The Process: The Steps to Success

1
The Process The Steps to Success

• A brief overview of the
• Fort McMurray Swim Club
• the Mantas
• and the progressions that the swimmers go
  through from when they join our club until they
  reach their potential.

2
The Manta Rays

• The first step of our Competitive Swim Program.
• The four competitive strokes
• Butterfly
• Backstroke
• Breaststroke
• Freestyle
• Skills
• flip turns
• touch turns
• basic dives.

3
Manta Rays...

• Here coaches teach and refine each stroke in
  detail
• We make strokes legal when for when the Manta
  Rays compete at sanctioned meets
• house-league meets right here at home
• 10 and Under Series in St. Albert
• Team Travel meets
• Manta Rays swim 3 times a week for a total of 3-½
  hrs.
• Once swimmers develop their strokes to the
  FINA/SNC standard and built their endurance they
  are able to move into the next level of
  competitive swimming
• Manta Rays enjoy competitive swimming. They
  experience the commitment discipline of
  swimming. It is a great way to build some
  lifetime friendships

4
The Blue Group

• Blue swimmers are usually graduates of our Manta
  Rays program.
• They develop the FUNdamentals basic skills such
  as
• reading the clock, reading posted work-outs
• strength, suppleness (flexibility), speed,
  stamina (endurance), and skill (technique)

5
The Blue Group...

• Many Blue Swimmers will be making their first
  qualifying times for higher level meets. The
  first step is to get an Alberta Age Group
  Trials qualifying time.
• In keeping with the Long Term Athlete Development
  Model of Swimming Canada and Swim Alberta
  swimmers at this level must swim a meet
  qualifying time (mqt) in Individual Medley (IM)
  and in distance free (200 or 400) depending on
  the age category
• The next level of meet is the Alberta
  Championships followed by Age Group Nationals.
• It is not an expectation that swimmers reach
  these levels however it is the path that they
  have started on!

6
The Bronze Group

• Bronze swimmers have at least 2 years experience
  as competitive swimmers.
• They have a solid foundational knowledge of the
  sport and the skills to always swim legal strokes
  and turns.
• The athletes learn that their bodies need more
  sleep now than they are used too, they will also
  need more fuel for their bodies to sustain the
  increased workload, and they will need the
  patience to develop their strokes.

7
The Bronze Group...

• They start challenging each other and develop
  their competitive nature while still having fun -
  being very silly and social!
• Huge breakthroughs can be realized within the
  bronze level of swimming. Swimmers strokes start
  to come together as they build strength,
  coordination, and fitness
• At this age the swimmers will see huge changes.
  Over the next year or two we expect that they
  will develop some great friendships as they will
  generally stay in the Bronze Group for one to two
  seasons

8
The Silver Group

• Silver swimmers are experienced competitive
  swimmers that have been in our program for 4 -5
  years
• Silver swimmers are usually pubescent (in
  puberty) and experiencing many physical and
  social changes
• growing fast
• gangly (uncoordinated)
• the transition from elementary school to
  high-school.

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The Silver Group...

• This is the level when most swimmers decide if
  swimming is going to be their sport a very
  tough decision given that they are usually the
  fittest in their class and are often asked to
  represent their school sports teams!
• Training is offered nine times a week. swimmers
  start the year doing around 2000m/session and end
  up doing 4000m/session by the end of the year.
• Attendance should be over 80 and Alberta A
  qualifying standards should be part of the
  swimmers seasonal goals. We strive to provide the
  Silver swimmers with a chance to swim every event
  at least once per season.

10
The Gold Group

• Gold swimmers have decided that swimming is their
  sport.
• Training is offered ten times a week
• Includes sessions which are dedicated to strength
  training and conditioning
• The Mantas have partnered with the Alberta Sport
  Development Centre located at the new Syncrude
  Sport and Wellness Centre. The highly trained
  staff are providing specialized strength and
  conditioning sessions aimed at improving high
  performance swimming
• Gold swimmers start the year doing around 3000m/
  session and end up doing 6000m/session by the end
  of the year.

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The Gold Group...

• Swimmers at this level are asked to make a high
  degree of commitment. Attendance should be over
  85 and Alberta A qualifying standards should
  be part of the swimmers seasonal goals.
• We strive to provide the Gold swimmers with a
  chance to swim every event at least once per
  season.
• Swim meets offered include house-league meets,
  working meets, Age Group Trials, and Age Group
  and Senior Championships.
• Gold swimmers may also qualify to attend the
  Age Group or Senior Nationals.

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The Senior National Group

• Senior swimmers can be any age but must be at a
  specific skill level. These swimmers are the roll
  models for our up-and-coming stars and as such
  are required to act professionally at all
  timesSenior swimmers are dedicated to
  competitive swimming as their sport. Training is
  offered eleven times a week including two
  sessions which are dedicated to strength training
  and conditioning
• Swimmers start the year doing around
  3000m/workout and end up doing 8000m/workout by
  the end of the year.
• Swimmers at this level must make a high degree of
  commitment. Attendance should be over 90 and
  Swimming/Natation Canada (SNC) National
  qualifying standards should be part of the
  swimmers seasonal goals

13
The Senior National Group...

• Minimum standards
• WATER BOTTLE no water bottle no training you
  must drink during the workout too
• Stretching and exercises be able to do these on
  your own at every session to be able to lead
  the team in these activities.
• Pool set up it is your pool and your training
  environment you are responsible to put in the
  lane ropes and the flags
• Swimming Etiquette know how to circle swim, know
  how to pass, count your own lengths, know how to
  read the clock and calculate your splits and
  total swim time.
• KICK better than one meter per second velocity
  50 meters in 50 seconds
• Streamline 8 meters off of each wall (minimum)
  including u/w dolphin kicking
• Stroke count 10 15 strokes per 25m length in
  Freestyle
• Stroke rate for 50 free over 50spm (strokes
  per minute)
• for 100 free 45 50spm
• for 200 and over free 40spm
• Turns MANDATORY at all times
• Hold 130 repeat (swim and rest) for Freestyle
• Hard effort within 10 of your best time (if
  you go 100 for 100 free then in practice you
  should be able to do a 106 or BETTER)
• Post work out clean up it is your responsibility
  to clean up all your equipment and help with the
  rolling up of lane ropes and the putting away of
  any/all equipment that was used

14
Changes rationale

• issue silver has swimming every morning
• solution offer silver swimming Monday and
  Wednesday from 330 - 430 PM (slightly shorter
  time than in the morning) and eliminate their
  Monday and Wednesday Morning times
• issue Gold and Senior adjusted start times for
  PM sessions
• solution eliminate PM training for these groups
  on Monday and Wednesday entirely
• issue lane space for Sears I Can Swim and
  program size limited by space
• solution Have our Senior and Gold swimmers coach
  from 430 - 600 PM on Monday and Wednesday.
  This means we can clear our WAITING LIST and
  offer 4 lanes of programming for 2 hours up from
  the current 2 lanes from 500 - 530 and 4 lanes
  from 530 to 630
• issue we are competing with the YMCA lesson
  program
• solution we will drop the SICS stage 1 and stage
  2 (we already have dropped stage 1) and
  therefore we will no longer offer "lessons" but
  a Competitive Swimming Preparation Program (
  feeder system) for our organization that does not
  interfere with the YMCA program at all

15
Changes the new schedule