Stamford, CT Swim Camp Series For Ages 13 & over
Chelsea Piers Connecticut
1 Blachley Rd,
Stamford,
CT 06902
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Introduction
Fitter & Faster is producing a series of swim camps for competitive swimmers ages 13 & over at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, Connecticut in December 2024 and February 2025! Below, you'll also find links to additional swim camps for swimmers of other ages in Stamford.
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT SWIM CAMP SERIES (Ages 13 & over)
-> The 5th Stroke: Underwaters, Backstroke Starts & More Swim Camp (December 27 & 28, 2024)
-> Fast Starts, Turns & The Essentials of Sprinting Swim Camp (February 15-17, 2025)
Click the “Curriculum Menu” below for details about each swim camp.
-> Availability in each swim camp is limited to ensure the highest level learning experience.
-> SAVE when you purchase an "Entire Camp Bundle" for your swimmer.
ADDITIONAL SWIM CAMPS FOR OTHER AGES IN STAMFORD:
-> Ages 7 to 9
-> Ages 10 to 12
Select a curriculum below
THE 5th STROKE: UNDERWATERS, BACKSTROKE STARTS & MORE SWIM CAMP: December 27 & December 28, 2024
FAST STARTS, TURNS & THE ESSENTIALS OF SPRINTING SWIM CAMP: February 15 - February 17, 2025
Curriculum
Session TimesSession Times & Groups
THE 5th STROKE: UNDERWATERS, BACKSTROKE STARTS & MORE SWIM CAMP: December 27 & December 28, 2024
Boost your swimmer’s performance with essential techniques to enhance speed, efficiency, and confidence. This camp covers hydrodynamic streamlines, underwater dolphin kicking, breakouts, and backstroke skills to help them improve and gain an edge in every race.
- DAY 1 (Friday, December 27): THE FIFTH STROKE - UNDERWATER DOLPHIN KICKING: 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 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): BACKSTROKE STARTS, TURNS & FINISHES: Backstroke starts, turns, and finishes are vital for maximizing speed and maintaining momentum throughout the race. A strong start, efficient turns, and a precise finish can significantly impact a swimmer's overall performance. In backstroke this is perhaps more true than any other strokes as they are unique to the stroke and often less practiced. This session is designed to help swimmers work directly with our world-class clinicians, who will provide expert guidance to fine-tune these essential skills. Through focused drills and personalized feedback, swimmers will gain the confidence and technique needed to enhance their backstroke performance.
- 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.
- 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 wall. Becoming skilled at the water entry is crucial for any start and significantly contributes to your swimmers' overall race!
- Flip Turns: Flip turns are an opportunity for your swimmers to increase momentum in the middle of a race! We will work on maintaining backstroke speed into the wall and teach your swimmer how to develop confidence in using the flags to time the initiation of the turn. Your swimmer will learn to get immediately into the flip, maintain a tight tuck, and exit the wall with a strong push off and great body position.
- Streamline, Underwater Dolphin Kicking, Breakouts Reinforcement: At this session participants will continue to work on the progression covered on Day 1.
- Finishes: 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. Our clinicians will also work with your swimmer on how to lunge straight towards the wall, making use of a dolphin kick but minimizing any vertical motion which wastes time and energy.
FAST STARTS, TURNS & THE ESSENTIALS OF SPRINTING SWIM CAMP: February 15 - February 17, 2025
Take your swimmer’s skills to the next level with this comprehensive camp focusing on starts, turns, and sprinting essentials. Across three action-packed days, they’ll refine their starts, underwaters, and breakouts for faster and more efficient races, master powerful turns and finishes to maintain momentum, and develop key sprinting techniques like body position, stroke length, and tempo. This camp complements our December program, offering new strategies and personalized feedback to maximize race performance.
- DAY 1 (Saturday, February 15): 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 unintentionally add movements in their breakouts that reduce speed by creating drag. In this camp, participants will focus on perfecting their breakout timing to maintain momentum and power into each lap.
- DAY 2 (Sunday, February 16): 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 over 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.
- DAY 3 (Monday, February 17): THE ESSENTIALS OF SPRINTING & PACING: Swimming fast requires good technique, efficiency, power, and a hard working athlete. Participants in this session will advance their skills that apply to fast swimming in every stroke. Now is the time for swimmers to establish and cultivate habits to swim their shorter races as fast as possible with good technique that will position them for success as they mature.
- Body Position: A competitive swimmer’s body position is the key to fast swimming. Most swimmers are NOT hydrodynamic in the water - and that has a big effect on how fast they “allow” themselves to swim - especially as they get older. Let’s find the right body position for your swimmer.
- Stroke Length: Lengthening their 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: When sprinting short races young swimmers often tend to take too many strokes (“spin their wheels”) and not “hold onto the water”. At this camp we will find the appropriate tempo to maximize their own personal speed.
- Sprinting: Earlier in the session, your swimmer worked on body position, tempo and length of stroke. Now, we are going to apply those skills to swimming “all out” on top of the water with efficiency and power.
- Sprinting & Pacing Application: Swimmers at this session will work on applying their newly developed skills during racing scenarios. As with all the other segments of this camp, the clinicians will provide feedback for your swimmer to take home and apply at upcoming practices and meets.
START TIMES FOR DECEMBER:
- DAYS 1 & 2: Check in 2:30 PM, Camp 2:45-5:45 PM
- ALL 3 DAYS : Check in 10:30 AM, Camp 10:45-1:45 PM
- ADDITIONAL SWIM CAMPS IN STAMFORD:
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
Swimmers will get to practice what they've learned by taking their stroke to your top speed with some of the best swimmers and coaches in the world! They'll work on holding onto their form while challenging themselves.
Take a photo, get autographs, and chat with your clinicians!
Dillon Hillis
Dillon Hillis, a two-time NCAA Division I Champion from the University of Florida, is an enthusiastic student of the sport says, "Understanding swimming from a fundamental perspective has allowed me to achieve some of my largest goals. There is always more to learn and grow from."
Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!
