique for swimming a fast freestyle race changes depending on the distance. Learning to prioritize tempo and stroke length, while also maintaining efficiency, has a huge impact on maximizing speed for sprints or increasing endurance for distance races.
- Stroke Length: A long stroke will enable your swimmer to “catch” and hold onto more water to propel them as they swim, whereas a short stroke is inefficient and not sustainable for very long. The clinicians will work with participants on this important skill for fast swimming.
- Tempo: Tempo is the rate at which a swimmer is moving their arms and legs. When sprinting short races, many swimmers often tend to take too many strokes (“spin their wheels”) and not “hold onto the water”. At this camp, we will explore different tempos that suit your swimmer for different distances.
- Pacing/Control: A swimmer’s tempo will change depending on the race that they are swimming. It may also change at different points during the same race! Your elite clinician will teach participants how to manipulate their tempo, speed, and energy at different points in a race. This is called Pacing or “Control”.
- Breathing Pattern: Establishing a breathing pattern will help the swimmer stay focused and relaxed during their swim. It will also help them finish the race with enough oxygen to close the race at full speed.
- Speed Set: At the end of this session, your swimmer will do a short and fast swim set to practice everything they have learned over the past two days.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION SWIM CAMP: December 27 - December 29, 2024
Equip your swimmer for success at championship meets and qualifying events with this three-day swim camp! Participants will work with our world-class clinicians to strengthen the fastest parts of every race: starts, turns, underwaters, finishes, and more. Over the course of the camp, your swimmer will refine essential skills like starts, underwater dolphin kicking, breakouts, turns, and finishes—all of which are crucial for gaining ground and racing efficiently. These techniques will help your swimmer build speed and confidence heading into their next big meet!
- Day 1 (Friday, December 27): THE FIFTH STROKE - UNDERWATERS: In the first session, our Elite Clinicians will work with participants to enhance the fastest sequence for each race lap: streamlines, underwater dolphin kicks & breakouts. Finessing these techniques not only reduces drag and enhances efficiency, but also contributes significantly to overall speed and performance in the water!
- 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 gain 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 (Saturday, December 28): FAST STARTS: In this session, swimmers will work on executing fast starts and carrying momentum through their breakouts. The skill of generating explosive power at the start while effortlessly integrating the skills developed on session 1 will give swimmers a distinct competitive edge!
- 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 swimmer's overall race!
- Streamline, Underwater Dolphin Kicking, Breakout Progression: At this session, participants will continue to work on the progression covered during session 1.
- Relay Exchanges: Relay exchanges have two advantages over traditional starts. First, you can generate greater momentum by stepping forward with a strong arm swing. Second, reaction time can be almost eliminated with a well-timed relay "exchange". At this camp, your swimmer will learn skills that the best swimmers in the world use to both leave the block with great momentum, and to time the exchange just right while avoiding disqualification!
- Backstroke Starts: During this session, swimmers will work closely with elite clinicians to actively learn and practice high-performance backstroke starts. Participants will refine their foot, arm, and body positions, focusing on the technique of powering off the wall with an arched form, to seamlessly slice through the water with maximum efficiency.
- Day 3 (Sunday, December 29): 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: 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”.
- Flip Turns: Flip turns are an opportunity for your swimmers to increase momentum in the middle of a race! Flip turns in which the athletes slow down or have “mechanical” movements negatively impact the speed at which a swimmer comes off the wall. We will work with your swimmer to produce fast flip turns so that they can explode off the walls at maximum speed.
- 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 not actually “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 during session 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.
SESSION START TIMES FOR BOTH CAMPS:
- Check in 9 AM, Camp 9:15-11:45 AM
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!
Giles Smith
Giles Smith is a National Champion and Pan American Games gold medalist. He is known for his precision of technique especially towards the end of races when his competitors are fatiguing. Learn how to achieve AND maintain fast and efficient swimming all the time by learning from Giles Smith!
Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!
