Whitinsville Blue Dolphins Swim Team

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Group Levels

WBD's group levels are based on a long-term training plan that progresses it's athletes from novice to the national level of United States Swimming.  Here is a breakdown of our group levels:

Age Group Program

Our age group program is designed for our younger (ages 12-under) and/or more inexperienced competitive swimmers.  These groups are based around a very strong emphasis on swimming mechanics and technique and also making competitive swimming a fun experience.  The goal of the age group program is to educate our young and inexperienced athletes on the basics of competitive swimming including (but not limited to):  basic stroke mechanics, general aerobic training, swimming ettiquette, goal-setting, team bonding activities, etc.  The age group program consists of 3 training groups:

Bronze Group:  This is the introductory group of the WBD competitive swim team.  This group is designed for our youngest and most inexperienced athletes.  The main emphasis of this group is establishing proper swimming habits through stroke drills, basic swim sets, and games.  Prerequisites for the Bronze Group require all prospective swimmers to have Red Cross Level IV swimming ability.  Swimmers must be able to complete one length of freestyle and a length of backstroke and must have working knowledge of breaststroke kick.  The Bronze group has practice three times per week.  Swimmers will swim for 1 hour per day and will also have a total of 1 hour per week of dryland workouts. 

Silver Group:  This is the next level of the WBD program.  This group is designed for our more experienced younger swimmers.  The main emphasis of this group is to build off of the work done in the Bronze Group while adding slightly more focus on aerobic swimming while also learning about basic goal-setting and race strategies.  Prerequisites for the Silver Group require all swimmers to be able to legally swim 50 yards of all 4 competitive strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) and 100 IM.  Swimmers must be also be able to complete 8 x 100 Freestyle on 2:00.  Any swimmer moving from the Bronze Group must also have a 50% monthly practice attendance average.  The Silver group practices 4 times per week.  Swimmers will swim for 1-1.5 hours per practice and will also have a total of 1.5 hours per week of dryland workouts.  

Gold Group:  This is the highest level of the WBD age group program and is designed for our most experienced younger swimmers (12-under) or our least experienced older swimmers (13-over).  The main emphasis of this group is to maintain work on stroke drills while adding more pool time and aerobic swimming into the mix.  More advanced goal-setting will also be a part of the Gold group.  Prerequisites for the Gold Group require all swimmers to be able to swim legal 100's for each stroke and a 200 IM and must be able to complete 10 x 100 Freestyle on 1:45.  Any swimmer moving from the Silver Group must also maintain a 60% monthly practice attendance average.  The Gold Group practices 4 times per week.  Swimmers will swim for 1.5-2 hours per practice and will also have a total of 1.75 hours per week of dryland workouts. 

College-Prep Program

Our college prep program is designed for our older and more experienced athletes who wish to take their swimming to the next level.  The goal of these groups are to build on the strong technical base achieved in the age group program and build on the aerobic training as well.  Anaerobic and aerobic threshold training is introduced as well as an emphasis on goals, time management, etc.  The College-Prep Program consists of 2 training groups:

Junior Group:  The Junior Group serves as the bridge between the Age Group program and the Senior Group (WBD's most advanced training group).  This group is designed for athletes who have made swimming a priority who are at least 12 years of age.  The focus of this group shifts more towards training with a strong emphasis on the fundamentals learned in the Age Group Program.  Swimmers will also focus on daily, short-term, and long-term goalsetting; nutrition, etc.  Prerequisites for the Junior group require all swimmers to be able to swim legal 200's for each stroke and a 400 IM.  Prospective swimmers must also be able to complete

12 x 100 Free on 1:30.  Any swimmer moving from the Gold Group also must maintain a 70% monthly practice average.  The Junior Group practices 5 days per week.  Swimmers will swim 1.5-2 hours per practice and will also have 2.25 hours per week of dryland workouts. 

Senior Group:  The highest group level in the WBD program.  This group is designed for WBD's older and most experienced athletes who have the goal to compete at the collegiate and/or national level.  There is a stronger emphasis on attendance and training in this group.  Swimmers will focus on daily, short-term, and long-term goalsetting, nutrition, etc.  Prerequisites for the Senior Group require all swimmers to be able to swim 200's of each stroke, a 400 IM, and a 1000 free.  The test set for this group is

15 x 100 Free on 1:20.  Any swimmer moving from the Junior Group must also maintain an 80% monthly practice average.  The Senior Group swims between 1.5-3 hours per practice and also has 3.0 hours of dryland training per week.