Groups

The Rock Hill Area YMCA Aquatics offers training and practice groups for swimmers of all ages and ability levels. It is the goal of the Rock Hill Area YMCA Aquatics 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 to schedule a tryout, or click Here to send us an email request for more information.

Practice Information

The RAYS coaches use a "progressive" age group program designed to develop the child physically, mentally and emotionally in a systematic fashion. A well-defined, long-term approach of gradually increasing degrees of commitment is essential to reach peak performance levels during a swimmer’s physiological prime. The emphasis in the early stages of participation must be placed on developing technical skills and a love for the sport. In the later years, a more demanding physical and psychological challenge must be introduced to the training program. In this respect, "too much too soon" is more often the cause of failure to achieve maximum potential in senior swimming than in the reverse situation.

In addition to emphasizing long-term rather than short-term results, it is also important that we establish training groups of swimmers who are compatible in respect to abilities, commitment levels and goals. Unfortunately, this is not always the most convenient approach to take, but it is always the most productive.

At each level, the goals and objectives are specific and directed toward meeting the needs of the swimmer. The long term goal of total excellence is always in mind. As each child is different, he/she will progress at his/her own rate. The coaching staff recognizes this fact by making team assignments based on a swimmer’s physical, mental, and emotional level of development.


PRACTICE GROUPS

 

RAYS 101/102
 
For swimmers and parents who want no commitment. Meets twice a week from mid-October through December and mid-February through mid-April for 45 minutes. RAYS 101 focuses on Freestyle and Backstroke development and RAYS 102 on Breaststroke and Butterfly.  Ages 5-10.
 
Minis
 
This is the introductory level for swimmers 5-8. Swimmers must be able to swim the length of the pool on the stomach and back. Practices are twice a week for 50 minutes at 4:30 pm on Monday-Thursday. The focus is on stroke development of all 4 strokes.
 
Juniors
 
This group is for swimmers age 8-12 who have some competitive skills but still need a great deal of instruction. The focus of this group is stroke improvement with some endurance work as the season progresses.  This group has practice from 4:30-5:30 pm Monday through Friday. Swimmers may attend as many practices as they want.
 
Bronze
 
Swimmers in this group are 9-12 and have the skills and desire to begin competing on a more serious level. Practice skills for this group include continued work on strokes while beginning more endurance based training. Practice for this group is Monday through Friday 5:30-7:00 pm with an expected attendance of a minimum of 3 times per week.

Gold
 

Swimmers in this group are from 10-14 and are deciding if swimming will be a main focus of their athletic career.  This group focuses on continued stroke development but does more training at an endurance level. This group begins to work on race strategy and swimming longer races. This group practices Monday through Friday from 5:30-7:30 pm and some Saturday mornings. The practice expectation for this group is a minimum of 4 times per week, with 5 preferred.
 
Silver
 
This group is for swimmers in seventh grade and older who want to improve their competitive skills but do not want any type of practice commitment.  Practices for this group are Monday through Friday 5:30-7:30 pm and focus on stroke improvement.
 
High School & Beyond
 
This group is for swimmers 7th grade to adult who want to train but have a very busy schedule. This group practices from 7:00-8:00 pm November through mid-April twice weekly. This is a great group for swimmers who want to stay in shape but do not want to compete and are involved in many activities. This is a “pay as you swim” group.
 
Senior 

This is the highest level of swimming for the RAYS. Swimmers in this group are generally 13 & older and have made the decision that swimming will be a major focus in their lives. This group practices from 5:30-8:30 pm Monday through Friday, 4 mornings weekly 5:45-7:00 am and Saturday 7:00-11:00 am. This group focuses on training to compete at the highest levels of competition.