barracudas silver

This level is for the children 6 - 12 years old.  They will swim between 800 and 1600 yards during practice.  Practice will follow a systematic approach to competitive swimming, using drill and stroke progressions.  Starts, streamlines, turns and stroke mechanics are the focus of this group.  Major emphasis will be placed on Freestyle, Backstroke, and Breaststroke with an introduction to Butterfly. Swimmers can sign up for 2 days a week (Mon./Wed. or Tue./Thur) or 1 day a week (Fridays).

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Prerequisites to join this group:

For children who have passed out of the Fish level in our lesson program or those who pass a try out. Swimmers must swim 50 yards Freestyle, 50 yards Backstroke, and be ready to learn a third stroke. 

Affective requirements:

      Practice team spirit through practice and competition
      Knowledge of YMCA values and be able to apply them
      Develop positive attitude towards the sport of swimming
      Practice good sportsmanship and ethics during practice and competition

Cognitive requirements:

      Know the different strokes and when they are used in the different medleys
      Know the different competition races that are used in meets
      Recognize and properly use different equipment for swimming
      Start to understand pace clock and split times
      Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of swimming
      Become introduced to ideas in sports psychology and basic nutrition

Physical requirements:

70% of practice focusing on stroke development, 25% focusing on physical fitness, and 5% on starts and turns
Primary focus work on all four strokes, more advanced drills such as sculling, kick work to build legs, and legal starts and turns

Test set of 100yd.Free, 100yd.IM,and 50yds.of all stroke using legal turns and starts
Relays in this group will be used to teach competition skills.

Equipment:  water bottle, swim cap, goggles

Group 1: defined as swimmers who are new to the team, are not in shape yet. Need to develop a good streamline position, a strong steady kick of Freestyle, Backstroke, and Breaststroke. Aim at completing 50 yards Freestyle, 50 yards Backstroke, 50 yards Breaststroke, 25 yards butterfly kick, and obey lane circle swimming.  

Group 2: defined as swimmers in fairly good shape, can do all the Group 1 skills. Aim at completing 100 yards Freestyle, 100 yards Backstroke, 100 yards Breaststroke, 25 yards Butterfly and 100 yards IM. Do flip turns, and a basic racing dive.