Training

For the protection of the athlete, all new swimmers will be set up with an evaluation with one of our coaching professionals. Placing swimmers in the correct group is vital to the long term success and physical health of the swimmer.

Bronze Training Group Ages 6-12 

Our Bronze group is the entry point into competitive swimming. It's the next logical step from swim lessons. In this group swimmers will learn:

• Basic Competitive Swimming Etiquette.  

Before Joining Bronze the athlete will be able to:

• Complete a swim of 50 yards (1 full lap in a school pool) of freestyle 

• Complete 25 yards (1 length of a school pool) non freestyle (Breast, Fly, or Back Strokes)

What does the swimmer need to do? 

• Recommended attendance 3 of 4 practices a week.

• Demonstration of coachability.

• Willingness to learn and have fun.

• Attendance at mini meets is strongly encouraged.

• Participate in NSAC hosted meet.

• Participation in championship meets is recommended.

After the swimmers have learned the basics of swimming competitively, it's time to continue polishing the technique. The swimmer will grow in their knowledge of stroke mechanics and:

• Continue to learn strokes and turns.

• Expand knowledge of list of drills.

• Expand competitive event list.

• Work towards proper dry land exercise technique.

• Starts to understand physical development, nutrition, and accepts individual differences in physical size within their age group.

• The athlete starts to understand sportsmanship-championship behavior.

• The athlete talks to their coach before and after their races.

• The athlete learns basic meet procedures, including how to use and read a heat sheet.

• The athlete understands the role of failure and the importance of learning from their mistakes

• The athlete understands failure is a part of long-term success. 

• Has a general understanding of the effect that negative self-talk plays in performance.

• The athlete learns how to manage a set (leaving on time, number of reps, understanding the set and the its purpose)

• The athlete regularly communicates with their coach

Requirements to Join

• 3 x 100 IM @ 2:30

• 3 x 100 FR @ 2:00

• 6 x 50 K FR @ 1:15

• 6 x 50 K NFR @ 1:30

What does the swimmer need to do?

• Recommended attendance 4 of 5 practices.

• Demonstration of coachability. 

• Willingness to learn and have fun.

• Participation in mini meets is strongly encouraged.

• Participation in NSAC hosted meets is required.

• Participation in Championship Meets is recommended.

Gold Training Group Ages 11-15

In Gold training starts to intensify, the athlete starts to build endurance and begins to:

• Compete in all events offered in the athletes’ age group.

• Expand knowledge of list of drills.

• Continue to have fun while increasing the work load.

• Work towards proper dryland exercise technique to develop

  • Flexibility

  • Athletic Development

  • Balance

  • Coordination

• Have a basic understanding of physical development and nutrition.

• The athlete demonstrates a higher level understanding of sportsmanship-championship behavior.

• The athlete talks to their coach before and after their races.

• The athlete knows meet procedures, including how to use and read a heat sheet.

• The athlete understands the role of failure and the importance of learning from one’s mistakes;

• The athlete understands the value of setting goals and the process for achieving those goals.

• The athlete regularly communicates with their coach.

Requirements to Join

• 6 x 100 IM @ 2:00 – Hold under 1:50

• 6 x 100 FR @ 1:40 – Hold under 1:30

• 8 x 50 K FR @ 1:00 • 8 x 50 K NFR @ 1:10

Expectations while in Gold

• Required attendance 4 of 6 practices.

• Demonstration of coachability.

• Shows interest in the competitive side of swimming.

• Willingness to learn and have fun.

• Recommended competitions – one per month.

• Participation in NSAC hosted meets is required.

• Participation in Championship Meets required.

Junior Training Group Ages 13 and Over

In Juniors the swimmers start to decide if swimming is going to be their sport going forward, start thinking and deciding if college swimming might be right for them. In Juniors:

• The athlete learns how to use time management skills for their day to day life as a student-athlete

• The athlete regularly revisits and re-evaluates their goals.

• The athlete works with coach in developing short term and long term goals.

• The athlete can combine self-talk and slow breathing for peak performance management.

• Start to develop the leadership skills needed to be a leader and role model in the group.

• Understands the role of “tapering” and how it applies to seasonal training from the start . 

• The athlete understands the role of failure and the importance of learning from one’s mistakes; understands failure is a part of long-term success.

• Demonstrates progress over the course of the season through test sets.

Requirements to Join

• 5 x 200 IM @ 3:15 – Hold under 3:05

• 8 x 100 FR @ 1:30 – Hold under 1:20

• 5 x 100 K FR @ 1:55

• 5 x 100 K NFR @ 2:05

Expectations while in Juniors 

• Attendance 4 of 6 practices. Attends 6 of 9 practices during summer training. 

• Demonstration of coachability.

• Continues to train all strokes and all events.

• The athlete has identified swimming as their sport. 

• Demonstrates commitment to swimming and pursuit of swimming goals.

• The athlete takes ownership of technical skills, both in water and during dryland.

• The athlete understands and takes responsibility for attendance, performance, and habits in practice; understands the relationship between this and meet performance.

• Recommended competitions – one per month.

• Participation in NSAC hosted meets is required.

• Participation in season ending Championship Meets is required.

Senior Training Group Ages 13 and Over 

Requirements to Join

• 6 x 200 IM @ 3:00 – Hold under 2:50

• 10 X 100 FR @ 1:20 – Hold under 1:15

• 8 x 100 K FR @ 1:45 • 8 x 100 K NFR @ 1:50 

Requirements while in Seniors

• Attendance 4 of 5 evening practice plus 1 morning practice. Attends 7 of 9 practices during summer training.

• Athlete takes full responsibility for their role in all areas of training and competition.

• The athlete is a leader on the club and in the community.

• Achieve the highest level of competition.

• Athlete commits to college swimming (where applicable)

• Develops plan with coach for achieving goals.

• Identifies negative self-talk and redirects focus. 

• Understands how important the mental aspect of swimming is to success. 

• Participation in NSAC hosted meets.

• Participation in season ending Championship Meets.

National Training Group

Attendance at 5 of 5 evening practices plus 2 morning practices. By Invitation Only.

High School Maintenance (HSM)

This program is for high school or college swimmers whose intent is to stay in shape and train off-season. The program is less rigorous and focused on maintaining fitness and skills. It is offered during the fall, winter, spring, and summer seasons to eligible swimmers. We currently offer 3 practice times a week during the fall, winter, spring, and 6 practice times during the summer. Maintenance swimmers are not eligible to compete in meets.

U.S. Masters

The Masters group is designed to promote adult fitness and health by offering a year-round fitness/competitive swimming program for all levels and abilities. The focus is to attain the best possible level of fitness for triathlon training, competitive masters swimming, or to stay in shape and have fun. This program is for anyone age 18 and older who can swim. Practices are 90 minutes.