“I will set and accomplish goals daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally and for the rest of my life in swimming and in the outside world”
Ownership
This is now the swimmers thing. The swimmer needs to know his/her times. The swimmer needs to bring his/her questions and concerns to the coach. At meets the swimmer needs to leave mom and dad to go talk to the coach then warm up and then go to the blocks alone.
Reality
No swimmer is expected to drop time at every meet. However we go to meets to race and swim fast. Our goal on every swim is to swim our best. Depending on the time of season, how he/she has been swimming in practice, if the swimmer has been in practice consistently, whether or not he/she has been sick all play a part in the way you swim at a meet. The important part is for the swimmer to be realistic about these factors. The rules at a swim meet are to have fun racing, win your heat and congratulate someone after every race.
How we train
We measure heart rates, stroke counts and times. If a swimmer can get a higher max heart rate and hold it for as long or longer then he/she is in better shape. If a swimmer can swim the same set holding a lower heart rate then he/she is in better shape. If a swimmer can swim the same time or faster and hold a lower stroke count then his/her technique has improved. There is a lot more that goes in to weekly and seasonal planning but that is the basic idea.
Senior Group
All athletes in the Senior Group will possess the noticeable qualities of a champion swimmer. These quality’s include but are not limited to: the ability to train at a high intensity whether his/her body feels good or bad, the ability to race when his/her body doesn’t feel good, an understanding that it takes time and work to accomplish goals, the understanding that there is no instant gratification at this level, the ability to change disappointing swims into motivation, an inner need to become a better athlete. Our planning follows a much longer training cycle with smaller training cycles between major meets. These smaller cycles can be as short as five weeks. At this level training becomes more individualized. Only in the Senior Group athletes will be encouraged to start focusing on fewer events in order to find his or her best opportunity for major success at the college level or beyond.
Expectations
Student-Athlete – Time management is the key.
Attend all meets on schedule.
Accept and incorporate coach’s feedback (i.e. Changing a bad practice habit)
Commit to year-round training program
Personal Responsibility – taking care of injuries, manage social life, school work and proper nutrition
Minimum workout attendance (during school year; all workouts are required during summer schedule)
Other morning workouts should be used to make up any missed required practices
Consistency
100% Effort level in practice
Knowledge of times
Ownership of swimming – Swimmers are expected to communicate with coach and take responsibility fortheir swimming.
Group Focus Points
Turns and “underwaters” will become assets
Stroke efficiency – balance between power and tempo
Fine tuning stroke techniques
Race strategies
Required Equipment
Fins
Paddles
Finis snorkel
Buoy
Meronome
Sneakers for Dry Land
Bottle water for hydration
Post Workout Protein Snack
Senior Development Group
The purpose of the Senior Development Group is to develop and identify our future Senior group swimmers andbridge the gap between age group and senior level swimming. They will continue to learn the importance of hard work and dedication. The intensity of workouts in the SD group will challenge every swimmer. Those moving on from thisgroup will be expected to have great stroke technique, an good understanding of race splitting and pace training, andknow how to prepare to race at their best.
Expectations
Increased quality and quantity of training
Successful school / swimming time management, etc.
Positive Attitude and Focus
Commit to year-round training program
6 workouts per week
Minimum of 4 meets per season
Focus on moving their swimming to the next level
Pace training, variation of focused training intensities, dedication to dry-land training
Group Focus Points
Focus on entire turn (approach to wall, turn, underwater and breakout)
Continued stroke technique improvement
Increased efficiency in strokes (higher elbows)
Starts (flat and relay)
Required Equipment
Fins
Paddles
Finis snorkel
Buoy
Meronome
Sneakers for Dry Land
Bottle water for hydration
Post Workout Protein Snack
Criteria for Joining Senior/ Sr. Development Groups
Entry to The Senior and Sr. Development Group will be by Coaches selection. The Coaches will be looking for swimmers that possess a higher level of intensity in the water as well as a general maturity about their sport.
Some sets that may or may not be used to determine whether an athlete will fit in with Sr. Development are:
