Competitive Development 1
Requirements: Streamline push with kicks to surface at least 1.5 body lengths. Basic understanding of free and back strokes. Introduced to breaststroke and butterfly kick.
Learn: Vertical sculling, complete free and back strokes with breathing. Flip turns and open turns, learn to understand and read a pace clock, diving from side. Stroke progression for fly and breast strokes.
General Overview: Main focus on developing stroke fundamentals and understanding of the four competitive strokes. Larger focus on kicking with all strokes, especially development of fly and breast. Aside from the four competitive strokes, the swimmers will develop and perfect their streamline, understand the importance of their body positioning within the water with each stroke, and understand the importance of teamwork and achievement towards their competitive journey.
Competitive Development 2
Requirements: Streamline push from wall with dolphin kick, show understanding of breast and fly (even if not in sync), diving, 25 legal freestyle and backstroke.
Learn: Block starts, legal stroke turns, putting breast and fly stroke in sync, breaststroke turn out with dolphin kick, increased intervals and endurance.
General Overview: Increased efficiency and development towards legal stroke mechanics. Improved understanding of technique, drills, endurance, racing starts, and relays. Learning the pace clock for drills and improved teamwork and growth with teammates self-confidence.
Competitive Development 3
Requirements: 50 continuous legal freestyle and backstroke, 25 fly and breast, block starts.
Learn: 100 yards of continuous swimming in all strokes individually as well as IM, understanding and practicing relays, learning stroke count and # of breaths, intervals.
General Overview: Continued stroke development and technique. Improved endurance and lung capacity through pacing, stroke counts, etc., the ability to push themselves towards higher intensity workouts with improved kicks. Swimmers will build their core development, improve body positioning, learn workout etiquette (circle swimming) and continue to improve with their teammates.
Copper I
Requirements:100 continuous of each stroke, 200 free, show correct breathing for stroke, ability to sprint legal 25 free.
Learn: Increasing number of dolphin kicks, increase on continuous meters and speed, continued technique for all strokes, starts/finishes, continued sprint and relay work, improved block starts.
General Overview: Continue to build on mastery and stroke synchronization. Gearing up in competitive growth towards participating in meets. Technique and refinement will be worked on, and they will be challenged to work on those skills, so they become second nature. Building even more on teamwork and learning about leadership towards their competitive future.
Copper II
Requirements:100 IM@2:30, 200 freestyle@4:00, legal flip turns, legal block starts, understands and executes relays.
Learn: Threshold sets (10x300 i.e.), increased distance/endurance and synced stroke development, stroke rate, swim speed increase, ability to denote a style they excel at(distance/sprints).
General Overview: Increased stamina, focus geared towards competitive side of swimming. Yardage will increase with harder sets. Challenging swimming with focus on technique and stroke synchronization. Practice with teammates will include racing one another, working together for relays and time sets to become more effective and efficient for the Bronze level.
Bronze
Requirements: Ability to change speed while maintaining stroke, continuous use of flip turns, ability to swim continuously without stopping for min of 300. *[for Copper 2 moving into Bronze-4x100 free @2:30, 100IM @2:50].
Learn: Improved stroke technique, time management skills, improved pace clock ability, develop meet routines and understanding, learn/develop lactate tolerance
General Overview: For the progression of Copper 2 as well as the entrance of middle school and high school new athletes, Bronze further pushes athletes to build on their endurance, speed, and entrance into more competitive events. Further mastery of all skills and improved mastery for those new to the sport. High focus on team building, their personal values as well as within the team. In-house competitive meets will be introduced to help drive their swimming journey.
Silver
Requirements: 5x100IM on@2:10, 5x50 fly @55, 5x100 free@1:10, 4x100 IM@ 2:05
Learn: Competitive drills, focus on refinement, endurance building, further focus on team building and leadership.
General Overview: Perfect place for competitive athletes to continue their path forward as well as those that swim for the enjoyment and their team of friends to challenge themselves more.
Gold
Requirements: Age 12 and above-6x100@1:30, 100 back@1:30, 100 breast@1:40, 5x50 fly@45, 6x100 IM@1:40
Learn: Greater endurance and breathing techniques, refine and perfect their pacing and stroke count for the events they swim. Focus on goals, decreasing split times as well as all around. Further diving into any stroke technique that need to be corrected or perfected.
General Overview: Goal oriented group with a split of highly competitive athletes and those that are willing to push their abilities overall. Highly motivated group with superb leadership skills. Introducing them into becoming mentors and leaders for the younger athletes.
Jr. Nationals / Nationals
Requirements: 12 and older, who have the desire to challenge themselves and the will to push their limitations towards competing in nationals- 100 free @1:10, 50 fly @ 35, 100 breast@1:20, 100 back@1:10. Must partake in mentoring/leadership with younger athletes. Attendance is vital to be the most effective in reaching goals at this level.
