Practice Groups - Note new groups have been defined starting this fall.

(Level-up requirements are guidelines - coach's discretion is always paramount)

STAR Minimum Requirements

Minimum Requirements (must meet all)

  • Able to swim 25 yards (any stroke) without stopping in the middle of the pool or using fins.
  • Can tread water for 30 seconds in the deep end.
  • Must be age 5 or older.
  • Able to safely enter and exit the pool (get down to the deck and leave independently).

Preferred Requirements (not required, but recommended)

  • Able to swim 25 yards of front crawl (freestyle) with some side breathing, without stopping in the middle.
  • Can tread water for 1 minute in the deep end.
 
Red STAR

Foundational Skills Development

  • Objective: Build the foundational skills necessary for swimming.
  • Focus:
    • Learning basic movement patterns in the water.
    • Introducing flutter kick, sculling, and simple arm movements.
    • Emphasizing proper breathing techniques.​
  • Typical Activities:Basic kicking drills, breathing exercises, introduction to streamline position, and simple arm movements without full strokes.

Stroke Introduction

  • Objective: Introduce swimmers to the basics of freestyle, backstroke, and foundational swimming skills.
  • Focus:
    • Learning the basic movements and positions for each stroke.
    • Developing comfort and confidence in the water.
    • Teaching essential skills such as breathing, body position, and coordination.
    • Introducing starts, turns, and finishes in a simplified manner.
  • Typical Activities: Drills that break down the strokes into manageable parts, kicking exercises, and basic swimming routines.

Overall Objective:  Work on legal freestyle and backstroke, starting with flutter kick and slowly adding side breathing and arms, work through freestyle then backstroke. Build confidence and fundamentals.

Moving Up Expectation:

  1. Swim a legal 25 yard free style with face in water and backstroke without fins.
  2. Swim a legal 50 yard freestyle with face in water and without fins.
  3. Seated dive from the wall.
  4. Coach’s discretion to ensure proper group placement.

Orange STAR

Stroke Introduction

  • Objective: Continue work on freestyle and backstroke, introduce flip turn and work on legal standing starts from the wall and starting blocks.
  • Focus:
    • Improve and refine movements and positions for each stroke.
    • Reinforce essential skills such as breathing, body position, and coordination.
    • Work on starts and flip turns.
  • Typical Activities: Drills that break down freestyle and backstroke into manageable skills and parts, kicking exercises, and basic swimming routines.

Basic Endurance Building

  • Objective: Increase a swimmer's ability to sustain activity in the water.
  • Focus:
    • Improving cardiovascular fitness and overall stamina.
    • Introducing longer swim distances with consistent form.
    • Beginning to build strength and endurance specific to swimming.
  • Typical Activities: Repeated continued swim time, gradually increasing distance, and aerobic exercises.

Overall Objective: Continue working on freestyle and backstroke, introduce flip turns, and increase endurance to eventually be able to swim 50 yards with proper technique and without fins.

Moving Up Expectation:

  1. Standing start/dive off the wall (or legal dive off the block).
  2. Swim 50 yard freestyle and backstroke unassisted with flip turn.
  3. Do 30 minutes of practice without fins.
  4. Coach’s discretion to ensure proper group alignment.

Yellow STAR

Stroke Introduction

  • Objective: Continue work on freestyle and backstroke, introduce breaststroke and butterfly, and introduce open turn.
  • Focus:
    • Improve and refine movements and positions for freestyle and backstroke.
    • Introduce techniques for breaststroke and butterfly.
    • Reinforce essential skills such as breathing, body position, and coordination.
    • Learn open turn.
    • Introduce Individual medley (IM).
  • Typical Activities: Repeated continued swim time, gradually increasing distance, aerobic exercises and mini sets.

Endurance Building

  • Objective: Increase a swimmer's ability to sustain activity in the water.
  • Focus:
    • Improving cardiovascular fitness and overall stamina.
    • Introducing longer swim distances with consistent form.
    • Beginning to build strength and endurance specific to swimming.
    • Introducing timed sets.
  • Typical Activities: Repeated continued swim time, gradually increasing distance, aerobic exercises and mini sets

Overall Objective:  Work on breaststroke and butterfly, learn open turn, learn IM stroke transitions, and IM techniques. Build further endurance and prepare for the next level.

Moving Up Expectation:

  1. Start off the starting block.
  2. Legal 50 yard freestyle in 50 seconds or less with a flipturn.
  3. Legal 50 yard backstroke in 60 seconds or less with flipturn.
  4. Swim 100 freestyle using flip turns and without stopping at the walls.
  5. Swim 100 backstroke using flip turns and without stopping at the walls.
  6. Legal 50 yard breaststroke with open turn.
  7. Legal 50 yard butterfly with open turn.
  8. Legal 100 IM.
  9. 60 minutes of practice without fins.
  10. Coach’s discretion to ensure proper group alignment.

 White STAR

Technique Refinement

  • Objective: Improve and refine the swimmer’s technique for each stroke, focusing on efficiency and form.
  • Focus:
    • Enhancing stroke mechanics and correcting any flaws.
    • Developing a more streamlined and efficient swimming style.
    • Increasing endurance while maintaining proper technique.
    • Integrating more advanced starts, turns, and finishes.
  • Typical Activities: Repetitive drills focusing on specific aspects of each stroke, video analysis, feedback from coaches, and progressively longer swim sets that emphasize maintaining form.

Intermediate Endurance and Speed Training

  • Objective: Develop greater endurance and speed while maintaining technique.
  • Focus:
    • Increasing swim distances and pace.
    • Introducing interval training and sprint work.
    • Developing the ability to hold proper technique at higher speeds.
  • Typical Activities: Interval training, sprint sets, mixed pace sets, and speed-focused drills.

Race-Specific Training

  • Objective: Prepare swimmers for the specific demands of racing.
  • Focus:
    • Fine-tuning race strategies, pacing, and starts.
    • Enhancing sprint speed and the ability to finish strong.
    • Practicing race simulations under different conditions.
  • Typical Activities: Simulated races, start and turn practice, pacing drills, and mental conditioning.

Overall Objective:  Technique refinement and reinforcement, build on endurance, introduce racing strategies, and set personal goals.

Moving Up Expectation:

  1. Swim 50 yard freestyle in 40 seconds or less with start off starting block and flip turn.
  2. Legal 100 yard swims of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle with proper technique.
  3. Legal 200 IM, start and turns effectively completed.
  4. Coach’s discretion to ensure proper group alignment.

Blue STAR

Endurance and Speed Training

  • Objective: Develop greater endurance and speed while maintaining technique.
  • Focus:
    • Increasing swim distances and pace.
    • Introducing interval training and sprint work.
    • Developing the ability to hold proper technique at higher speeds.
  • Typical Activities: Interval training, sprint sets, mixed pace sets, and speed-focused drills.

Stroke Reinforcement

  • Objective: Reinforce and solidify the swimmer’s technique under various conditions, including race pace and fatigue.
  • Focus:
    • Building muscle memory through consistent practice.
    • Developing the ability to maintain technique at higher speeds and during longer distances.
    • Emphasizing race strategies, pacing, and psychological preparation.
    • Fine-tuning starts, turns, and finishes to be race-ready.
  • Typical Activities: Intense swim sets that simulate race conditions, interval training, race-specific drills, and mental training exercises.

Race-Specific Training

  • Objective: Prepare swimmers for the specific demands of racing.
  • Focus:
    • Fine-tuning race strategies, pacing, and starts.
    • Enhancing sprint speed and the ability to finish strong.
    • Practicing race simulations under different conditions.
  • Typical Activities: Simulated races, start and turn practice, pacing drills, and mental conditioning.

Tapering and Peak Performance

  • Objective: Ensure swimmers are fully rested and ready to perform at their best in competition.
  • Focus:
    • Reducing training volume while maintaining intensity.
    • Focusing on perfecting technique and race-specific skills.
    • Ensuring physical and mental readiness for competition.
  • Typical Activities: Short, high-intensity sets, technique refinement, rest, and mental preparation.

Overall Objective:  Technique refinement, race readiness, build endurance and speed, find specialty, and set personal goals.

End-of-Season Expectation:

  1. Based on personal goals, coaches do goal-checking.
  2. Performance review.
  3. Time drop track.