Swim Team Jump-Start^©

Schedule

Phone: 509/453–6521, Extension 212

General Description

Swim Team Jump-Start© is an introduction to swim team for swimmers interested in competitive swimming. The course acquaints swimmers with a swim team atmosphere and teaches them core skills and drills in the four racing strokes – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.

Swimmers considering Swim Team Jump- Start© should have successfully completed Level 5 or Level 6 of the Yakima Athletic Club swimming lessons or the equivalent course elsewhere. The level designations are prescribed by the Red Cross. An age group coach from YAC Swimming teaches the course. YAC Swimming is the competitive swimming arm of the Yakima Athletic Club’s swimming programs. Instruction is a hands-on, interactive experience for the swimmers.

This course teaches the core skills and biomechanics of each of the four racing strokes. Students also learn some of the basic routines associated with the competitive swimming training environment as adapted from the system used by YAC Swimming. When repeated, these drills and techniques are calculated to improve coordination in the water, correct biomechanical errors, and improve swimmer efficiency. Competitive swimming vocabulary is introduced and students learn stroke names, names of various biomechanical positions, some metaphors, similes and mnemonics used to impart concrete images to the athletes.

Evaluation of the swimmer’s skills is ongoing during the course. We assess each swimmer for proficiency in several skills per stroke in addition to general skills that apply to all strokes. Swimmers are expected to attempt the preferred turns for each of the strokes and the individual medley.

Upon successfully completing Swim Team Jump-Start© students receive a Certificate of Completion vouching for their preparedness to enter YAC Swimming as a member of the Mini Team or Seahawk training group.

Prerequisites

• At least 6 years of age
• Successful completion of Level 5 or Level 6 of the Yakima Athletic Club swimming lessons or equivalent (Red Cross)

Features

• Eight 30-minute lessons
• Five swimmers per class
• YAC Swimming Jump-Start© caps
• Instruction by age group coaches from YAC Swimming

Skills Description

• Universal Skills:
      Pushing off
      Streamlining
      Kicking underwater in a streamline
      Correct use of a kick board
      Circle swimming
      Reading a pace clock
• Backstroke Skills:
      Sustained, propulsive flutter kick
      Straight arm recovery
      General sweep pattern including hand entry, sweep and hand exit
      Stationary head
      Coordination
      Axle rotation
• Freestyle Skills:
      Arms clear water during recovery
      Bilateral breathing
      Sustained, propulsive flutter kick
      General sweep pattern including hand entry, sweep and hand exit
      Correct recovery relationship
      Axle rotation

Skills Description

• Butterfly Skills:
      Arms clear water during recovery
      Legs work in unison
      Breath timing
      Hips elevate following recovery
      General and legal sweep pattern
      Coordination
• Breaststroke Skills:
      Legal kick
      General stroke timing/coordination
      General and legal sweep pattern
      Correct breathing pattern
• Other Skills:
      Underwater pulls for breaststroke
      Flip turns for freestyle and backstroke
      Rule related skills
      Dolphin kick underwater following the push off for backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly
      Correct order for individual medley
      Transition turns for individual medley
      Open turns for breaststroke and butterfly

More Information
Yakima Athletic Club: Anne Miller
Phone: 453-6521, Extension 204
Email: anne@yacgolds.com
www.yacgolds.com

YAC Swimming: Lexie Sturges
Phone: 453-6521, Extension 212
Email: coachlexie@yacswimming.com
FAQ- www.yacswimming.com