Palatine, IL Swim Camp Series for Ages 9 to 11
Buehler YMCA
1400 W Northwest Hwy,
Palatine,
IL 60067
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Introduction
Fitter & Faster is producing four, 2-day swim camps for competitive swimmers ages 9 to 11 years old at Buehler YMCA in Palatine, IL from November 2024 through April 2025! CLICK HERE for the swim camp page for ages 12 & over!
PALATINE, ILLINOIS SWIM CAMP SERIES (Ages 9 to 11)
-> The Essentials of Sprinting Swim Camp (November 30 & December 1, 2024)
-> Comprehensive Freestyle Racing Swim Camp (January 4 & 5, 2025)
-> Championship Preparation Swim Camp (February 15 & 16, 2025)
-> Comprehensive Breaststroke Racing Swim Camp (April 26 & 27, 2025)
Click the “Curriculum Menu” below for details about each swim camp!
-> Availability in each session of this swim camp series 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
THE ESSENTIALS OF SPRINTING SWIM CAMP: November 30 & December 1, 2024
COMPREHENSIVE FREESTYLE RACING SWIM CAMP: January 4 & January 5, 2025
CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION SWIM CAMP: February 15 & February 16, 2025
COMPREHENSIVE BREASTSTROKE RACING SWIM CAMP: April 26 & April 27, 2025
Curriculum
Session TimesSession Times & Groups
THE ESSENTIALS OF SPRINTING SWIM CAMP: November 30 & December 1, 2024
Swimming fast requires excellent technique, efficiency, power, and dedication. Participants in this swim camp will enhance their skills across all strokes to achieve faster swimming. Now is the time for swimmers to establish and cultivate habits that will enable them to swim shorter races as fast as possible with proper technique, positioning them for future success. This swim camp will be led by elite clinician Sam Hoekstra.
- DAY 1 (Saturday, November 30): ESTABLISHING SPEED: At this session, your swimmer will practice the essential components of high-performance sprinting.
- 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 session, we will find the appropriate tempo to maximize their own personal speed.
- DAY 2 (Sunday, December 1): RACING SKILLS: On Day 2, your swimmer will apply the skills that we practiced on the first day of this camp to important segments of every sprint race, including the moment your swimmer pushes off the wall, breakouts, finishes, and all-out sprinting!
- Breakouts: Many swimmers add movement within their breakout that creates drag ,and destroys all of the power created during their underwaters. Participants will work on timing their breakouts to accelerate to explode into each lap.
- Sprinting: On Day 1, your swimmer worked on body position, tempo, and stroke length. Today, we are going to apply those skills to swimming “all out” on top of the water with efficiency and power.
- Walls, Walls, Walls!: Approaching the wall at top speed in preparation for the fastest turn is vital. Swimmers will work on techniques to get in and out of every wall faster!
- Finishes: Dropping time and even winning or moving up a few spots in the results can all come down to the last stroke! A well-timed finish at full speed, with full-arm extension and head down, can make a difference of up to a full second in a race! Your swimmer is going to learn how to take advantage of the finish to drop time!
- Sprinting Application: Swimmers at this session will work on applying their newly developed skills during racing scenarios. As with all the other sessions of this camp, the clinicians will provide feedback for your swimmer to take home and apply at upcoming practices and meets.
COMPREHENSIVE FREESTYLE RACING SWIM CAMP: January 4 & January 5, 2025
Freestyle is the first stroke we learn. It’s the stroke we swim the most at practice. There are more freestyle races and relays at meets...and it is the fastest stroke to move through the water. As with any other stroke, the more efficient and powerful your technique , the more success you will experience with your practices and freestyle races as your career progresses. Over two days, your swimmer, no matter their level, will improve their freestyle technique, as well as their racing and training skills!
- DAY 1 (Saturday, January 4): 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 core engagement 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 in this session. 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 the swimmer to put immediate pressure back on the water. Properly completing the stroke keeps the swimmer moving forward efficiently and fast.
- DAY 2 (Sunday, January 5): 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 session, 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: February 15 & February 16, 2025
As championship season approaches, every detail counts for faster times! In this four-session swim camp, your swimmer will work with elite Fitter & Faster clinicians to focus on essential skills like starts, underwaters, turns, and more, enhancing their overall race performance. Even the best athletes know that peak performance demands continual improvement, and we’re here to help your swimmer gain every possible advantage for their fastest races yet!
- 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 swimmer's 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 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 unintentionally add movements in their breakouts that reduce speed by creating drag. In this session, 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!
- 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 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 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 session, your swimmer will learn techniques to set themselves up for a well-timed finish when they are still about 10 yards from the wall.
COMPREHENSIVE BREASTSTROKE RACING SWIM CAMP: April 26 & April 27, 2025
At the highest level of swimming, breaststroke has the most varied technique. Out of the eight finalists at the Olympic Games, you might see eight different styles of breaststroke! A swimmer's timing and ability to eliminate resistance are hallmarks of an efficient and powerful breaststroker. No matter your swimmer’s level, this 2-day camp will strengthen their technique, as well as their racing and training skills, which will lead to faster and more efficient breaststroke races… and faster IMs!
- DAY 1 (Saturday, April 26): BREASTSTROKE TECHNIQUE: We want your swimmer to establish a well-timed breaststroke. Today, we will practice various drills and skills that will enable your swimmer to have flowing hips, a powerful kick, and a long, flowing stroke.
- Bodyline: A breaststroke race is going to be fastest with a proper bodyline. Even the slightest adjustment of the chin, neck, and/or back can make a huge difference. Elite breaststrokers focus on minimizing drag by “catching water” on their hands and feet as quickly as possible, so they can shoot back into a “straight bodyline” where they can glide at top speed.
- Kick: The kick creates a lot of the power in breaststroke. Swimmers need to keep their knees high in the water and snap their feet quickly around and back to create a powerful kick. Our clinicians will work with participants to strengthen their kick for the ultimate propulsion forward!
- Pull: The name of the game in breaststroke is to create as much propulsion as possible in the pull while minimizing resistance… and then quickly getting back into a straight bodyline to establish a high-speed glide. Participants at this session will focus on setting up a proper "catch" and keeping their hands and elbows high on the water throughout the entire pull. The techniques your swimmer will practice will minimize resistance and enable them to maintain forward momentum for the fastest breaststroke.
- Timing: Fast, flowing breaststroke is the result of proper timing between a swimmer’s hands and feet. Establishing proper timing in your swimmer’s breaststroke will allow for more fluidity, power, and speed. Participants in this session will learn how elite swimmers time their breaststroke for ultimate efficiency and the fastest races.
- DAY 2 (Sunday, April 27) BREASTSTROKE RACING TRAINING AND SKILLS: On the first day of this camp, swimmers worked on techniques to implement an efficient breaststroke. On Day 2, we will work on applying speed to their breaststroke! Our objective is to get your swimmer to maintain their technique with distance per stroke, tempo, and flowing speed.
- Tempo: Tempo in breaststroke is the rate at which a swimmer can get back into the proper bodyline to establish a high-speed glide. When swimming breaststroke races, many athletes tend to take too many strokes without ever getting into the proper bodyline. At this session, we will explore different tempos that are sustainable for any distance, and allow for the proper glide between strokes.
- Distance Per Stroke: One way to increase efficiency is to take fewer strokes. Counting the number of strokes a swimmer takes per lap, while improving technique to decrease that number, will enable them to be more efficient and even conserve energy. At this session, participants will discover how changing speeds might change their stroke count, but should not change the effectiveness of each stroke.
- Pacing: A breaststroker’s pace is going to change during a race and from distance to distance. When swimming breaststroke, your swimmer can learn to measure their pace using tempo and distance per stroke. At this session, we will practice race pacing for all breaststroke events.
- Breaststroke Pullouts: The breaststroke pullout is an important and unique part of every breaststroke race. We will work with participants on minimizing resistance in their pull-outs and establishing maximum speed. The pullout can be used strategically, depending on the distance of the race, to cover more ground before breaking out.
- Training Breaststroke: 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.
SESSION START TIMES:
- Nov/Dec Swim Camp: Check in 9 AM, Camp 9:15-11:45 AM
- January, February & April Swim Camps: Check in 9:45 AM, Camp 10-12:30 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!
Sam Hokestra
Sam Hoekstra is known for his role as an important member of some fast relays! He is a two-time All Big-East performer from the University of Louisville. Sam is now a coach with a big personality that swimmers of all ages and abilities can benefit from. Sign up to learn from Sam at this swim camp!
Inquisitive, Educated Swimmers are Faster Swimmers! Sign up today!
