Walnut Creek Aquabears
Progression through the Practice Groups
 
 
 
Purple
Gold
Senior
Group Organization The Purple Group is broken into three sub-groups with a progression from Purple 1 to Purple 2 to Purple 3, with swimmers placed in the appropiate group during the evaluation period upon joining the team. The Gold Group is organized by a progression through assigned lanes. The Senior Group is broken into two sub-groups with a progression from Senior 1 to Senior 2, with swimmers placed in the appropriate group based on experience, practice intervals, attendace, and time standards.
Target Age
8 to 11
10 to 13
8th grade and above
Stroke Form and Skills
Purple 1 swimmers learn the basics of each stroke and move up with legal strokes, starts, and turns
Gold swimmers continue to build technical proficiency in stroke form and race skills in all 11&Over events
Senior swimmers continue to build technical proficiency in stroke form and race skills for specific events
Purple 2 swimmers refine stroke form and race skills; learn to use the pace clock, intervals, and are introduced to aerobic training
Purple 3 swimmers continue to build technical proficiency in stroke form and race skills through all 10&Under events
Weekly Practice Sessions 5 sessions @ 1 hour 6 sessions @ 1.5 hours 8 sessions @ 1.5 to 2 hours
makes 3-5 sessions per week makes 4-6 sessions per week makes 6-8 sessions per week
Goal Sessions
Group Goal Talks, Individual Review of Purple Group Evaluation Sheet
Individual Goal Sheets and Goal Talks, Review of Gold Group Evaluation Sheet
Individual Goal Sheets and Goal Talks, Review of Senior Group Evaluation Sheet
Competition
Follows the Age Group meet schedule and competes in skill- and experience-appropriate events recommended by Purple coach.
Follows the Age Group meet schedule and competes in skill- and experience-appropriate events recommended by Gold coach.  Also swims in some Senior meets recommended by the Gold coach.
Follows the Senior Group meet schedule and competes in events recommended by Senior coach.
Progress 10&Under IMReady score and move to complete 10&Under IMXtreme score
Progress IMReady Score and move to complete 11-12 or 13-14 IMXtreme score
Progress Power Point total in main 4 events
Move-ups
Swimmers move through the P1 > P2 > P3 progression as they complete the Evaluation Sheet for that sub-group. 
Swimmers are moved-up to Senior 1 or Senior 2 upon completing the Gold Group Evaluation Sheet, with coach recommendation.  These move-ups happen in August.
 
 Swimmers are moved-up to Gold upon completing the Purple 3 Group Evaluation Sheet, with coach recommendation.  These move-ups happen in August, December, and April.