Groups

The Manhattan Marlins offers training and practice groups for swimmers of all ages and ability levels. It is the goal of the Manhattan Marlins 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.

Please call us at (785) 317-4100 to schedule a tryout, or Click Here to send us an email request for more information.

Minnows

The Minnows is a learn-to-swim group where the main focuses are learning the basic technique of the competitive strokes and having fun in swimming. What we hope to build in that group is a sold base, either for swimmers who hope to swim competitively in the future, or just for swimmers who want to learn how to swim for safety.”

Bronze 1 / Bronze 2

The Bronze 1 group is for children with previous swimming experience who may not have had any competitive experience. Bronze 2 is for swimmers who have competitive swimming experience and are more advanced in their stroke techniques and ability to train. The training is expanded in both of these groups with the introduction of interval training. The main emphasis is stroke technique as that is the foundation for future success in swimming. However, there will be emphasis on improving the aerobic base, or basic endurance, of the swimmers in this group. Sprints will allow the swimmers to learn how to swim at race pace with proper stroke technique. We also try to instill a love for the sport in the Bronze groups. This is continued in the other groups, but this is where we would like for swimmers to “fall in love with swimming”. We try to make practice fun every day for the swimmers to encourage them to continue swimming.

Expectations of Bronze swimmers

1. Be a good teammate. Support each other and do not put other teammates down. Being rude to other members of our team is not tolerated.

2. Listen to the coaches, and give an honest effort in practice every day. We want to teach the swimmers that it isn’t enough to just show up and go through the motions of practicing. Great things are accomplished through hard work and determination.

3. Learn what a leader is. This is something that will be taught by the coaches, as well as our older swimmers. We want to stress that a leader is someone who leads by example and encourages his/her teammates. A leader does not have the right to put down teammates who are struggling in practice, but encourages instead.

4. Bronze 1 swimmers are expected to attend 3 practices a week during school, and 4 practices a week during the summer. Bronze 2 swimmers are expected to attend 4 practices a week during both the school year and the summer. Both groups are encouraged to attend up to five practices a week during the summer. Bronze 2 is encouraged to attend five during the school year as well. To make it easier to attend this number of practices during school, we offer Saturday morning practices that can be used in place of a practice during the week.

5. Start attending team meets. Bronze swimmers are not required to attend meets, as we realize that several younger swimmers on our team may not feel ready for competition. Our job as coaches is to encourage the swimmers to compete and to build their confidence to a level where they feel comfortable in competition.

Silver 1 / Silver 2

The focus of the Silver group is split between developing stronger stroke mechanics and developing endurance in the swimmers in these groups. The number of laps swam during practice will increase in this group as it is a training based group. Sets are swum for training the swimmer’s aerobic capacity. Stroke technique continues to be emphasized. Strokes are refined while swimming at a pace regularly swum in practice.

Expectations of Silver swimmers

1. Be a good teammate. Support each other and do not put other teammates down. Being rude to other members of our team is not tolerated.

3. Start to show signs of being a good leader. While we realize that some people are natural leaders and others prefer to follow, we would like for all swimmers to show the characteristics of good leaders. This expectation ties in with the first expectation as being a good teammate is part of being a leader.

4. All swimmers in the Silver group are expected to attend four practices a week. They have the option of attending up to six practices a week with Saturday morning practice being an option. Silver swimmers are not required to practice on Saturdays.

5. Attend 1 – 2 team meets per quarter and attend any championship meets for which they qualify. Swimmers who regularly attend swim meets develop a stronger bond with other swimmers from our team who also attend meets.

Gold 1 / Gold 2

The Gold 1 group is a transition group from Silver to Gold. Gold 2 is for the swimmers who have advanced to tougher intervals. The main focus of the Gold groups is training. Stroke mechanics and refining the strokes to be as efficient as possible in the water is also emphasized.

Expectations of Gold swimmers

1. Be a good teammate. Support each other and do not put other teammates down. Being rude to other members of our team is not tolerated.

3. Continue showing signs of being a team leader. Demonstrate that they have the characteristics of a good leader, even if they do not take an active leadership role.

4. Gold 1 swimmers are expected to attend at least four practices a week. Gold 2 swimmers are expected to attend five practices a week. Both groups have the option of swimming on Saturday morning.

6. 6. Keep a log book. The information should included amount swam at practice, morning resting heart rate, self-grades on workouts, stroke corrections made during workouts, any performances on timed swims or test sets during practice, and splits from meets. Swimmers are welcome to include anything else in these books that they would not mind the coaching staff reading.