Elite Swim Club
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��������� The mission of the Elite Swim Club is to teach competitive swimming to serious swimmers within a positive environment.
����������� To succeed at it�s mission, Elite�s training program is set up like a school. There are three distinct training levels-similar to the traditional grammar, middle and high school educational format. The three training levels are subdivided into 7 distinct training groups. The 5 middle level training groups are each broken into at least two sub groups-thus there are at least 12 distinct training levels within Elite during a training season.
Each training group coach teaches and reinforces skills that are the foundation of the next sub group.�
Elite is a meritocracy. Swimmers are promoted to the next level based upon four distinct yet interlocking criteria: 1) attendance at practice (70% within the Wavebuster and Marlin training groups; 85% into the Senior training group) 2) intensity/focus at practice 3) stroke efficiency and 4) fast times. The 1st three criteria must be present for a swimmer to be promoted to the next sub group or training level. The fourth criteria (fast times) will undoubtedly be the result of the 1st three criteria.
Swimmers know what is required of them to be promoted; it is their positive choice to make that happen (and ultimately, to swim fast). Yelling is rarely an Elite coaching tactic; however, having an entire lane or training group repeat a set or skill done improperly by one or more swimmers is common within all levels of Elite.
����������� Since man
evolved on land and not within water, man�s natural movements interact
inelegantly with water. Thus, man must adopt non-natural body positions, skills
and movements to properly interact and compete in a pool. These skills can
be acquired, nurtured & developed but they must be reinforced constantly,
since they are not natural human movements.
����������� �Stroke efficiency is crucial for a swimmer to
succeed at any level of swimming, but it is an absolute necessity at the
highest levels of swimming. Just swimming laps will develop a great
aerobic base (and improve one�s swim times); but combining traditional
conditioning with a constant focus of body balance, stroke technique and a
positive motivational environment is the most efficient way to develop a
successful high level swimmer. ��
����������� Elite�s training environment promotes stroke efficiency two ways:
1) Elite utilizes body balance drills to teach, train and reinforce the correct body position and aquatic movements on a daily basis. Every Elite swimmer perform these drills on a daily basis. Correct stroke technique (arms and leg movements) is inevitable and is easily enhanced when a swimmer is in the correct body position.
����������� Elite coaches and swimmers are fanatical about controlling the process (we call them �details,� such as correct stroke technique, proper turn technique, proper finishes, breathing patterns, etc.) of swimming fast. If a swimmer�s details are sound, then fast times during a race is extremely likely. Plus, �controlling the process� empowers each swimmer since it gives them specific skills to work on at practice (and at meets) that they have control over.
����������� 2) To �free up� the coaches to focus on stroke technique, each practice is actually managed by the swimmers. Workouts, complete with detailed instructions, are created using a computer based software and provided to the swimmers in each lane. The workouts are simultaneously programmed into the scoreboards at each of our training facilities. Between the workouts and the scoreboard, the swimmers know what they are to do, when they are to do it and what they should be working on. In addition, 6 distinct workouts (one for each lane) can be run within a training groups� practice, if desired by the coach!!
����������� The result is that coaches are free during practice to provide individual attention to stroke enhancement and correction. As the coach is working with an individual, the rest of the practice is progressing as scheduled and each swimmer knows what they need to be focusing on.
����������� Members of the Elite Swim Club are Elite People. Each swimmer in the Wavebuster and Senior Training Programs is required to behave according to Elite�s Code of Conduct (a signed contract between the swimmer and the club that addresses behavior expectations). All Elite swimmers are expected to act in a responsible manner at all times-not just at swim practice or an Elite function. Illegal drugs, disruptive behavior and physical aggression are not permitted behavior traits of Elite swimmers under any circumstance. Not coincidentally, most Elite swimmers are also excellent students.
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