Welcome
The Fort Atkinson Swim Team offers training and practice groups for swimmers of all ages and ability levels. It is the goal of the FAST to offer age specific training for all of our athletes geared towards challenging each individual and developing each individual to the best of THEIR abilities.
Listed below are the levels of swimming offered to athletes by the F.A.S.T swim team. These levels are offered as a guideline to the parents and the athlete to use in understanding how an athlete can achieve that next level. These levels are be used by the coaches, for parents, and athletes to help establish goals for the athlete to achieve the next level and beyond.
We realize that there will be exceptions due to strength or even a weakness that may or may not allow that athlete to move forward to the next level at the same pace as other athletes. We also realize that athletes sometimes need that next level of workout with better swimmers to get over a sometimes frustrating "slump". The benefit of the F.A.S.T swim team is that we have compassion, patience & understanding, and a coaching staff that can work with that athlete and parent to set goals that are achievable.
Bronze
Practice Recommendations: 2 days a week
Days Offered: Monday - Friday
Requirements: Swimmer must be able to swim 25 yards of freestyle (front crawl)
Group Emphasis: The main focus for this group will be on increasing the efficiency of the freestyle and backstroke, and teaching the child the breaststroke so that the child has 3 legal strokes. Including dolphin kick, starts, and turn techniques.
Graduation to Next Group: Athlete must be able to swim the following strokes legally. 25 yards of freestyle, 25 yards of backstroke, and 25 yards of breaststroke
Silver
Practice Recommendations: 2-3 days a week
Days Offered: Monday - Friday
Requirements: A workout of 2,000 yards per night
Group Emphasis: The focus of this group will be stroke mechanics for all four competitive strokes, with introduction to competition training, starts, turns, Dry-Land workouts, and increasing endurance training. Time trials will be taken monthly (based on practice attendance) on the athlete with results to be recorded and charted.
Graduation to Next Group: Able to swim all four strokes legally (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle). Able to do a flip turn and complete intervals of 50 yards in 1 minute and 30 seconds. Swimmer must also have the maturity to follow a workout written on the whiteboard while coaches are giving individual feedback to teammates.
Copper
Practice Recommendations: 3 to 4 days a week
Days Offered: Monday - Friday
Requirements: 50 Intervals on 1:30 as well as able to complete 3000 yards for the duration of one practice
Group Emphasis: The focus for this group will be to work on advanced stroke techniques, starts, turns, and goal setting, and more enhanced education on race strategies, and mental training. All previous instructions to get the athlete to this point will constantly be re-visited. Time trials will be taken weekly and charted (based on practice attendance) on the athlete, along with charting of the athletes progress. Possible underwater and above water camera evaluations.
Graduation to Next Group: This group is still working on stroke mechanics for all four competitive strokes, and increasing endurance. The requirements, ages and time standards for this group are all based on coaches discretion. Workout is typically the same for copper and plaid but plaid tends to have faster intervals such as instead of 50s on 1:30 they are on 1:15
Plaid
Practice Recommendations: 3 to 4 times a week
Days Offered: Monday - Friday
Requirements: 50 Intervals on 1:15 as well as able to complete 3000 yards for the duration of one practice
Group Emphasis: The focus for this group will be to work on advanced stroke techniques, starts, turns, and goal setting, and more enhanced education on race strategies, and mental training. All previous instructions to get the athlete to this point will constantly be re-visited. Time trials will be taken weekly and charted (based on practice attendance) on the athlete, along with charting of the athletes progress. Possible underwater and above water camera evaluations.
Graduation to Next Group: Time standards that are to be considered: 8 x 50 Freestyle @ 1:05, 4 x 100 IM @ 2:30 legally. A workout of 3,500 to 4,000 yards per night. Plaid swimmers must be able to read an analog clock and go on coach given intervals before moving up to Gold.
Gold
Practice Recommendations: 4 to 5 days a week
Days Offered: Monday - Friday
Requirements: Time standards that are to be considered: 8 x 50 Freestyle @ 1:05, 4 x 100 IM @ 2:30 legally. A workout of 3,500 to 4,000 yards per night.
Group Emphasis: The focus for this group will be advanced stroke techniques, starts, turns, and goal setting. Installation of pre-swim race strategies, and mental preparation. All previous instruction will continue. Time trials and test sets will be done weekly, with constant charting of athletes progress, and possible underwater and above water camera work. High School athletes will also focus on their designated high school events as well as relays and ways to better their team.
Graduation to Next Group: Time standards to be considered: 6 x 100 Freestyle @ 1:40, 6 x 100 stroke at 2:00, and 4 x 200 IM @ 2:45. A workout of 4,500 yards. High school distance swimmers will spend some nights doing workouts of 5,000 to 6,000 yards.
Platinum
Practice Recommendations: 4 to 5 days a week
Days Offered: Monday - Friday
Requirements: Time standards to be considered: 6 x 100 Freestyle @ 1:40, 6 x 100 stroke at 2:00, and 4 x 200 IM @ 2:40. A workout of 4,500 to 5,000 yards. High school distance swimmers will spend some nights doing workouts of 5,000 to 6,000 yards. Platinum does a similar workout to gold every night but Platinum contains a majority of our state qualifier swimmers.
Group Emphasis: Training methodology and heart rate usage are introduced. Athletes will continue to refine race strategy implementation. Conditioning takes on a greater importance. Preparation for a state and national level competition and high school programs are implemented. High School athletes will also focus on their designated high school events as well as relays and ways to better their team.
Wisconsin Swimming
Swimmers are broken down by age groups according to their birth dates. USS Swimming in Wisconsin recognizes the following age groups: 10&Under, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, and 17-18. 6&U and 8&U are permitted and swim at the discretion of the host club.
