RENO AQUATIC CLUB TRAINING GROUPS

Reno Aquatic Club’s mission is to Develop Champions in Life Through Excellence in Swimming. This process starts as soon as your child joins our team. Our goal is to have your child develop and progress in the water and, at the same time, learn many valuable life lessons that will be beneficial outside of the pool.

Currently, RENO offers eight different training groups. This structure provides a natural and sensible progression to instill enthusiasm for the sport of swimming and to meet the needs of children for all levels of ability and interest.

Group Placement

The coaching staff assigns swimmers to specific groups based on many variables. These include:

  • AGE
  • TECHNIQUE – Shows proper technique in all four strokes, streamlines, and starts, turns, & finishes.
  • ABILITY – Speed in the water (during practices and during competitions).
  • COACHABILITY – Absorbs feedback (listens to & processes the information) from the coach and applies it.
  • MATURITY – Capable of understanding and applying concepts given by his/her coach.
  • COMMITMENT – Attendance consistently meets the group’s expectations.
  • ENTHUSIASM – Shows a clear & consistent level of excitement on a daily basis.

Group Descriptions

LEARN TO COMPETE
This program is designed to introduce young swimmers into the sport of swimming while allowing maximum opportunity to participate in other activities. Emphasis is placed on teaching fundamentals of the four competitive strokes by means of drills and games that make swimming fun. Participation in meets is appropriate, but not required. Practice is offered 3 times a week for 45 minutes. Swimmers should attend practice 2-3 times per week. These swimmers do 70% - 80% drills and stroke work, and 20% - 30% games. A swimmer must be able to swim the length of the pool, unassisted, in Freestyle (using side breathing) and Backstroke to join this group. (Ages: 10 & Under)

ORANGE 2
This program is designed for young swimmers who can legally perform all competitive strokes and are ready for more advanced stroke technique. Increased emphasis is placed on teaching competitive starts & turns and introducing the basics of training technique. Swimmers will be taught pace clock management and how to understand and execute swimming sets. Participation in all meet types is encouraged. Participation in other activities is encouraged. It is recommended that swimmers attend a minimum of 3 of the 4 offered practices a week. These swimmers do 60% stroke work, 40% aerobic training and some games. (Ages: 7-10)
*Dryland is an important part of RENO’s training philosophy and will be offered to Orange 2 swimmers approximately 2 days a week.

ORANGE 1
This program is designed for our strongest 9-10 year olds and our 11 year olds who are preparing for advancement into Silver 1. Emphasis is placed on a more advanced level of training technique, as well as teaching underwater kicking as an important part of competitive swimming. Participation in all meet types is encouraged. Participation in other activities is still encouraged. It is recommended that swimmers attend 3-4 practices a week. Practices are offered 5 times a week, plus an additional 30 minutes of dryland training 2 times a week. These swimmers do 50% stroke work, 50% aerobic training and some games. (Ages: 9-11)
*Dryland is an important part of RENO’s training philosophy and will be offered to Orange 1 swimmers approximately 2 days a week.

SILVER 2
This program is designed for swimmers ages 11-14 who can legally perform at least 3 of the 4 competitive strokes and are ready for more advanced stroke technique. Increased emphasis is placed on teaching competitive starts & turns and continuing to work towards being legal in all 4 strokes. Swimmers will be taught pace clock management and how to understand and execute swimming sets. Participation in all meet types is encouraged. Participation in other activities is still encouraged. It is recommended that swimmers attend a minimum of 2 practices a week. These swimmers do 60% stroke work, 40% aerobic training, dryland activities and some games. (Ages: 11-14)
*Dryland is an important part of RENO’s training philosophy and will be offered to Silver 2 swimmers approximately 2 days a week.

SILVER 1
In this program, swimmers begin to build a work ethic with continued development of strokes and water skills. This is the first step toward the realization of what year-round swimming includes: a higher level of commitment, goal setting, the beginnings of mental training, as well as the introduction of more advanced skills. Participation in all meet types is encouraged. If you play other sports, you should still include swimming during this time. It is recommended that swimmers attend a minimum of 4 practices a week. Practices are offered 5-6 times a week, plus an additional 30 minutes of dryland training 2 times a week. These swimmers do 40% stroke work, 60% aerobic training. (Ages: 11-14)
*Dryland is an important part of RENO’s training philosophy and will be offered to Silver 2 swimmers approximately 2 days a week.

BLUE 2
This program is designed for swimmers ages 14 & older who are not quite ready for or wanting the expected training and competition commitment at the Blue 1 and/or Senior level. Emphasis is placed on teaching all aspects of competitive swimming, as well as preparing for the High School swimming season in the spring months. Participation in all meet types is encouraged. It is recommended that swimmers attend a minimum of 3 practices a week. These swimmers do 50% stroke work, 50% aerobic and anaerobic training with some games. Dryland will be offered to this group 1-2 times a week for 25-30 minutes. (Ages: 9th Grade-12th Grade)
*Dryland is an important part of RENO’s training philosophy and will be offered to Silver 2 swimmers approximately 2 days a week.

BLUE 1
In this program, emphasis will be on the competitive nature of the sport. Swimmers will be preparing for the highest levels of age group swimming and beyond. Technical skills training is still important and will be incorporated into the different training sets. Commitment and self-motivation are very important. Practice is offered six days a week with dryland being a very important part of training at this level. Swimmers are expected to attend a minimum of 5 days a week, while striving to attend all 6 days. These swimmers do 25% stroke work, 75% aerobic and anaerobic training, depending on the appropriate part of the season. (Ages: 13 & Older)
*Dryland is an important part of RENO’s training philosophy and will be offered to Silver 2 swimmers approximately 2 days a week.

SENIOR
This level is for the swimmer with the necessary ability and desire to train and compete on a regional and national level. They will try to do whatever it takes to become the best they can be. Senior swimmers are expected to attend 7-8 practices that are offered over a period of 6 days a week with dryland being a very important part of the training at this level. Seniors do about 15% stroke work, 85% aerobic and anaerobic training, depending on the appropriate part of the season. (Ages: 15 & Older)
*Dryland is an important part of RENO’s training philosophy and will be offered to Silver 2 swimmers approximately 2 days a week.

Group Advancement

Once it has been determined that a swimmer is ready to move to the next level training group, a coach will contact the swimmer and parent. The swimmer will then go through a “transition” period where he/she attends one to two practices a week with the new upper-level group, while continuing to participate with their regular training group. This will help that swimmer adjust and transition to the next level. Swimmers will be advanced fully only after a successful trial period (to be determined by the coaching staff).

While there may be an occasional exception to this rule, transitioning from one group to the next takes place at three general times of the competitive swim season: 1) January-February (after the December championship season), 2) April-May (after the Spring short course championship season), 3) June-July (after schools are out for the summer).

NOTE: Upon permanent assignment to the higher lever practice group, the dues will be adjusted accordingly, and the family will be invoiced at the higher practice group amount. During the transition period, there are no additional fees incurred.