Coaching Champion Swimmers

First, we want to emphasize that we value swimmers of all levels. If coaches only help the fast kids, nobody else gets a chance to be the next fast kid. If coaches only pay attention to kids who want to compete, they miss the opportunity to help swimmers with different goals. We are a team for all swimmers.

Some of our swimmers have monumental ambitions. These swimmers strive for a future that includes national meets, college swimming and qualifying for the Olympic trials. These are big goals that require big work, but can it be done on a small team? Will the Otters give my kid the guidance and training they need to move to the next level of competition? Based on our track record, the answer to these questions is “yes”. Here are a few reasons why we feel our team is a perfect fit to develop fast and elite swimmers:

Individual Attention Matters
Our smaller team is ideally situated to help your swimmer develop and maintain an individual plan with season goals and milestones to reach those goals. We measure progress in tiny increments because the small stuff adds up to the big stuff. For example, we track start times, ½ lap times, turn times, cadence and distance per stroke. Swimmers track their progress on these measures using our “Goal Board”. Because we are a smaller team, coaches have more time with each swimmer and that helps our coaches to become true partners to your kids in reaching their goals.

Technique Matters
We are obsessed with technique! There is nothing that matters more. Study after study, researchers continue to confirm that  good technique and “feel” for the water are the foundations of swimming speed. Swimmers must learn to swim well before they can swim fast, and we dedicate lots of time to this. Even our fastest swimmers do technique work, because all of us have places where we can adapt for more speed.

Speed Is The Goal, Not Yardage
We swim at race pace and simulate race conditions as much as possible. When practices are based on yardage, the yardage becomes the goal and swimmers lose speed. We are training our swimmers for their actual races and there is no race called the “10,000 yard practice.” When swimmers swim long distances under stress, they shift into what we call “survival stroke.” Their technique falls apart and they become prone to injury. We develop speed by working on high-intensity, short-duration sets with lots of rest. We do aerobic sets throughout the season, but most of the time we focus on speed work.

Underwater perspective
Most of the propulsive and resistive forces of swimming happen below the water. Sure, you can see some of it above the water, but the real magic happens below the water. Our coaches regularly get into the water with our swimmers to look for technique flaws and opportunities to improve. We also use video analysis to find things that are hard to pick out without slowing a video down. Swimmers who are only coached from the deck miss out on these areas for improvement. We don’t want to leave any extra time on the stopwatch. 

Smart Swimmers are Fast Swimmers
We teach our swimmers about the energy systems used in swimming, how force and resistance impact speed, the importance of good nutrition, and the relationship between cadence, distance per stroke and speed. We teach our swimmers the physiology behind muscle growth. We teach them how to maximize their ATP energy system during sprint swims. We talk about vortices and turbulence and other aspects of fluid mechanics. We help our swimmers apply this knowledge to their own strokes so they can make intelligent improvements.

Happy Swimmers are Fast Swimmers
Our training philosophy develops swimmers with confidence and purpose. When they have a bad race, we teach them how to break down the good and bad parts and then develop a plan to fix it at the next practice. This problem-solving approach to race critique keeps our swimmers optimistic and positive, and that translates to resilience and growth. When a swimmer has trouble dropping time at meets, we shift the focus to measuring their time on specific components of their race (start time, turn time, etc.). We can often make positive progress in one area of a race even if the total time drops aren’t coming. Our team is an open learning lab for these swimmers. When they learn to approach their challenges with a solution-centered mentality, we find that they are happier and better able to support teammates.

The Science Matters
The science of swimming has really evolved a lot since the 80s, but much of this knowledge still hasn’t found its way into modern swimming programs. Our season plans, mesocycles, weekly goals and individual practices are all designed to follow the principles of established science. When your swimmer joins us, they will have access to cutting-edge practices and dryland workouts.

If you are a fast swimmer (or want to become faster), we will partner with you to make it happen. Your goals are our goals. If you are on the fence about joining out team, please contact Coach Bill ( [email protected] ) for a no-pressure consultation.